Organ
Instrument
Recordings featuring the pipe organ, from Baroque liturgical repertoire to large concert works. The instrument and the building it stands in shape the sound together.
942 products
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Van Veen: Piano Music, Vol. 2 / Audience, Flute Octet Blow Up
Brilliant Classics · Jul 2018CD$56.99 -
SaleOrgan Recital: Paukert, Karel - DANDRIEU, J.-F. / DAQUIN, L.
Azica Records · Jul 2005CD$18.99$9.49 -
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SaleScattolin: Suoni e rime sparse - Choral, Vocal and Instrumental Works
Tactus · Aug 2021CD$21.99$10.99 -
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SaleSuddeutsche Orgelmeister, Vol. 5: Hans Leo Hassler / Kelemen
Oehms Classics · Apr 2017SACD$19.99$9.99 -
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Hertel: Sinfonias; Organ Concerto; Cello Concertos / Messerschmidt, Schönheit, Merseburger Hofmusik
CPO · Aug 2021CD$18.99 -
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Van Veen: Piano Music, Vol. 2 / Audience, Flute Octet Blow Up
Jeroen van Veen has won international success with albums of Satie, Part, Glass and Riley. These are only some of the most significant composers whose work he has recorded for Brilliant Classics in building a library on record of minimalist piano music. Simplicity, repetition and appealing melody are the qualities shared by all the composers who subscribe to this aesthetic, and they underlie van Veen’s own compositions. Although subtitled Volume 2, this is the third album to focus exclusively on the pianist as composer. Books 1 and 2 of his Minimal Piano Preludes were reissued in 2016, and won high praise from MusicWeb International. Further preludes feature in a release of his piano music, and this sequel takes us up to Minimal Prelude No.60, a ‘tango for organ’. “All my music is about time and space,” says van Veen. “The duration of music is an essential part of the concept in my music. The concept of music, specifically my minimal oriented music, only can exist in time. The slow progression, building of the material, the motifs and the search for new sounds is audible in this [album].” All the works featured here were composed between 2010 and 2018. Continuum is a concertante work for piano and flute octet. Incanto is another album-length piece, entirely composed in an unusual 11/8 time signature. Ripalmania is written for six pianos, a scoring which creates an entrancing effect. In Velvet Piano van Veen explores the timbral possibilities of pianos prepared with objects after the style of John Cage, though without the American composer’s aim of disconcerting the listener. The final portion of the release is a celebration of minimalist jazz, in which the border between composition and improvisation almost vanishes.
Frozen Time
Die Schuke-orgel Der Erloserkirche Jerusalem
Gronau Chorale Variations
Fasolo: Magnificat, Salve Regina, Ricercates
American Classic Widor, Vol. 1
Zachow: Complete Organ Music / Simone Stella
The industrious Simone Stella has produced critically acclaimed complete sets of keyboard music by Buxtehude, Bohm, Reincken, Walther, Froberger and Pachelbel. Now he ventures further off the beaten track with the complete surviving organ music of Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (1663-1712), a Leipzig-born musician long known to posterity almost exclusively as the first and formative teacher of the prodigious George Frideric Handel. Over the course of Handel’s teenage years he became a proficient violinist and organist as well as composer, thanks to the efforts of Zachow, whose library included much of the best music then published in Europe. His own music has remained undeservedly in the shadows, for Zachow can be counted among the most distinguished and original composers of keyboard music in the generation before J.S. Bach. There are three- and four-voice chorale settings and variations, devotional in spirit but full of lively contrasts. More ambitious are the chorale fugues and partitas, which demonstrate considerable ingenuity on Zachow’s part as he embeds the old themes within intricate textures while maintaining a vividly drawn musical line. Most interesting in this respect are the 12 variations on Jesu meine Freude, which inevitable invite and by no means suffer from comparison with Bach’s motet. Zachow’s music evidently exploits the untempered tuning and the bright timbres of the instruments of his day, which Simone Stella has respected in his choice of a modern Pinchi organ at the Auditorium Varrone (former church of San Giorgio) in Rieti. With only a single rival recording available (at full price), Simone Stella’s new set commends itself to all collectors of Baroque organ music.
