All Episodes

Music that stirs the soul and produces provocative evocations of scenes from Holy Week.

No, Gabriel hasn’t arrived yet. However, you’d think he had when you hear these marvelously brassy and engaging pieces for trumpet and organ.

This week we’ve raided the Pipedreams archive and have come up with a few surprises in celebration of history’s foremost pipe organ master.

Put some spring in your step with this week’s show, and perhaps even respond to the urge to get on your feet and troop around with these parade pieces and processionals for diverse occasions. Whether it be a pompous processional from Paris, or a splashy sound-off by Sousa, our program guarantees to make you move up out of your chair, fall in and straighten that rank and, in response to irrepressible rhythms and March Again.

This week’s broadcast features memoriable contributions to the repertoire, both old and new, for organ and orchestra from France.

It bides its time mostly on the sidelines, yet the humble harmonium has a story of its own. Before compact digital keyboards and synthesizers, the reed organ provided efficient accompaniment for worship and a colorful resource for entertainment in the home. It even had some moments of glory on the concert stage. This is not your grandmothers Estey but an unsung marvel with magic to share. Reed My Lips…music for the harmonium.

This week, we ride into a fascinating world where aesthetics, politics and life experiences merge in the output of talented artists which will raise your spirit. Marvin Mills talks about his background and explores both the polyphony and the philosophy behind our multi-hued repertoire, as we experience Music of Color

Enjoy the fantastic sounds of organs in Denmark on this week’s show. We’ll start at Roskilde Cathedral where some parts date back to the 16th century and at the Holmens Church in Copenhagen. Dieterich Buxtehude got his start in Elsinore, founding a Baroque tradition further built upon in the 19th century by Gottfred Matthison-Hansen and in the 20th century by some authentic Danish moderns. Join us as we explore the music of the Great Danes.

We’re back in the saddle again, or if you prefer, on the bench and offering more unique performances recorded live. A continuation of the concert performances from last week, we are returning to the scene, IN CONCERT, Part 2.

If the number of recitals played each year is any indication, the art of the pipe organ in these United States is doing spectacularly well. This week, we lift samples from four different concert programs. Nothing replaces the excitement of being there for a live performance, even the best stereo in the world can’t compare, but you’ll get the idea as we draw from the energy our featured performers put forth as we find them In Concert.

Ten players tackle first symphonies by two famous blind Frenchmen, Louis Vierne [1870-1937] and Jean Langlais [1907-1991]. Featured Organs

…a tribute to one of America’s foremost recitalists and teachers, January 18, 1914 — September 19, 2003. Poise and brilliant playing were her hallmarks. They were evident at her national debut in 1942 and also in every recital presented during the next five decades. This week, we honor Catharine Crozier. She was an esteemed faculty member of the Eastman School, an internationally touring soloist, and an icon of integrity in her art. We'll hear Dr. Crozier in CD recordings and also in a remarkable recital performance from the Christian Science Mother Church in Boston, proving that she was still at the top of her form at age 76. We honor the life and memory of a revered teacher and organist of the top echelon.

We rejoice in new sounds for the new year by sampling recent installations in live concert recordings. Joyce Jones plays the four-manual Letourneau organ at Saint Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas; David Schrader exploits the twenty-three voices in the Jaeckel organ at Saint Mary’s Episcopal in Park Ridge, Illinois; and Marcus Saint Julian sets the wild echoes flying with the 35-stop Dobson organ at Saint Joseph Abbey in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. They only happen once, so click and listen to these Inaugural Pleasures.

Ours is a pilgrim’s progress of sorts, traversing a year in retrospect and looking into the future. Join us as we take measure of the year 2003 and celebrate the art of the organ and its practitioners the builders, players and composers whose lives contribute so much to our experiences each week. We’ll play some recent compact discs, share shapshots of a trip to Italy, honor the memories of those who have passed to their rewards, and prognosticate a bit about what might come along in 2004.

The Christmas image of a newborn babe brought into a cold world conjures sentiments of joy and astonishment. So it’s not entirely surprising that the music on this week’s program does the same. We celebrate the season with trumpets and choirs, as well as organs both in solo and duet performances. Join in and sing along with familiar old tunes and embrace some new music, too, heralding the good news of the Nativity. For Unto Us: a holiday for heart and ears.

Some pieces were intended for intimate living-room spaces, while others have enthralled crowds in great cathedrals. This week, we travel the world in search of seasonal treats. Christmas is coming, and we will dance and sing while listening to the Memphis Chamber Choir and a host of organ soloists from Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, as each contribute sonic surprises of many sorts. Come along as we celebrate a Holiday International.

Whether it’s a wakening call, a Brazilian sleighride or a gentle lullaby, this week we’ll serenade the spirit of the holiday season with a fanciful collection of familiar carols. From the pen of Leroy Anderson or Julien Zbinden, both choirs and instruments are combined into one harmonious message which speaks of peace on earth. Our seasonal offering sounds the wake-up call and makes plans to be home for the holidays, as we listen to musicians raise their voices in praise at Christmas time. Join with them as they Sing, Beloved.

Rather than fugues and canzonas, try a Pastorale Dance or a March with trumpet. On this week’s show, we temper European tradition with the iconoclastic visions of some composers here at in the U.S. Lukas Foss writes a celebratory choral work for a new church, Lee Hoiby sketches impressions of his California homeland, and Daniel Gawthrop has us kicking up our heals in rhythmic response. Beyond toccatas and tientos, we bring our focus closer to home and celebrate The American Muse.