I had visited this church – which was commissioned by second generation Carlsberg brewer, Carl Jacobsen - several times with my students in the past but had never played the very beautiful 1890 Cavaillé-Coll organ, which, despite its modest size, fits the building like a glove.
As one would expect, the reeds are superb and the customary four foundation stops on the G.O. complement each other perfectly in combination, or in a 'fonds doux' configuration, or just the delicious Flûte harmonique alone, as can be heard in this recording made some days before the concert, while registering the programme (this was not intended as a recorded performance!).
This is, above all, a musical instrument; the tactile sensation feels at one with the way the organ reacts and sounds. This recording does not do it justice but I hope it gives at least some impression of what I’m trying to describe. This probably sounds awful, but the soaring ‘jeux de fonds’ entry on high Bb in the development section brought a smile to my face in this concert. There is something magical and organic about the way these stops work together, as well as in combination with Widor‘s ‘orchestration’.
Thank you to Sonja for assisting in the first half and to Sven Verner Olsen and Kasper for their assistance at the CC. Special thanks to Sven Verner for the invitation and also for taking Sonja and me to see several sights the following day, including the Grundvigskirken, which I had wanted to visit for many years and certainly didn't disappoint! The enormous collection of harmoniums housed in the Jesuskirken will have to wait for another visit...