Organ and Dance

Joanne · **Posted:** Thu May 15, 2003 12:45 am

Review of this piece from The Times.

Quote:

THERE we all were, admiring the soaring stone splendours of Westminster Abbey, when on to the makeshift stage walked Dame Gillian Weir. Attired in a screaming Christmas red guaranteed to attract our attention, the queen of organists was reminding us that this was to be her night. And then off she went, out of sight for the rest of the evening, hidden away at Westminster Abbey’s great organ.

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And from The Guardian.

Quote:

The three choreographers contributing to Tuesday's dance and organ recital at Westminster Abbey might have assumed that the venue itself was the toughest part of their assignment. With the dance stage located (temporarily) between the north and south transepts, the audience's views were distracted by vaulting columns, glowing stained glass and elaborate gothic carving - all sufficient to dwarf the mightiest choreographic creation.

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<small>[ 15 May 2003, 02:48 AM: Message edited by: Joanne ]</small>

Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Sun May 18, 2003 1:49 am

ENB at Westminster Abbey
by Jann Parry for The Observer.

Full-throated organ music sets a problem for dance. Its rhythms turn to mush in a vast space. Combining choreography with an organ recital by Gillian Weir in Westminster Abbey turned out to be a curiosity, in a series pairing the organ with other art forms, but secular dances seemed inadequate in such a setting.

On a temporary stage at the intersection of the nave and transepts, dancers from English National Ballet struggled to soar. Probably the only way to deal with the abbey's height would be on wires, emulating the ecstatic angels in Messiaen's Alleluias sereins. Punily earthbound, the performers were no match for the funereal statuary surrounding them.

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<small>[ 18 May 2003, 03:51 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Joanne · **Posted:** Tue May 20, 2003 12:20 am

Review from The Independent.

Quote:

Introducing disciplines that wouldn't otherwise get to meet is also the aim of a series of events at Westminster Abbey. Music written for organ is generally heard in isolation. But last Tuesday, Mixture featured works chosen by the organist Dame Gillian Weir, three of them accompanied by specially commissioned dance.

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Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2003 8:17 am

Mixtures, Westminster Abbey, London, ***
By Nadine Meisner for The Independent

No orchestra pit, no velvet curtain, no tip-up seats. Instead, we gazed at soaring Gothic arches, vivid bouquets of stained glass and a stage positioned so that we were seated on three sides. The evening, the second in a series called Mixtures, built around the great organ of Westminster Abbey, was dedicated to dance. It was certainly different and not a little impressive. The first evening had focused on poetry, and later ones will bring in a choir, for example, and percussion.

"Organ & Dance" combined the commissioned work of three freelance choreographers and the dancers of English National Ballet with the organ-playing of Dame Gillian Weir.

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