Episodes: 2001

Where do the hours and the months and years go? Can you believe it? Our next Pipedreams program observes the 20th anniversary of our first national broadcast, which was way back in the winter of 1982. Believe it or not, we were hatching our plans even before then. This week, hear some of those earliest tapes, plus get a sampler of things we’ve done and places we’ve been over the past two decades. After 20 years has it all been played? Not a chance. Some bright ideas never dim, and this week we’ll reflect on a score of great music and plan for the future. Organ music on the Radio? Absolutely! Listen as we celebrate the first twenty years, an anniversary retrospective, this week on Pipedreams.

Our annual reflection on world happenings, with highlights of instruments, young artists, and exceptional recordings.

A rose blooms out of season on a winter morning. The Brightest and Best stars show up in the “Company at the Creche.” Images, scenes, and personalities such asa these are present in our next Pipedreams program. It’s a showcase for the work of composers here in the United States, giving a sense of home and place to this international festival. Timothy Albrecht plays grace notes at Emory University, Nancy Whipkey leads her Ascension Children’s Choir in a cantata by Daniel Pinkham, Allison Luedecke and Robert Gallagher stir the echoes at Saint John’s Cathedral in Milwaukee, and Craig Cansler and the Choir of Saint Philip’s in Atlanta celebrates the work of Charles Beaudrot. Our torch lights up the manger scene in Bethlehem, and who do we see there but a circle of composers from the United States, celebrating the holiday with their special gifts. Tune in for An American Organist’s Christmas, this week on Pipedreams.

Some of the most memorable presents are ones we’ve made ourselves, and on the next Pipedreams, you’ll listen to six stupendously talented organists who need only a theme to spark their imaginations, and they make it up from there. Delight in the inspired fantasies of Merrill Davis, playing for a concert audience in Prague; Earl Miller, rhapsodizing at a parish church in Danville, Virginia; Gerre Hancock in New York City; Hector Olivera in Los Angeles; and the inimitable Pierre Cochereau at the mighty pipe organ of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. All set off into uncharted waters and all will bring the ship safely back home filled with seasonal cheer. It’s the miraculous product of Holiday Dreams, improvisations for organ, this week on Pipedreams.

Whether on a clear midnight or a morning glorious with heavenly splendor, our next Pipedreams sings its holiday message in many languages. Frenchman Jean Guillou improvises in Switzerland, Lebanese composer Naji Hakim does the same in Paris. From the first noel to the last shepherd’s pastorale, you’ll hear music and instruments from Ireland, England, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and here at home, promoting a universal message of hope and happiness. Join us for a multicultural expression, Celebration International, this week on Pipedreams.

Seasons change, the days get shorter, and darkness seems more prevalent; it’s no wonder we become introspective at this time of year. Our next Pipedreams program plays with that theme, and the notion of expectation that comes as part of the package. Winter descends, and old chorales and chants for the season call out in earnestness and hope. We follow the Psalmist’s admonition and look to the hills for help. Is it all about hunger? In the end, music provides the key, and a dozen recitalists, plus choirs from Dallas, Texas; Bangor, Maine; Stockholm and Indianapolis ask the questions and resolve to find solutions—uncertainty, with a purpose, leads to an harmonious resolve. We acknowledge Advent Anticipation, this week on Pipedreams.

The principality of Liechtenstein may be one of Europe’s smallest corners, but from it sprang one of the late 19th century’s most prolific and important organists and teachers. Josef Rheinberger is the focus of our next Pipedreams program. He’s a one-time child prodigy who already was playing in church at age seven and who reigned as harmony, counterpoint and history professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Munich for three decades. A dozen different soloists join us as we follow the trail of his prodigious and influential talent from his very first compositions through the Sonatas and Concertos by which he is still remembered. He was a master in the grand romantic tradition, one of the most prolific protagonists of the organ, and a teacher of some of America’s best turn-of-the-century composers. Discover treasures from a bygone day, and join us for the glorious music of Josef Rheinberger, as we embark on Rheinberger’s Journey, this week on Pipedreams.

We explore things new and engaging on our next Pipedreams program, sampling recent releases of organ music on CD, including a jazzy Te Deum from Germany, the sound of praise today. With saxophone? Sure. Plus we’ll have trumpet voluntaries featuring festival reed stops on instruments in Kilgore, Texas; Hendersonville, North Carolina; and Chartres, France. The 1930 Skinner organ at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio, is at its best under the hands of Todd Wilson, but really old is the 1730 Trost organ at Waltershausen, Germany, playing music by a kid who grew up just west of there, Johann Sebastian Bach. Would Bach have approved? Absolutely, because he knew the builder of this instrument and loved his work. These and other stunning sounds from cathedrals in Toledo, Ohio, and Saint Louis, Missouri, and a jazz-friendly congregation in Stuttgart are all part of the plan. We’re Going on Record with CDs in review, this week on Pipedreams.

Composer and critic Virgil Thomson had the right idea. For him, regardless of style or attitude, if a piece of music was written by an American it qualified as American Music. And that’s what you’ll hear on our next Pipedreams program. There’ll be several zesty settings of popular hymns, jazzy toccatas, and dances including a boogie-woogie, picturesque scenes, historic take-offs, and even a profound Passacaglia, played on sonorous instruments by Rosales, Skinner, Hendrickson, and Wurlitzer. From California to Connecticut, from Bingham to Bitgood, ours is a coast-to-coast survey of colorful organ scores. Frances Nobert, Diane Belcher, James Biery, Diana Lee Lucker, and Charlie Balogh with the Wichita State University Jazz Ensemble are all part of the party as we sample American Perspectives, this week on Pipedreams.

