Are there any miracles left in the modern world? Is the concept of musical genius - represented by flawless technique and effortless execution - nothing but a myth? Can our digitally-inured society even still recognize raw talent in its pure state?
To all those who question the full capacity of human ability, I have but two words: Cameron Carpenter. Cameron, 28, is an organist whose facility and flamboyance on the King of Instruments defies description. He blew me away when I saw him last October at Trinity, and continues to blaze his way through organ lofts everywhere from here to Moscow. When I heard he was performing this past Saturday on the Aeolian-Skinner organ at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, I made a point of being there, despite the surrounding horror known as Times Square.
The church was packed when I arrived halfway through the concert on Saturday (I was held up by Alex Waterman's performance that same afternoon), and filled with microphones, all recording the event for Telarc. He played five Bach preludes and fugues, followed by his own Serenade on the name B-A-C-H, followed still by three encores. All you could do was sit and shake your head at the majesty of it all.
Cameron has said more than once that he wants to bring this music to a wider audience through his showmanship - though, to be honest, his glam rock look is more
Diane Bish than David Bowie. No matter: he'll be turning them away by droves before long with his talent alone. (More pics below and
here.)