Pipedreams rings in a new century with a retrospective of the old, paying tribute to important anniversaries and personalities of the year gone by, and reflecting on the new millennium. You’ll hear the new organ at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, soloists Martin Jean and Jelani Eddington, and the pioneering recitalist, teacher, and organbuilder Robert Noehren. You’ll sample archive concert tapes, and new compact disc releases, too, as host Michael Barone leafs through the pages of An Organist’s Millennial Yearbook.
Think of them as sweets for the ears. We unwrap a bundle of seasonal cheer and a coast-to-coast collection of talent on the next Pipedreams broadcast. Organists play in solo and duo at Saint John’s Cathedral, Milwaukee, Spivey Hall in Morrow, Georgia, and the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, while choirs sing at Riverside Church, New York, Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, and All Saints Lutheran in Kansas City. In 13 different venues, our carols and fantasies all feature artists and instruments from around the United States. Wherever you are, we’ll all be right at home this week with An American Organist’s Christmas, hosted by Michael Barone.
The world is filled with joyful music at Christmas time, and nowhere is the music more exuberant than in the organ lofts of France. Beginning already in the 1600s, the tradition of holiday organ concerts grew to be so popular that in some places the French clergy outlawed them-their ‘dulci jubilo’ having swung a bit to far into the jubilo end of things. But why not? Even the angelic hosts would smile at the joyous works of Jean Guillou, Pierre Cochereau, Jean-Francois Dandrieu and the others, whose genius enlivens the vaults of Notre Dame Cathedral and other churches in Marseilles, Thiérache and Rouen and whose music brightens every corner during this remarkable season. Philippe Gueit, Andre Isoir, and Rene Oberson also play their part in this Pipedreams pageant.
Some of the tunes depict rustic shepherds. Some sing lullaby to a tiny baby, or celebrate the miracle that comes from heaven above. On the next Pipedreams broadcast we circle the globe in search of delightful musical ornaments for our holiday celebration and discover sweet sounding pipes and choirs that sing nearly as well as an angelic host. Whether it’s a French noel, a Benedictine monk’s special Christmas composition, some humorous variations on Good King Wenceslas, choristers in England and Sweden, or instruments from Spain and Switzerland, ours is a multicultural collection of seasonal sounds, and everyone is welcome. Host Michael Barone will be your guide.
with William Osborne, Susan Craig and friends, we discover some little known organ music by Ohio composers, plus other hidden treasures.
a quarterly review of recent organ recordings, drawing from the incredible variety of new and interesting materials which are available to music lovers these days.
passionate playing of powerful and poetic works by a composer famous for an almost daemonic virtuosity and his imaginative exploitation of the organ’s resources.
highlights from a convivial gathering of friends of the theatre organ in Cedar Rapids.
A visit with British organist David Briggs, who talks about his career and plays instruments in England and Minnesota.
reviewing recital performances of colorful new repertoire taped mostly in Atlanta during a national convention of theAmerican Guild of Organists.
intriguing highlights from imported recordings issued by the organ-focused German label Motette Verlag from Düsseldorf.
A tribute to the famous French organbuilder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll [1811—1899] whose vision created a new style of instrument and whose generosity encouraged artists who would maximize its potential.
an innovative collection of unusual music inspired by the African continent and the African experience, as created by composers both white and black, African and African-American.
powerful music for organ, winds, brasses and percussion, performed in concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX.
The late Paul Riedo plays the 84-rank C.B. Fisk pipe organ in concert with the Dallas Wind Symphony, recorded May 18, 1993, Frederick Fennell conducts. This same ensemble repertoire, plus other selections, was later recorded in sessions at the Meyerson for an exceptional compact disc release from Reference Recordings, RR-58CD. The solo selections come from a compact disc by David Higgs, Delos DE-3148CD.
Exploring culture in amidst the territory of an ancient merchant’s federation in Dutch, German, Belgian, and Polish cities of the Hanseatic League.
...striking and original works from three centuries featuring organ with orchestra.
The passionate and powerful Sixth Organ Symphony by Charles-Marie Widor in two versions, for organ solo and with orchestra. Widor’s arrangement of the outer movements of his popular Sixth Organ Symphony [solo] was his first major essay for organ and orchestra. He went on to create two additional, totally original organ and orchestra compositions later in life. It was prepared for a London concert in 1882, later played by Charles Courboin in Antwerp in 1900, and presented again by Courboin, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Stokowski, at the Wanamaker Store in 1919. The Bowden/McKinley performance in Indiana was only the second American outing for this score since that Philadelphia premiere.
A treat for the whole family, this week’s broadcast features organ arrangements of famous classical works and original compositions used in Fantasia and other Walt Disney films.
A colorful miscellany of music by women composers from past and present.
Though not nearly so numerous or celebrated as their male counterparts, women composers have created a substantial and remarkable repertoire for the pipe organ. Note that Women’s Equality Day is observed on August 26.
