Sometimes the best new things are old. That was certainly the case Saturday evening, as St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral unveiled and rededicated its newly restored 1938 Kimball pipe organ.
The massive 5,949-pipe instrument, designated as having exceptional historic merit by the Organ Historical Society, underwent a 2½-year cleaning and rehabilitation by the Waltham, Mass.-based Spencer Organ Co.
To celebrate the completion of that $1.6 million project, a sold-out audience got the first opportunity Saturday to hear the old organ anew during a spellbinding recital by Grammy Award-winning soloist Paul Jacobs.
Put simply, the organ sounded wonderful — clear, full-throated and superbly tuned, with a rich, panoramic sound.
To show it off, Jacobs presented a program of often little-known works. Inside of the musical fireworks typically expected at the beginning of a concert of this kind, he opened with Edward Elgar’s understated Sonata in G major, Op. 28.
The organist offered a probing, reflective and moving take on this work, which offered abundant opportunities for nuanced tonal shadings that revealed both Jacobs’ artistry and the beauty of this symphonic organ. To liven things up, he closed the first half with a spirited version of Elgar’s best-known work, at least in this country: “Pomp and Circumstance.”
To start the second half, Jacobs again had another surprise in store — the virtually unknown Suite for Organ by African-American composer Florence Beatrice Price.
A kind of “Rhapsody in Blue” for the organ, this piece is tinged with sounds of the blues and spirituals, and Jacobs seemed right at home in its idiomatic style.
Johann Sebastian Bach is almost a must on an organ concert, and the remaining lineup included Jacobs’ first-rate version of the composer’s Trio Sonata No. 4 in E minor, with its devilishly difficult, three-line counterpoint.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
