Organ

Sensational organ transcriptions have made Jean Guillou famous far beyond his native France. Taught by Marcel Dupré, his command not only of organ playing but also of the piano and composition is demonstrated by the absolutely boundless technical and intellectual demands posed by his oeuvre. In Zuzana Ferjen 269;iková, Guillou now has found more than just a worthy heir: the first volume in our series featuring Guillou's organ works includes a recording premiere and reveals the profound emotional affinity uniting these two exceptional artists.

Brilliant Classics continues its fascinating survey of Pre‐Bachian keyboard music with a new recording of the complete organ works of Nicholas Bruhns. Bruhns, born into a musical dynasty, was organist, violist and violinist in Copenhagen, pupil of the famous Buxtehude, where he remained till his death, only 31 years old. Bruhn’s works make full use of the many newly developed possibilities of the organ in his days, and form a splendid display of keyboard (and pedal!) virtuosity, and intricate counterpoint. To complement Bruhns’ complete organ works this recording presents other works by Sweelinck (his famous Chromatic Fantasy), Scheidemann, Scheidt and Buxtehude. Adriano Falcioni is one of the foremost organists of this time, winner of many international competitions. He already made several organ recordings for Brilliant Classics (Franck, Muffat, Couperin, Duruflé). Includes liner notes by the artist and an artist biography. Contains specifications of the magnificent organ of the Chiesa di San Giorgio in Ferrara, Italy.

For this hybrid SACD of famous organ works by J.S. Bach, Masaaki Suzuki plays the restored Schnitger-Hinz organ in the Martinikerk (Martin's Church), in Groningen, one of the most celebrated instruments in the Netherlands and one which dates back to Bach's time. Its bright, Baroque sonorities and Suzuki's historically informed interpretations give these performances a compelling sense of authenticity and period style. The pieces are among Bach's greatest hits, particularly the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which gives the program a decisive opening. Following that flashy demonstration, Suzuki is relaxed and almost contemplative in the Pastorale in F major, and continues his thoughtful readings in the Partita on "O Gott, du frommer Gott," the Prelude and Fugue in G minor, and the Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her." Yet he includes two sparkling virtuoso performances in the Fantasia in G major and the Prelude and Fugue in E minor, which keep the album from being too soft and subdued. BIS' super audio sound is crisp and detailed, which is no mean feat in a church recording.

A companion to Jan Lehtolas previous recording of Kalevi Ahos monumental organ symphony Alles Vergängliche, the present disc includes five smaller pieces by Aho for organ solo, as well as three compositions for organ and one or two other instruments. First performed at the wedding of his sister, the two brief wedding marches were the first pieces that Aho wrote for the organ, and like the later Wedding Music they are kept in a tonal idiom as the composer writes in his own liner notes: I did not want to distract attention from the bride and groom, but rather to create a suitable atmosphere.

Marcel Dupré had a long and busy career as a recitalist, composer, teacher, writer and editor and he exerted enormous influence on all aspects of the organist's art in the early part of this century. Dupré's place in the evolution of twentieth century organ music has yet to be fully understood or appreciated and there are those who would seek to detract from the enormous impact his playing and teaching had on countless students who studied with him. It cannot be ignored that the list of his Premier Prix students at the Paris Conservatoire contains nearly every important twentieth-century French organist and composer, including Marie-Claire Alain, Jean Langlais, Jean Guillou, Jeanne Demessieux, and Olivier Messiaën.

Masaaki Suzuki was an organist before he was a conductor, and his recordings of Bach's organ works have made a delightful coda to his magisterial survey of Bach cantatas with his Bach Collegium Japan. This selection, the second in a series appearing on the BIS label, gives a good idea of the gems available. You get a good mix of pieces, including a pair of Bach's Vivaldi transcriptions. Fans of Suzuki's cantata series will be pleased to note the similarities in his style between his conducting and his organ playing: there's a certain precise yet deliberate and lush quality common to both. And he has a real co-star here: the organ of the Kobe Shoin Women's University Chapel, built in 1983 by French maker Marc Garnier. The realizations of Bach's transcriptions of Vivaldi concertos fare especially well here, with a panoply of subtle colors in the organ. Sample the first movement of the Concerto in D minor, BWV 596, with its mellow yet transcendently mysterious tones in the string ripieni. BIS backs Suzuki up with marvelously clear engineering in the small Japanese chapel, and all in all, this is a Bach organ recording that stands out from the crowd. Highly recommended.

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.