Under the motto "Dancing Organ," Czech organist Michael Bartek has compiled a varied program of dance pieces from different eras, including original compositions and some virtuoso transcriptions. In addition to popular works, there are also a few surprises to discover. This is performed on "his" Kuhn organ in the Richterswil Church near Zurich. For this SACD, the sound has been optimally captured in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Unter dem Motto "Dancing Organ" hat der tchechische Organist Michael Bartek ein vielseitiges Programm von Tanzstucken verschiedener Epochen - Originalkompositionen und teils virtuose Transkriptionen - zusammengestellt. Neben popularen Werken gibt es auch so manche uberraschung zu entdecken. Als Instrument dient ihm "seine" Kuhn-Orgel in der Richterswiler Kirche, nahe Zurich. Fur diese SACD wurde der Klang optimal als Stereo- und auch als 5.1 Surround-Aufnahme eingefangen.

Internationally acclaimed concert organist Zuzana Ferjencikova, who is currently working on a complete recording of Jean Guillou's organ works for AEOLUS, can be heard on her new album "Legendes" with her own transcriptions of works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, and Liszt. The centerpieces are Beethoven's Grande Sonate Pathetique and Liszt's second legend of St. Francis, as well as Ferjencikova's fascinating arrangement of the aria "Tristis est anima mea" from his oratorio "Christus." The Seifert instrument used for the recording is at the heart of the numerous musical activities of "Orgelwelten Ratingen" and, thanks to it's tonal diversity, is extremely versatile. The new SACD (stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround) reproduces the sound of the instrument, distributed in several locations in the room, in all it's multidimensionality with remarkable plasticity. Die international gefragte Konzertorganistin Zuzana Ferjencikova, die bei AEOLUS an einer Gesamtaufnahme der Orgelwerke von Jean Guillou arbeitet, ist auf ihrem neuen Album "Legendes" mit ihren eignenen Transkriptionen von Werken Beethovens, Mozarts, Schumanns und Liszts zu horen. I'm Zentrum stehen dabei vor Beethovens Grande Sonate Pathetique und Liszts zweite Franziskuslegende sowie Ferjencikovas faszinierende Bearbeitung der Arie "Tristis est anima mea" aus dessen Oratorium "Christus". Das fur die Aufnahme verwendete Instrument der Firma Seifert steht i'm Zentrum der zahlreichen musikalischen Aktivitaten der "Orgelwelten Ratingen" und ist Dank seiner Klangfarbenvielfalt extrem vielseitig einsetzbar. Die neue SACD (Stereo und 5.1 Multichannel Surround) gibt den Klang des an mehreren Orten i'm Raum verteilten Instrumentes in seiner Mehrdimensionalitat au�erst plastisch wieder.

The Wurzburg cathedral organist Stefan Schmidt studied with Daniel Roth and in this previously unpublished recording from 2002 proves himself to be an extremely sensitive yet technically virtuoso interpreter of Cesar Franck's famous Douze Pieces. The organ of St Peter's in Dusseldorf, built in 2001 by the Gockel company, where he worked as organist for several years, was designed without compromise according to the French symphonic model and is therefore ideally suited for this repertoire as one of the few such instruments on the right bank of the Rhine.

The young organist Mona Hartmann (*1994) is currently enjoying a stellar career and has already won numerous national and international competitions. For Chaconne 1927, the musician chose the Walcker organ built in 1927 in St. Antonius in Papenburg. The form of the chaconne runs through the entire album as a leitmotif: It's principle of variation, like that of the passacaglia, allows the Walcker organ with it's 89 stops to be presented in countless, ever-changing sound combinations like no other genre.

Leon Berben plays Weckmann's organ work.

The highly acclaimed Karg-Elert edition on AEOLUS is being supplemented by another series: for the ninth series, the monumental E.F. Walcker organ (1927) from the Hans-Sachs-Haus in Gelsenkirchen was once again found to be an ideal instrument for Karg-Elert's sensational late cycles, which has been completely restored in the St. Antoniuskirche Papenburg since 2018. The SACD with Elke Volker is the first recording of this instrument in it's new location, where it's fascinating sound comes into it's own better than in the dry acoustics of the former concert hall.

Markus Eichenlaub, Speyer's cathedral organist, is one of the most distinguished representatives of his field. At the Cavaille-Coll organ of the Cathedral Santa María la Réal in the Basque Azcoitia, he dedicates himself to works by Joseph Guy Ropartz. The student of Massenet and Dubois, whose oeuvre is almost forgotten today, was one of the most interesting protagonists of the rich French organ romantics.

La Nativit� du Seigneur, neuf m�ditations pour orgue (The Nativity of the Lord, nine meditations for organ or The Birth of the Saviour) is a testament to Olivier Messiaen's Roman Catholic faith, being divided into nine "meditations" inspired by the birth of Jesus. As the composer notes in his preface, he sought "the emotion and sincerity first". The work was written by the composer at the age of 26 years during the summer of 1935 while he was in residence at Grenoble near the French Alps. Messiaen wrote that in addition to theology, the movements were inspired by the mountains, as well as the stained glass windows in medieval cathedrals. The work's premiere on 27 February 1936 on the organ of La Trinit�, Paris, where Messiaen was titular organist; had the work split among three players: Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur (1-3), Jean Langlais (4-6), and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald (7-9). The American organist Mark Steinbach (Brown University, Providence) travelled through France in the summer of 2022 to find the most suitable organ for the recording of this cycle: he found it in Lyon. The Cavaill�-Coll instrument there is similar in size and character to the Cavaill�-Coll organ Messiaen had at his disposal in the 1930s in the Eglise de la Trinit� in Paris. This allows the music to be presented with the greatest possible authenticity. It is also, in our opinion, the first recording of Messiaen's organ works in surround sound.

Zuzana Ferjencíková starts her complete recording of Jean Guillou's organ works with AEOLUS with this recording of symphonic poems. The Slovakian concert organist studied for many years with Jean Guillou (1930 - 2019) and performed his complete organ works in several concerts at the Saint-Eustache church in Paris a few years ago. The 5-manual instrument there was conceived by Jean Guillou in the late 1980s and built by the firm Van den Heuvel (NL) in 1989. Fortunately, we were able to make the recordings for this double SACD (stereo and 5.1 surround) on precisely this spectacular instrument. In addition to Jean Guillou's own symphonic poems, Zuzana Ferjencíková has also recorded here all the transcriptions of works by Franz Liszt that Guillou made. His arrangement of Liszt's "Tasso" is available as a world premiere recording.

The Pi�ces de luth, published in 1682 and 1702 under the name of Jacque Bittner, are certainly among the better-known prints with music for the 11-course lute in the German-speaking world in the period between Esaias Reusner and Silvius Leopold Weiss, but this music has rarely been recorded or heard in concert. The last recording was made 40 years ago! Stylistically, these are dance suites based on the French model, with each suite preceded by a Pr�lude non mesur� - also according to French convention. With this recording, AEOLUS continues it's collaboration with the lutenist Andr� Henrich, from whom we already released a CD with lute suites by Francois Dufaut in 2017 (5 Diapason).

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music