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FROM HAPPY HOSTS
I can't believe I ever thought that instrument was limited by it's size and number of
stops, she must have made at least 1000 different colors in an extraordinary
performance.
Nelson Ojeda, Director of Church of the Redeemer Concert Series, 2011
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It was a terrific program! The handling of the organ was amazing….the registrations
were inventive and appropriate.
Gerald Anders, Director of Community Church of Douglaston Concert Series, 2011
FROM THE PRESS
“[Ms Meloan gave] an auspicious performance.”
-Michael Barone, Pipedreams
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Ms. Meloan played the heck out of this organ yesterday, such that even I was
surprised.
She opened with a delightful embroidery of fingerwork by Jongen, played with
restraint at first, and growing in detail and verve right up to the full organ. I thought
she was saving the 32' Bombarde for later in the program, but more on that later.
Then the Bach, and what Bach it was... In general, she used sparing combinations
chosen for their varied colors. The couplers were left off, so we got to hear the
individual coloration of the various plena (principal choruses), an organ builders'
delight which does not often happen.
After a delicately articulated opening Allegro, contrasting the Great and Positif
Principals, and a Grave replete with improvised ornamented cadences, Katherine
launched into the Fugue on the Great and Pedal plena. Despite a few wrong notes, it
was played with energy and a good sense of line. The Largo was played with a drive
which is not often present, and with delicate ornamentation. The closing Allegro was
refreshingly played at a more deliberate than usually heard tempo, allowing us to
savor the nicely executed counterpoint.
Katherine first read us the verses from the 94th Psalm upon which this work was
based. She then opened the Reubke on two stops: pedal 16' Quintaton and manual 8'
Dulciane, giving a barely audible but ominous portent of things to come. Her
registrations were spare but colorful and contrasted. None of the too-often heard
crashes on the tutti alternated with the celestes... rather we heard individual stops and
within that context the genius of Reubke shone through vividly.
We were more than a quarter of the way through the work before she used any chorus
reeds, the preceding forte passages having been played on the plena alone. How
delightfully effective. And when the reeds did come in, they were electrifying.
The lyrical middle section solo was played on the 8' Montre, which sang out the
melody with dignity.
Then the Fugue. Played at a slower than usual tempo, we heard the intricate tapestry
of Reubke's counterpoint clearly played with clarity and articulation. Yet we heard
emotion, at times dramatic, at times angry and even cruel. This is what the Psalmist
wrote. This is what Reubke heard. This is what Katherine expressed.
At the recapitulation, the tempo abruptly increased as did the audience's attention as
layer upon layer of reeds were added in a grand crescendo leading up to full organ, the
furious concluding pedal section, and the arrestingly final minor chord.
What else could the audience do but rise to its feet cheering.
Go hear this woman play!
Alan Ontko, Spoleto Festival,
South Carolina, 2009
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