Mark Organ

The origins of Philip Glass' Voices, for didgeridoo and organ was specific: a commission from the city of Melbourne, Australia, in 2001. Yet the instrumental combination works so well that it seems almost foreordained, and Glass went on to write further music for the soloist here, Mark Atkins. In this performance, the didgeridoo and organ tracks were recorded separately, in Australia and upstate New York, respectively, and in Glass' metronomic world this works well enough. Yet one hopes that this release on Glass' Orange Mountain Music label is enough to spur future live performances with both players in the same room. The addition of the didgeridoo to the relatively homogeneous texture of Glass' organ writing is dramatic, but it doesn't disturb the basic shifting fields of the composer's music. It just deepens their color and variety in an immensely attractive way.

Tenor John Mark Ainsley with Timothy Roberts on harpsichord, spinet & chamber organ and Paula Chateauneuf on theorbo and baroque guitar, in an award-winning recording of eighteen songs and keyboard works by John Blow (1649-1708).

A unique collection of music and pieces arranged for organ, composed by J.S. Bach and members of the Bach Family. Expertly arranged and played by Mark Swinton at the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, UK, the music featured here demonstrates the development of keyboard music across the generations of the Bach family. The beautiful Nicholson organ of St Mary’s is perfectly suited to the music of the Baroque and early Classical periods.

César Franck gradually abandoned his career as a virtuoso pianist as he completed his training under various Parisian masters, one of whom was the organist François Benoist. Franck then served as organist in various important Parisian churches from 1853 onwards before accepting a position at Sainte-Clotilde, where he benefited from Cavaillé-Coll's brand new instrument. He composed works for the organ as well as in other genres that became part of the apotheosis of what is now termed Le Renouveau français. Franck also composed pieces specifically intended for the harmonium. We are proud to mark the bicentenary of his birth with a reissue of his complete works for organ and for harmonium, in which Joris Verdin's fascinating interpretations have incorporated Franck’s own recently discovered metronome markings.

Lüdenscheid, Christuskirche. The organ of the Christ Church in Lüdenscheid was built by E.F.Walcker in 1902 as opus 1035…

“MARK” is the new solo record from acclaimed drummer and composer Mark Guiliana: an auditory manifestation of one of the world’s most creative and innovative musical minds.