Persuasive examples of the organ’s extraordinary historic repertoire.
Proof that the creative spirit was alive when Marcel Dupré improvised in Paris eighty years ago.
On August 15, 1919, while substituting for an ailing Louis Vierne, 33-year-old Marcel Dupré improvised for an afternoon service at Notre Dame Cathedral. In the audience, totally by chance, was Claude Johnson, head of Rolls-Royce. He was so moved by the music that he encouraged Dupré to write down his improvisations, guaranteed their publication and sponsored Dupré’s subsequent London debut recital which marked the beginning of this artist’s astounding international career.
Will Headlee and David Hurd play two noteworthy examples of Walter Holtkamp, Sr.’s pioneering neo-classic instruments at Syracuse University in New York State and Fisk University in Nashville TN.
Visit A Montréal Organ Book with the Organ Historical Society: Music and instruments from Provence Québec, featuring Canadian artists.
More performances by outstanding young artists from North America’s most beneficent organ competition.
Highlights from Finland’s famous international summer organ celebration, including guest soloists and winners of the 1997 competition.
. . . a selective summer survey of recent organ recordings.
Pieces for concert or entertainment which display the organ’s multiple personalities.
A great American showplace with a phenomenal and historic theatre organ. Sample sounds from the new CD release. Georgia’s foremost showroom plays host to recitalist Hector Olivera, with historical insights concerning the resident Mighty Möller organ provided by Joe Patten and Bob Van Camp.
Olivera’s performance was recorded during a national convention of the American Guild of Organists A CD release, Vantage CD-6306, featuring Olivera at the Atlanta Fox includes similar repertoire and is available from the Organ Historical Society. The Albright piece, premiered on that occasion, is also sampled via its premiere CD release by Ms. Decker from a very different venue. Our talk with Joe Patten, the energy behind the Fox’s historic Mighty Möller pipe organ, was recorded in his nifty penthouse apartment above the theater.
An intrepid Scandinavian virtuoso and a world-acclaimed singer show us a thing or two about things we thought we knew.
A surprising gift of organ music from a still largely uncharted territory.
Highlighting activities at San Diego’s Balboa Park, the Methuen Music Hall in Massachusetts, and the Wanamaker Grand Court at Macy’s Center City Department Store in Philadelphia.
Enjoying organs and choirs on down the line from Nashville to Memphis to Little Rock.
With superb - read really hot - performances of American music recorded in Texas and Minnesota.
Proving that even if you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, you can play old music on new organs.
A spring survey of recent organ recordings.
A continuing exploration of the unusual compositions of one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed and influential recitalists and teachers, Marcel Dupré.
Words and music from Englishman Simon Preston, one of the world’s most articulate and virtuosic ambassadors for the King of Instruments.
A Minnesota meander to selected Twin Cities area organ sites.
Recital highlights from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Minnesota.
A collection of composed and improvised settings of Gregorian chants, traditional hymns and chorales for organ, choirs and other instruments.
Profound and soulful meditations, songs of sadness and shipwreck on themes of Titanic import.
Superb and sublime, this master-composer’s music never fails to take the organ to its expressive limits.
Performances by the top three prizewinners in recital at Jack Singer Concert Hall.
Today’s performers were winners of the Concerto Award and Recital Award, $25,000 each, plus the Bach Prize, $5,000; the Improvisation Prize, $5,000; and the Encore Prize, $3,000. Also, each of the ten finalists received a $1,500 award for participating in this last cycle of the Competition. The next Calgary Competition will be held in 2002. A third broadcast of 1998 competitors will air later in this series.
View some images from the competition: Image 1 | Image 2 | Image 3
Performances by and commentary from finalists in the world’s most munificent contest for organists, in recital at Jack Singer Concert Hall.
Every four years during a 10-day festival event, a select group of the world’s top young musicians vies for prizes and awards valued at more than $80,000. These performances, recorded by the CBC, all feature the Carthy Organ, a 1987 Casavant at Jack Singer Concert Hall. Two additional programs from the Calgary Competition will be broadcast, the second one next week.
View some images from the competition: Image 1 | Image 2 | Image 3
Inaugural-series recital performances on the new Casavant organ at Central Michigan University.
A potpourri of popular selections presented by the organists and choir of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah.
We savor a splendid and monumental new instrument, created in a trans-continental collaboration between two American organbuilding firms, C.B. Fisk of Gloucester, MA, and Manuel Rosales of Los Angeles, CA for Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas.
Turn-of-the-century instruments in the neighborhood of Louisville and across the Indiana border are featured at an Organ Historical Society convention.
Finalists in the 25th Anniversary Ruth and Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Competition perform, plus others.
Resident musicians James and Marilyn Biery perform at the Catholic Cathedral in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Three players explore the sonic resources of three instruments in one of North Carolina’s most prominent universities.
Visit the extraordinary Duke Chapel web site.
Beginning the New Year with a sampler of recent recordings.