Scattolin: Suoni e rime sparse - Choral, Vocal and Instrumental Works
The present release synthesizes some stages characterizing the composition path of Pier Paolo Scattolin: from a cappella vocality to instrumentalism with stylistic dynamics sometimes distant but all having in common the research on sound, from the linguistic phoneme to the eclectic and sometimes experimental use of instrumental emission. The path winds through almost forty years of continuous investigation and dissection of both choral and instrumental sound, the latter of a chamber/soloistic character and in some cases concerted and intersected with the voice. In the a cappella choral repertoire a varied anthology collects poetic and literary texts by Dante Alighieri, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Alda Merini, Umberto Saba, Emily Dickinson, Alessandro Striggio, Agnolo Poliziano, Alceo, Saffo, Ipponatte, Enzo Iacchetti, Agnese Troilo and the composer himself. Some choral pieces are concerted with the Ensemble of ancient instruments Circe from Bologna, whose presence stems from the search for a sound language proceeding towards the stripping and essentiality of a music and a sound coherent with the setting of the poetic texts in order to transfer their instrumental characteristics to contemporary musical expression. In some pieces the solo voices are added as an almost instrumental colour, a timbre enrichment of the sonorities of the organ, the recorders, and the trumpets.
Christmas Bells - Organ Music from Belfast Cathedral
For this recording Organist Matthew Owens presents a diverse recital of some of the greatest Christmas music ever written for the instrument. Traditional tunes, whether Lutheran chorales, plainchant, French noëls, or medieval carols, have provided the inspiration for much Christmas organ music throughout the years, with much of this program made up of pieces based on such tunes, from J.S. Bach’s Canonic variations on Vom Himmel hoch to Louis-Claude Daquin’s Noël Suisse. This recital also draws on more contemporary sources and presents several world premiere recordings including Howard Skempton’s Christmas Bells and Gary Davison’s Seven Versets on Divinum Mysterium, both of which were written specially for this recording.
A Belfast Christmas
Choral music has always played a significant and central role at Belfast Cathedral, since its consecration in 1904. This strong choral tradition continues to this day with the recently formed all-adult, fully professional vocal ensemble. This ‘new’ cathedral choir brings together some of the finest singers in Northern Ireland who lead the liturgy and worship of Belfast Cathedral and are featured here in their debut album for Resonus Classics. Featuring a varied program of seasonal carols from composers including Elizabeth Poston, John Rutter and Philip Ledger, this album celebrates Christmas from Northern Ireland’s national cathedral.
Partners in Time, Pt. 2: Boundless Notes
Christmas With Sonoro / Ferris, Higgins
So many Christmas collections in recent years, for some reason mostly from British choirs, have to their credit highlighted new music—but much of it unsingable by any but the most accomplished ensembles, and so difficult for the ear to reconcile alongside starkly more “accessible” works that the listening experience becomes uneasy and even intermittently unpleasant. Which is why I warily listened to the first several selections here—and found myself thoroughly and continuously surprised as the disc progressed. Here is a choral Christmas program that you can listen to straight through without fear, combining the delight of discovery—new composers, new music and texts, new arrangements of traditional carols—with the comfort and joy of a few beloved, favorite, familiar anchors, from Joubert’s There is no rose and Howells’ A spotless rose, to Warlock’s Bethlehem Down.
Beginning with Malcolm Archer’s A little child there is yborn, its bouncy, jovial character reminiscent of a John Rutter setting, the program progresses through a wide array of traditional texts and sometimes tunes—The angel Gabriel; In the bleak midwinter; Tomorrow shall be my dancing day; The Holly and the Ivy; Coventry Carol—but in inventive and always agreeable new realizations by composers and arrangers such as Paul Spicer (whose In a Field as I Lay is a highlight), Gareth Treseder (Blessed be that Maid Marie—another gem), Michael Higgins, Becky McGlade, Betty Roe, and Sally Beamish. And it doesn’t hurt that the singing by the 17 voices of Sonoro—yes, a professional British chamber choir—is consistently well-tuned, perfectly balanced, and projects a vibrant, characterful sound that gives the impression of concert-like spontaneity—a rare and welcome effect on a recording. The sooner you get this the more time you’ll have to listen. Highly recommended.
