[Review] Organ Concert Unites Audience with Spontaneous Hymn
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Organist-composer Kim Gilbeom held his first solo organ recital "Gratitude" at Wuduseong Catholic Church in Chuncheon on the 30th. The program spanned Baroque, Romantic and contemporary works, showcasing the organ’s wide palette that can mimic wind and string timbres. Positioned on the church’s upper organ loft, Kim performed while the congregation watched a live video feed in the nave to focus on sound. Highlights included Bach’s devotional piece, Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No.3, Fauré’s Requiem movement, and Bellier’s dramatic Toccata. Kim also premiered his own cycle “Organ Meditations” (nos. 18–21) — with No.18 “Gratitude” evoking a prayerful gaze heavenward, Nos.19–20 as solemn petitions to the Virgin Mary, and No.21 suggesting the joy of the Lord’s Supper. A modern premiere by composer Jo Jinok, “Festival March for Organ,” added contemporary grandeur. The concert closed with an improvised rendition of Catholic hymn No.421 “I Am the Light of the World” (a congregational hymn), where audience singing and layered organ variations created a unifying, orchestral effect.
