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One gets the sense that Finzi knew exactly what he wanted with the opening to this powerful anthem. Looking toward the end of the introduction, the organist encounters triadic triplets in contrary motion: a move one might expect to find in the coronation music of William Walton -- a triumphant shout indeed! This device, while powerful in its own right, also holds sway over the entire fanfare and helps dictate a tempo that is more majestic than virtuosic.

But Finzi's detailed articulation markings (ever present in the work of British composers, it seems) demand some very particular things from the outset of the work.

In the first bar, the half note is dotted; in the second the half note is undotted with a rest following. This is a key distinction, yet many organists will gloss over it by adding a Gleasonized rest in the first bar.

For guidance, the organist need only look to the choral entrance: "God is gone up". The dotted half note "God" elides with the eights "is gone".

Sung, it might be rendered "Gah . . diz gaw | nup"

Note repetition conventions be damned. I would vote for a fuller realization of Finzi's first note.

The tenuto markings on in the third bar do seem to benefit from a bit more separation.

And while, we are on the topic, the melodic contour of the fanfare is a bit remeniscent of the popular "Star Wars" theme, but eveyone knows the real "Star Wars" contender in Anglican church music is Dyson in D.

Labels: Finzi, organ