A highly enjoyable, and, thanks to the organ, rather remarkable release.

This is a good potpourri-style introduction to the organ works of Charles-Marie Widor. Too often he is of course only remembered for the infamous Toccata from the end of the fifth symphony, all too frequently so poorly played. Good then for the general music enthusiast to have a budget price introduction to some other corners of the Widor oeuvre many of which deserve to be better known than the Toccata. The implication however, that Naxos’s vast Organ Encyclopaedia isn’t going to include a complete Widor cycle strikes me as particularly unfortunate. This is especially true given that Naxos’s library does include a complete Rheinberger cycle.

The most interesting element of this disc though is the choice of instrument. I wrote in glowing terms here about Martin Pasi’s extraordinary dual-temperament instrument in Omaha in the context of Julia Brown’s Buxtehude recording. That was recorded – mostly, I think - in meantone using the 28 stops of the organ available in that temperament. Perhaps more of a challenge to these historically-informed super-eclectic American organs is how they handle repertoire such as that on the present recording. It makes for fascinating listening!

If I’m honest, some of the sounds here are not sounds one associates with the world of Widor. However only occasionally - the mixture at the beginning of track 2 for instance - does an aesthetic clash wander into one’s consciousness enough for it to be uncomfortable. Other idiosyncrasies - the flexible winding – surely there could be a more effective stabiliser for this sort of repertoire - and even the pure thirds in the well-tempered tuning - listen to those big C major chords in the Marche Pontificale! - maybe take a little getting used to, but I managed. The overriding impression of this disc is of an organ of simply enormous panache and personality. The warmth of the 8’ stops, the effectiveness of the swell box, the sheer grunt of the pedal reeds – all are extraordinary. Pasi’s organ doesn’t really evoke Rouen, but it is a work of sheer brilliance. To quote the late, great Stephen Bicknell: “the work of Brombaugh, Fritts, Pasi, Taylor and Boody and even Fritts-Richards operates at a level of artistic quality that simply does not apply in Europe any more, despite the beacons offered by, say, Ahrend and Aubertin.” He wasn’t wrong.

The organ seems to inspire Robert Delcamp to better performances than I’ve enjoyed on his previous Naxos discs - on much lesser instruments. Occasionally still a little ‘square’, his flair for French repertoire is undeniable, and I can therefore recommend this is as a highly enjoyable, and, thanks to the organ, rather remarkable release.

Chris Bragg, MusicWeb International

Japanese organist Mari Fukumoto has won First Prize at two of the world’s leading competitions, the 7th International Organ Competition, Musashino-Tokyo, and the International Organ Competition of the 62nd Organ Week in Nuremberg. She has also broadcast extensively on German radio. Her wide-ranging programme explores the connections between the works of Bruhns and Buxtehude, J.S. Bach and Grigny, and those of Messiaen and the contemporary Romanian-German composer Michael Radulescu.

Acquiring life skills during a challenging, fragile phase of life — learning to belong, to feel seen and included, learning to build friendships — all of this lies at the core of the Nidaros Cathedral Girls' Choir's mission. The Requiem in Andrew Smith's version, commissioned by the choir, is loosely based on the Roman Catholic mass for the dead. Several of the texts of the traditional Requiem Mass have been replaced, however, with biblical references to the tragic fate of children, reflecting the all-too-frequent conflicts of today in which the young are innocent victims. The musical material in the Requiem takes its inspiration from Gregorian chant. Melodic fragments of the ancient requiem mass can be heard in the background. Trygve Seim's improvising saxophone makes up an integral part of the whole, yet lives a life of its own in close companionship with the singers and Ståle Storløkken on organ. The palette is expanded with the glorious strings of TrondheimSolistene in Ståle Kleiberg's Hymn to Love and The Light (with Petra Bjørkhaug, organ). These works add dimensions of faith, hope and love. And light too, when all seems dark. In life there are moments to treasure, and challenges to overcome. In the words of Helge Torvund: The light you need exists.

Vanderbilt University-based organist Carl Smith takes us on a pleasant little tour of some Tudor-era church music, visiting works by important contributors to the period's organ repertoire, most importantly John Redford, Thomas Tallis, and Thomas Tomkins. The pieces are typically short (most less than two minutes) and highly refined in their use of imitation and other developmental, structural devices. Most organs in England during the 16th and 17th centuries contained two manual divisions; pedal keyboards were virtually non-existent. Resources were relatively limited regarding registral compass and stops, especially compared to, say, instruments available in northern Germany at the time, and thus most English organ music of this period is for manuals only, the forms basic and unelaborate. Which is not to say the music by these very accomplished composers is uninteresting or inelegant.


