To celebrate Friends of the Caird Hall Organ’s tenth anniversary, the charitable organisation is pulling out all the stops.
Launched in 2010 to promote and conserve the historic Harrison & Harrison organ, which was designed by the famous blind organist Alfred Hollins of Edinburgh, and installed in 1923. It is recognised as one of the finest instruments of its type.
The Caird Hall’s new Steinway grand piano will be making its stage debut alongside the organ in what’s being billed as an “unmissable” performance by the Scott Brothers Duo on March 15.
Brothers Jonathan and Tom Scott have toured the globe together as well as enjoying successful solo careers. Organist Jonathan has performed on the Caird Hall organ twice before and describes it as a “fabulous instrument”.
He says: “It will be a great venue for piano and organ. Our concerts of piano and organ duos are really popular and the sound of the piano really complements the organ. Both instruments can be delicate as well as powerful, and they can both be soloist or accompanist.”
The afternoon concert was organised with support from Dundee Festival Trust and the programme includes a variety of pieces such as Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.2.
The pièce de résistance, however, will be an exclusive performance of a piece called Polonaise, which has been composed, in part, by Jonathan.
In an uncanny series of events surrounding a manuscript in FOCHO’s archives, he has reimagined a lost part for piano that would have accompanied a piece for organ composed by none other than the Caird Hall organ’s designer Alfred Hollins.
Jonathan explains: “Hollins is known to have written a piece called Polonaise for piano and organ which he performed at Victoria Hall, Hanley – a venue where we perform organ and piano duos every year. The music has never been found, and people have been looking for it for many years.
“When FOCHO contacted us and told us they had an organ part for an unknown piece called Polonaise it was suggested that this could be related to, or one part of the missing piece.”
But the plot thickens still. The manuscripts were never published in a conventional sense – only handwritten, presumably by Hollins’ wife due to the fact he was blind.
The organ manuscript was gifted to FOCHO in its early beginnings by Scottish organist Douglas Brotchie, who now resides in Iceland. Douglas recalls: “I bought the Hollins manuscript in Edinburgh – probably in a small second-hand bookshop in Thistle Street round about 1965.”
FOCHO has made attempts to locate the lost handwritten piano manuscript but members fear it may be lost forever. Anyone with information can get in touch by emailing: secretary@focho.org
- Scott Brothers Duo perform at Caird Hall, Dundee on March 15
