Concert Review: Elisabeth Roloff

The program included works spanning from Baroque to the 20th century - a formidable achievement for an hour-long program.

By URY EPPSTEIN
Music good 88 (photo credit: )
Music good 88
(photo credit: )
Elisabeth Roloff Organ Recital Church of the Redeemer Jerusalem May 10 After a too-long absence due to illness, organist Elisabeth Roloff came back to Jerusalem for her recital, exactly as had been scheduled months ago. The program included works spanning from Baroque to the 20th century - a formidable achievement for an hour-long program. It focused on the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" (Come, the Creator's Spirit), in anticipation of the upcoming Pentecost festivities. The personal and stylistic differences between de Grigny, Bach and Duruflé's musical interpretations of the text were quite remarkable. No less impressive was Roloff's ability to capture the essence of these styles in her renditions. Roloff's rendition of Bach's Dorian Toccata and Fugue showed maturity. The transparency of the intricate polyphonic parts, combined with a highly imaginative choice of registers and vigorous energies, were particularly impressive. Mendelssohn's appealing, little-known Organ Sonata provided the Romantic entr'acte for the exciting selection. A modern conclusion, Duruflé's Choral Variations and his D'Alain Prelude and Fugue, was performed with intense involvement without being too demonstrative.