On the contrary, the pieces on this program show the same high level of invention and craft that we hear in these same composers' more lauded choral compositions. Beyond that, it's up to the organist to bring the music to life, to carefully measure and sensitively balance its melodic and harmonic elements relative to period style and the constraints of a given instrument. And for these reasons--and for this repertoire--the choice of instrument is very important. Which brings us to Carl Smith, who is a serious student of English keyboard music and who has selected two different yet entirely appropriate American organs (one of which is featured on the CD cover) for his performances. The first, which he uses for 21 of the disc's 30 tracks, is an organ of modest specifications, dominated by fundamental flue stops; the second is more varied in voices and colors, featuring a nice selection of mutations, mixtures, and reeds, in addition to the basic flue stops. Smith is quite adept at utilizing his resources, keeping things interesting by often subtle variations in color and texture. In other words, this recital is very easy to listen to--and it's expertly played and recorded. Highlights include Redford's Te lucis ante terminum, a distant cousin of Bach's chorale preludes, and the wonderfully weird, anonymous La Mi Re.


I often wonder who is the intended audience for recordings such as this. The liner-note information regarding the organs and registrations employed is totally insufficient to satisfy organ aficionados--and the rather specialized content leaves it pretty much outside the realm of "non-organic" listeners. Fortunately, I like this kind of music and I was lucky enough to get to hear this CD; if you're of like mind, hopefully you'll make a point to hear it too. [11/3/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Also Available: Masaaki Suzuki plays Bach Organ Works

Before releasing his first disc of Bach’s organ works, Masaaki Suzuki had recorded the composer’s complete sacred cantatas, as well as the large-scale choral works and much of the music for harpsichord. His achievements in these fields obscured the fact that Suzuki originally trained as an organist, and began working as such already at the age of twelve. So when Volume 1 of this series reached reviewers around the world, it was something of a revelation to many: the disc went on to be named Choice of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, Diapason d’Or in Diapason and Recording of the Month in Gramophone, which then went on to include it on its list of the ‘50 Greatest Bach Recordings’.

Volume 1 featured the celebrated Schnitger/Hinz organ of Groningen’s Martinikerk in the Netherlands. For this present instalment, Suzuki returned to more familiar ground – the chapel of the Kobe Shoin Women's University where the great majority of his recordings with Bach Collegium Japan have taken place. The chapel houses a French classical organ built in 1983 by Marc Garnier, and on it Suzuki performs a highly symmetrical programme with the large-scale chorale partita BWV 768 at its centre. The work is known as ‘Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig’, although the chorale text that it is structured upon most probably is that of ‘O Jesu, du edle Gabe’. On either side the partita is flanked by an arrangement by Bach of concertos by Vivaldi, and a chorale prelude on ‘Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier’. The disc opens and closes with a Prelude and Fugue, in G major and C major respectively.

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REVIEWS:

Suzuki makes extremely savvy use of his resources; the instrument's almost chamber-music-like clarity and intimacy of the results is most enjoyable. The recorded sound is unusually crisp and clear. Strongly and enthusiastically recommended.

– Fanfare

The life, vitality, affection and fun Suzuki brings to them will ensure they have a lasting place in the annals of Bach organ recordings.

– MusicWeb International

The remarkable harpsichordist/organist/conductor Masaaki Suzuki continues his recordings for BIS with this SACD of organ music of Bach played on the Marc Garnier organ of Shoin Chapel in Kobe, Japan. This is not a large cathedral organ. You won’t hear massive pedal notes, but these are excellent performances, beautifully and naturally recorded.

– Classical CD Review

With this new release IDIS goes on in publishing the early years of Frans Brüggen, conductor and flautist. As a flautist he was one of the most famous scholars of the performance practice of the Baroque age. With Gustave Leonard (organist) he founded in 1981 The Orchestra du XVIII siécle that used only instruments of the baroque age; leading this orchestra he presented various recordings that are very important interpretations of the Baroque repertoire, even to this day. On this release, IDIS presents to the public the 1961 - 1962 studio recordings.

Max Reger's special position within organ repertoire places him for many as the greatest composer for the instrument since J. S. Bach. Drawing on Lutheran tradition, his Fantasia and Fugue, Op. 29 is in the spirit of Bach, though with a characteristic harmonic language which also infuses the varying complexity in the Monologues, Op. 63. The Sonata No. 1, Op. 33 reflects a connection with Liszt, concluding in an impressive Passacaglia. Award winning German organist Christian Barthen performs on an instrument from Reger's period, the 1911 Steinmeyer Organ in Mannheim which is one of the biggest in Germany.