JMSCD10 - Afrika Hymnus by Stefans Grové
First Complete Recording
Price GBP £13-50
The distinguished South African composer Stefans Grové (1922-2014) wrote the tripartite Afrika Hymnus between 1991 and 2008. Its eleven movements make it the most expansive concert work for solo organ by any African composer. This is the first complete recording. Herman Jordaan was a pupil of the composer at the University of Pretoria and has studied the work in depth. He has won several international prizes, including First Prize at the prestigious St Albans International Organ Festival in the UK in 2003. The 20 page booklet includes photos of the composer, the organist, and the organ and a long note by Herman Jordaan on the work performed.
Stefans Grové
Herman Jordaan
Track Listing | ||
Afrika Hymnus I | ||
| 1. | 1. Hail Africa, Mysterious Continent | 16:08 |
| 2. | 2. Song of an Old Woman in her Hut at Dawn | 6:32 |
| 3. | 3. Night Ritual | 8:06 |
Afrika Hymnus II | ||
| 4. | 1. Double Scene: Young Women Dancing; Drumming with Hand-Clapping | 4:46 |
| 5. | 2. Afrika Madonna | 7:28 |
| 6. | 3. Vuka! | 3:50 |
| 7. | 4. Before my Open Window: the Infinite Night | 7:01 |
| 8. | 5. The Singer of Praise | 7:20 |
Afrika Hymnus III | ||
| 9. | 1. Circle Dance around the Sacrificial Flame | 3:32 |
| 10. | 2. Voices from the Darkness | 9:48 |
11. | 3. Liberation | 3:58 |
TOTAL PLAYING TIME 78-35
Audio Samples
Excerpt from Double Scene (1' 30")
Excerpt from Vuka (1' 14")
Reviews
…an impressive and original work. It benefits from its descriptive elements not being too literal – subtlety of expression is at its heart, and it employs some very effective playing and registrational techniques to achieve this. Herman’s playing is outstanding.
Dr Andrew Mayes
Grové's student Herman Jordaan makes vivid and persuasive use of St Albans Cathedral's Harrison & Harrison organ in a valuable addition to the catalogue.
**** Michael Quinn (Choir and Organ, July / August 2023)
Herman Jordaan….delivers the music with lucidity, sensitivity, and commitment: and the St Albans organ has the clarity of speech and variety of timbre that it demands. A sometimes challenging but welcome discovery.
Chris Maxim (Organists’ Review)
…arguably the finest concert organ work by any composer…of African heritage. It is surely, by any standards, a masterpiece – such as Messiaen, had he been aware of it, would have embraced. …it would be difficult to imagine a more committed or more understanding interpreter….than Herman Jordaan, whose tempos, phrasing, registration and sheer conceptual understanding of the individualities and totally expressive nature of the music are surely of a standard that cannot be bettered. Here is a masterpiece of late 20th – early 21st century organ music, finely performed, admirably recorded and presented. It is comprehensively recommended.
***** Robert Matthew-Walker, The Organ