– ClassicsToday.com
W. F. Bach: Organ Works / Julia Brown
The CPO disc promises us "the complete organ works" by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. This has to be taken with a grain of salt. To begin with, it is not easy to make a clear distinction between pieces for any keyboard and compositions specifically intended for the organ. Obviously pieces for two manuals and pedal can only be played at the organ. Those include the seven chorale preludes and the two Fugues in F and g minor respectively which Friedhelm Flamme included in his recording. Inexplicably he did not include the Fugue in F (F 36 / A 91) which Julia Brown has recorded. On the other hand Flamme plays several pieces which don't require a pedal; these include the Fantasias in d minor and c minor which open and respectively close, his programme. Also no pedal is required in the Eight Fugues (F 31 / A 81-88), but here Friedemann has specifically indicated that they can be played either at the "Clavier" (any keyboard without pedals) or the organ.
Although these two discs contain duplications, they also complement each other in that both offer pieces which don't appear on the other disc. The two Fantasias I have just mentioned are absent from Julia Brown's disc - she played them at the harpsichord on Naxos 8.570530 - whereas she included various fugues which are not in the two catalogues of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's oeuvre. The reason is that they are not considered authentic. It is rather odd that this is not mentioned in the liner-notes. Authentic or not, it is nice to have them available, even though they have been recorded before - for instance by Leo van Doeselaar on Etcetera KTC 2503, 1984.
One can understand that they are considered doubtful, as some are very baroque in style and not very different from Johann Sebastian's fugues. The Fugue in B flat (track 16) is a good example. But that in itself doesn't tell against their authenticity. Listening to the chorale preludes one will notice their rooting in a past even before J.S. The cantus firmus is virtually unornamented, and Friedemann makes use of so-called Vorimitation in which the chorale melody is anticipated in the other voices. It was not only used by Sebastian but is also a feature of the chorale preludes by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706). Other fugues begin in a rather old-fashioned manner but then turn towards the fashion of the time towards the end. This is typical of Wilhelm Friedemann who in his oeuvre moves to and fro between the various styles of his time.
The number of fugues he composed is remarkable and this is considered one of the reasons he fell from grace towards the end of his career. The form of the fugue had become largely obsolete, and when Friedemann attempted to get the Eight Fugues printed, publishers refused. These are very likely characteristic of his style of playing, and that could well have been the reason that in the last stage of his life he wasn't in much demand as an organist any more. It is assumed that he mostly improvised during his public concerts; that is probably the reason so little organ music by him has been preserved.
The duplications allow us to compare the interpretations of these two organists which are quite different. A look at the track-lists reveals that Julia Brown is consistently slower than Friedhelm Flamme. It is mostly not possible to decide which tempo is right. The Fugue in F (F 33 / A 90), for instance, works in both performances quite well. The slower reading by Julia Brown lends it a kind of gravity and seriousness which suits its character as it is reminiscent of the fugues in Sebastian's Well-tempered Clavier. Elsewhere the slow tempo works against the music, for instance in the Fugue in c minor (track 6) where the trills are unnatural. One could probably characterise Ms Brown's performances as analytical: every detail is exposed, thanks not only to the relatively slow tempi but also the registration which is mostly modest and allows for every single voice to be followed.
The differences between these two discs are also due to the organs. Julia Brown plays an instrument built by Paul Fritts and Company in 1999, which was clearly inspired by the German baroque organ. Friedhelm Flamme also plays a modern organ by Martin Hillebrand dating from 2008. Here new stops have been built in the style of the 18th century, particularly based on the disposition of the organ by Christian Vater which was built in this church in the 1730s. Some pipework from the organ Carl Giesecke had built in the same church in the 1860s has been incorporated into this organ. Because of that the sound is quite different, mellower and less penetrating than the sound of the organ Julia Brown plays. I don't want to choose between them. The Eight Fugues come off beautifully at the Hillebrand. So do the chorale preludes, but in these somewhat old-fashioned pieces the Fritts organ is probably closer to what Bach had at his disposal in his earlier years.
Both booklets leave something to be desired. I have already identified that the doubtful authenticity of several pieces in Julia Brown's recording is not mentioned. Otherwise the liner-notes are not very specific about the various pieces. The CPO booklet contains some general information about Wilhelm Friedemann as an organist, but little analysis of the music. The track-lists should have given the numbers in Peter Wollny's catalogue as well, in particular as Falck's catalogue is out of date. I have added them on the basis of the work-list in New Grove.
