MENDELSSOHN Organ Sonatas, op. 65 • Jonathan Dimmock (org) • LOFT 1112 (77:44)


Felix Mendelssohn, in addition to being one of the most respected composers, conductors, and one of the greatest pianists of his day, was also one of the finest organists and improvisers of his age. At least on two occasions he produced large-scale collections for the instrument: the Three Preludes and Fugues, op. 37, and the Six Organ Sonatas, op. 65. The sonatas come from the last decade of his life, but rather than being a grand forward-looking statement, they are a synthesis of his lifelong interest in Baroque forms and textures (Bach in particular here) and his own personal style, a fusion that can be seen as early as the youthful Characteristic Pieces, op. 7.


As with many organ recitals, the overall success of a performance is dependent on a variety of factors. The mechanical ability of the organist and his or her personal taste in registration are both important keys. (Mendelssohn himself states that “much depends in these sonatas on the right choice of the stops. … I have given only a general indication of the kind of effect intended to be produced, without giving a precise list of the particular stops to be used.”) Another of the important factors is the instrument that is chosen for the recording and the acoustic of the recording space itself. These last two facets do not always come together fruitfully. Oftentimes, even when an attractive-sounding organ is chosen, the space is less than ideal. Other times, the reverse can be said. Happily, when both of these aspects, along with a talented organist, come together, there is the possibility of a great recording, as is the case here.


Jonathan Dimmock, who has held posts everywhere from Westminster Abbey in London to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, chooses the beautiful-sounding 1787 Holzhey organ in the Kloster Weißenau in Ravensburg, Germany, an organ which, according to him, is virtually unknown. And, if that is true, it is a pity. The organ, while being on the smaller side, has some very attractive features; Dimmock so properly describes its sound as “strong, without being strident, warm, without being muddy, clear, without being self-consciously bright.” These all take place in a stunning acoustical setting. Dimmock, throughout, chooses excellently balanced and nuanced registrations that characterize these sonatas well, from the aggressive opening of the First Sonata to the calm chorale of the Sixth Sonata’s theme. His ease of the difficult pedal passages, along with his free, almost improvisatory way, does much to bring life to these compositions, which in some hands sounds simply mundane.


Though, like many composers, Mendelssohn is remembered for only a handful of works, these lesser-known sonatas provide a well-balanced view of his freedom in formal structures (sonatas that, rather than using sonata-allegro structures, are built more like multimovement suites), elaborate counterpoint, melodic invention, and improvisational skills that were such a part of their composer. Dimmock’s performances are sensitive to many of the details that make this music special: he is lively at times, dramatic when necessary, and equally meditative when called for. Heartily recommended.


FANFARE: Scott Noriega

San Francisco-based organist Jonathan Dimmock enjoys an international career, a fact made abundantly clear by his truly worldwide vision for repertoire and recording. For his fifth recording with the Loft records family he performs on the glorious organ at the Cathedral of Saint Bavo, the “Grote Kerk” of Haarlem, Netherlands.

Felix Mendelssohn's colleagues and contemporaries regarded the grand sonatas as the most important cycle of organ compositions since the time of Johann Sebastian Bach. They interpreted the expressive and dramatic movements of the Sonatas with poetic meaning, based on what a contemporary critic called their spiritual dimensions. This viewpoint challenges the common contemporary understanding and interpretation of these works. Widely considered one of the greatest organ virtuosi of his time, Mendelssohn played the cycle as a whole at an informal premier in Frankfurt in 1845. Conceived and perceived as a single large-scale work, the Sonatas seem to have a symphonic scope. Yet, eighteenth-century central German organs were Mendelssohn's preferred style. The descriptions of Mendelssohn's sensitive touch, differentiated articulation, brilliant technique, and expressive playing, as well as his original metronome indications, inspire us to take a fresh approach to the Sonatas. In recent years, Hans Davidsson's studies of the Sonatas and early nineteenth-century performance have brought new perspectives to our understanding of these works. Traditionally the individual Sonatas might be "authentically" played as single, separate pieces on a German Romantic organ, contemporaneous with Mendelssohn's lifetime. Instead, Davidsson has chosen to play the complete eighteen-movement cycle on an early nineteenth-century organ, an instrument with unique character, sensitivity, transparency, and rich color. For the performer, this instrument brings new interpretive possibilities to the Sonata cycle, based on what is known about Mendelssohn's own performances. For the listener, these new interpretations are given voice on one of the best preserved historical organs in northern Europe- the instrument built for the church in Gammalkil, Sweden, by Pehr Schiorlin in 1806.

A prominent element in the shared culture of cities of the Hanseatic League were the pipe organs. Jonathan Moyer begins a series on these remarkable instruments in Lübeck, on an organ with pipework from the mid-1400s. Expanded by Stellwagen in 1637, the "north" organ in St. Jakobi was an important model in the revival of historical styles of organ building in the 20th century. Jonathan William Moyer maintains a dynamic career as church musician, concert organist, and pedagogue. He is the David S. Boe chair and assistant professor of organ at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is organist of the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland, OH, where he oversees 2 pipe organs (Richards, Fowkes and Skinner/Aeolian) and a 47-bell Dutch carillon. Moyer has also been a visiting lecturer in organ at the Hochschule für Musik in Lübeck and specializes in a vast repertoire from the renaissance to the 21st century. He received degrees in organ and piano from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Bob Jones University.

Part of a series of concert recordings celebrating 50 years of the Flentrop organ at Saint Mark's Cathedral (Seattle). Roger W. Sherman performs one of the popular "All-Bach" concerts that are an annual feature of Saint mark's Concert series. Roger W. Sherman is the Associate Organist Emeritus of St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, and Artistic Director, Emeritus of the Orcas Choral Society. He has also served as Executive Director of the Westfield Center, an early music organization devoted to historic keyboard instruments. For more than 25 years he is also been host and producer of the popular Organ Loft radio program, broadcast in Seattle and Eugene. A native of Seattle, Mr. Sherman attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where studied with Arthur Poister, Fenner Douglass, and William Porter. He was Director of Music for St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Milwaukee from 1974-1979, and taught organ and harpsichord at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. During his tenure in Milwaukee, he was a popular harpsichord soloist with many groups, especially the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. In addition to the recordings listed below, he has made recordings with Fred Sautter (principal Trumpet for the Oregon Symphony), the Imperial Brass, and the Dale Warland Singers.