Hazel's Back #2238
. . . vintage and new recordings in anticipation of the reinauguration of the newly restored Hazel Wright Memorial Pipe Organ at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA.
Hour One
EUGENE GIGOUT: Grand Choeur Dialogué –David Ball and Emma Witten (Christ Cathedral) Gothic 49337
FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Allegro moderato e serioso (iii. & iv.), fr Sonata No. 1 in f, Op. 65, no. 1 –Frederick Swann (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Gothic 49049
ROBERT HEBBLE: Heraldings –Frederick Swann (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Gothic 49048; also David Ball (Christ Cathedral) Gothic 49337
WILLIAM DOANE: Hymn, More love to you, o Christ –Frederick Swann (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Gothic 58519
FREDERICK SWANN: Anthem, Blest are the pure in heart –Crystal Cathedral Choir/Frederick Swann (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Gothic 49048
MARK THALLANDER: Toccata on Hymn to Joy (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Thallander 2002
DANIEL FICARRI: Fanfare-Introduction in D. J. S. BACH (arr. Dupré): Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 29 –David Ball (Hazel Wright Organ/Christ Cathedral) Gothic 49337
Filler – GIGOUT (see above)
Hour Two
NORMAND GOUIN: Memorial Acclamation, fr Mass of the Transfiguration. PETER LATONA: Fanfare, Introit & Procession (Let us go rejoicing). RACHEL LAURIN: Te Deum, Op. 90 –Diocesan and Cathedral Chorale and Brass Ensembles/John Romeri; David Ball (Fred Swann Organ/Arboretum) Gothic 49326
FREDERICK SWANN (arr.): Amazing Grace. SWANN: 2 Anthems (The heart of the eternal; The Lord will guide you continually) –Crystal Cathedral Choir/Frederick Swann, director & organist (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Gothic 49048
ROBERT HEBBLE: Cathedral Tapestry –Frederick Swann, Christopher Pardini (Hazel Wright Organ/Crystal Cathedral) Thallander 2002
RICHARD PURVIS: Dialogue Monastique –David Ball and Emma Witten (Hazel Wright Organ/Christ Cathedral) Gothic 49337
Filler – HEBBLE: Heraldings (Gothic 49337)
We celebrate the Hazel Wright Organ through older recordings featuring Crystal Cathedral organist Frederick Swann, recent recordings of commissioned scores from Christ Cathedral’s 2019 dedication with the Cathedral Schola led by John Romeri, and newly recorded appearances by current Cathedral organists David Ball and Emma Witten, all available from Gothic Records.
We thank the Most Reverend Tod David Brown, Bishop of Orange at the time of the acquisition of the Cathedral campus for his Diocese, and his successor, Bishop Kevin W. Vann, who oversees the Crystal Cathedral today.
Also kudos to the various technicians whose artistry has helped mold and refine the character of the Hazel Wright organ over the years, including Guy Henderson, John Wilson, Bruce Sawyer, and current organ curator Kevin Cartwright.
‘Hazel’, as the Christ Cathedral organ is known, is named after its initial benefactor, Hazel Wright. Designed by Virgil Fox and refined under the supervision of Frederick Swann, today’s instrument combines the 116-rank 1977 Ruffatti organ from Robert Schuller’s previous Garden Grove Community Church and the 99-rank 1962 Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1388 formerly installed at Philharmonic Hall in New York City’s Lincoln Center, plus other pipe ranks. It is the third-largest church organ in the United States and fifth largest in the world. With over 16,000 pipes, ‘Hazel’ will be celebrated on September 30, 2022 with a day of formal inaugural presentations concluding with an evening concert by Hector Olivera.
More information regarding the Hazel Wright Organ at Christ Cathedral is available here.
Also heard in this program, the Frederick Swann Organ (Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1141 with 82 ranks) is located in the Cathedral Arboretum (the former Garden Grove Church), a smaller, separate worship environment on the Cathedral campus. This instrument stood in for ‘Hazel’ during recordings of scores commissioned for the dedication of Christ Cathedral in 2019, at which point ‘Hazel’ had not been fully restored and reinstalled.
PIPEDREAMS is supported in memory of Mr. & Mrs. Wesley C. Dudley by their family, by grants from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of the HRK Foundation, by Jan and Steve Kirchner, and by listener-contributors to this public radio station. Additional support comes from Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, IA, and C.B. Fisk, Inc. of Gloucester, MA, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. A resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.
