St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane
October 25, 2018

In the elevated world of organ music, the symphonies by French composer Louis Vierne (1870-1937) represent the Everest of the repertoire. They are the apogee of a semi-blind musician who was organist at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris for over 40 years, and who died of a heart attack in the middle of a recital.

These gigantic works – six of them composed over 30 years – require enormous stamina from both organist and audience.

A small band of devotees gathered early Friday evening in the cavernous expanse of St John’s Cathedral, nestled somewhat incongruously amidst the concrete and glass jungle of the Brisbane CBD. We had come to witness – ‘hear’ hardly seems the appropriate word! – the first of three recitals by the visiting British-Australian virtuoso, Joseph Nolan, currently Organist and Master of Music at St George’s Cathedral in Perth. Mercifully, Dr Nolan chose to present only two of the symphonies in each of his three programs. Each symphony lasts around 30 minutes. This concert featured Symphonies No 1 and No 2. To have presented more in a single sitting would have reached beyond saturation point.

These dense scores are truly gorgeous...