In his heyday, Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924) was the leading organ virtuoso in Finland and also was an influential teacher. While his original works for the instrument often incorporate Finnish hymns, Merikanto’s style, with its traditional parameters and contrapuntal earnestness, is rooted in Germanic rigor. The music, though not strikingly original, holds your attention largely through sturdy craftsmanship and the occasional quirky harmonic sequence (as in the D major Postlude and the Concert Fantasia). Symphonic breadth and linear fluidity characterize the 18 variations within Merikanto’s Passacaglia Op. 80, my favorite of his longer works. By contrast, the E-flat Postlude proves that cloying harmonies and lack of charm make an unpalatable brew.
You probably could pass off Merikanto’s transcriptions of Bach’s E minor Sarabande from the Fifth English Suite and D minor Sarabande from the D minor French Suite as Bach originals; but Schumann’s Evening Song (Op. 85 No. 12) crumbles under the turgid weight of the organ’s sustained chords. Jan Lehtola revels in the rich and pungent registrations of the Doesburg Walcker Organ, built in 1916, and his performances are assured, shapely, and completely convincing.