Both recordings have their merits and those who have an interest in Wilhelm Friedemann's music shouldn't miss either of them.
-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International
Suddeutsche Orgelmeister, Vol. 5: Hans Leo Hassler / Kelemen
Both organs recorded on this album resound optimally within their respective church interiors thanks to the outstanding acoustics there. The very different sizes of these interiors are ultimatley responsible for the diverging interpretations on the two instruments. The recurring long note values of the Gregorian chant in the Mass awaken the feeling of timelessness - here, the tremendous monumentality of the performances can make a maximum effect within the large space of Klosterneuburg Monastery Church. The smaller Gabelbacher organ evokes a nimble, chamber-music orientated manner of playing which conveys to the listener a certain closeness to the events within the much smaller space. Hassler's keyboard music assumes that the player will use a single manual, and this consideration was observed on the present recording; solo registrations were as yet unknown in Hassler's time. Of course, "sparing" registrations were occasionally used on the large organ of Klosterneuburg.
Orgelpunkt / Ludwig
| Rudolf von Beckerath built his very first organ for the St. Elisabeth Church in Hamburg. The "Opus 1" of the later world-famous organ builder has recently been restored to its former glory. Despite the extensive expansion of the instrument, it can still be played unchanged in its original state due to a technical refinement. Jens Ludwig presents the work with a personal selection and decided highlights of the baroque. Beckerath's original specification of 1951 could not be fully realized at that time for reasons of cost. 11 stops on two manuals had to suffice. Seven more stops were added a few years later, and this is the extent to which the instrument existed until its restoration in 2019. The clever double console houses Beckerath's original console on one side and its modern counterpart with four manuals opposite, which control both the "old" organ and its extension. This is an ideal symbiosis between conservation of the monument and innovative function. Whether Eurovision Fanfare, Toccata in D minor, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Handel's "Largo" or Bach-Gounod's "Ave Maria": you can almost sing along with this program. It is all the more beautiful to listen to the wonderful register colors, such as the trumpets in the main and swell sections in the pieces by Jeremiah Clarke, or the crumhorn in "Jesus bleibet meine Freude". The instrument is also excellently suited for chamber music or continuo playing. Here we hear Telemann's rarely performed viola concerto or CPE Bach's Hamburg Sonata in G major for flute and continuo. Most of the pieces have a direct connection to Hamburg. In the case of Telemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, this is obvious from their biographies. Bach and Handel also have their Hanseatic points of contact. And the pieces from France and England are easily justified by Hamburg's well-known internationalism. |
Hertel: Sinfonias; Organ Concerto; Cello Concertos / Messerschmidt, Schönheit, Merseburger Hofmusik
Ponchielli: Complete Organ Music
Bertoldo & Borgo: Complete Organ Music / Manuel Tomadin
Among the most popular of pianistic genres now, boasting virtuoso showpieces from Bach to Prokofiev, the keyboard toccata first appeared in print in 1591, within this collection of work by Sperindio Bertoldo. Sadly the collection only appeared posthumously, for Bertoldo died around 1570, at the age of 40 or so, at the height of an illustrious if eventful career. He had become organist of Padua Cathedral in his early 20s, but in 1567 he was suspended for insubordination. Having evidently shown appropriate contrition, he was reinstated, and remained in post until his death, having at that stage published only books of madrigals. Yet his organ works are equally worthy of revival, anticipating the florid brilliance and spatial effects of the Venetian masters such as the Gabrielis. Another volume published in 1591 was dedicated to Canzoni francese: instrumental versions of French songs by Crecquillon, Janequin and Clemens non Papa and these are elaborately decorated with imitation and ornamentation like a side-chapel to a Rococo church. Scarcely better known is the scant output of Cesare Borgo, who was born and died in Milan and worked there as an organist-friar, rising to become organist for the then-newly built instrument at Milan Cathedral. Published in Venice in 1599, this collection of canzone is also inflected with fashionable French-style harmonies though given the titles of vernacular Italian songs whose origins are now mostly lost. The attraction of Borgo’s canzone lies in their often gentle, reflective explorations of the melodic material within a sturdy ABA structure. They are played on this new recording on the organ installed by Vincenzo Colombi in 1523 at the Chiesa del Santissimo Corpo di Cristo in Valvasone in the province of Pordenone.