He took his first keyboard lesson at age seven, and only two years later won an important competition, made his international recital debut, and took on the duties of a church organist. Talk about precocious. On our next Pipedreams program, we visit with the talented young German phenom, Felix Hell, a student at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with three compact discs and more than 200 recitals to his credit in Europe, Russia, and the United States. Did we mention that he just turned 16? We’ll chat with Felix and his father Hans-Friedrich, listen to performances from ‘the early years’, and sample his current state-of-the-art in concert and on CD. And you thought that organ music was only for old folks? Audiences around the world are changing their mind when presented with the dynamic playing of Felix Hell. It’s Felicitous Felix, this week on Pipedreams.

Deep in its heart, it is all about a search for poetic, and musical, truth. On our next Pipedreams program, we investigate the tradition of the Ricercare, one of the earliest forms of Baroque instrumental music. Our examples take us back to the mid 16th century and feature an instrument even one hundred years older, at a Basilica in Bologna. Simple themes develop and interweave in phrases both rhapsodic and rigorous. Beyond the fertile Italian homeland, we visit churches in Stockholm, San Francisco, and the Netherlands for performances by John Weaver, Massimo Nosetti, Liuwe Tamminga, and Jean Guillou of works by Bach and Frescobaldi, and Menotti. Ancient and eloquent, our ears follow it heavenward. Ricercare for the Sky the ancient art of counterpoint, this week on Pipedreams.

…share in humoresques, scherzos, fantasies and other compositions done up with a sense of fun and surprise. Who says the organ must always be so serious. It’s not all solemn processionals. The king of instruments does have a sense of humor, too, as you’ll discover on our next Pipedreams program, where wry wit, sardonic satire, and a general joviality prevail. Bill Albright’s nifty narration provides a key element, as do songs by Stephen Sondheim and Henry Mancini, scherzos and fantasies played in Souvigny and San Francisco, and a humerous hornpipe played in Sydney Australia. That’s but part of the fun. We’ll also sample concert instruments in Dallas and Yokoyama, theatre organs in Kansas and Arizona, and one of the finest French antiques from the 18th century, still capable of a big smile. Curious chords prove that the Joke is On Us - humoresques for organ, this week on Pipedreams.

Our next Pipedreams program explores the matter of multiples, those collections of musical movements which fall under the term partita. They might be variations on a chant theme, psalm tune or popular song, or just a suite of delicious diversions. In every case they give the player an ordered opportunity to strut their stuff and us the chance to hear the lovely colors of which fine pipe organs are capable. At cathedrals in Altenberg and Saint Louis, or village churches in Kiedrich or Zella-Mehlis, though the addresses are unusual, the sonic surprises are of top quality. Investigate the entertaining and honorable tradition of keyboard variations, good tunes all dressed up with somewhere to go. Klaas Bolt, Mary Beth Bennett, Joseph Payne, and Philip Crozier set out the refreshments for a fun affair, as we get ready for Partita Time, this week on Pipedreams.

Some people just enjoy a challenge. On our next Pipedreams program, we visit with one such challenged individual, a former organist at Westminster Abbey who’s now a full-time recitalist. Just to say he’d done it, Christopher Herrick went and recorded and performed in concert the complete works of Bach. But that was just a beginning. He’s scoured the world in search of interesting instruments and we’ll hear him play wide-ranging repertoire on organs from around the world. There’s no doubt HE sets off Organ Fireworks. It’s not just concert sparklers, but the whole range of musical opportunity explored by a recitalist and recording artist who has travelled the world to find just the right sound for his successful Hyperion recordings. From London’s Temple Church to the Town Hall of Wellington, New Zealand, you’ll be delighted by Christopher Herrick’s Organ Fireworks, this week on Pipedreams.

It’s all about collegiality. On our next Pipedreams program, the organ teams up with all sorts of friends including it’s keyboard cousin, the piano, plus other brassy relations - the trumpet and trombone. You’ll hear a little lullaby for organ and harp, a haunting fantasy for organ and electronic-tape that is amazingly effective plus a transcription of an orchestral tone poem by Franz Liszt, a spicy Baroque Concerto by Michel Corrette, and a lusty march by Alexandre Guilmant. Think variety organ with trumpet, organ with trombone, organ with choir, or harp, or piano, or symphony orchestra, even organ with electronic tape. We’re going to set aside all churchly implications and team up with many instrumental friends. Think beyond the box. Organ Plus, this week on Pipedreams.

…another exploration of the remarkable repertoire for pipe organ in consort with other instruments and voices. It’s all about collegiality. On our next Pipedreams program, the organ teams up with all sorts of friends including it’s keyboard cousin, the piano, plus other brassy relations –the trumpet and trombone. You’ll hear a little lullaby for organ and harp, a haunting fantasy for organ and electronic-tape that is amazingly effective plus a transcription of an orchestral tone poem by Franz Liszt, a spicy Baroque Concerto by Michel Corrette, and a lusty march by Alexandre Guilmant. Think variety organ with trumpet, organ with trombone, organ with choir, or harp, or piano, or symphony orchestra, even organ with electronic tape. We’re going to set aside all churchly implications and team up with many instrumental friends. Think beyond the box. Organ Plus, this week on Pipedreams.

He lives in the countryside just down the road from Valparaiso University, he’s got a recording studio and a barber shop in the barn out back, and spends considerable time teaching in Saarebruecken, Germany, and Appleton, Wisconsin. And when he plays, his imagination works overtime. We visit with the ever stimulating and always iconoclastic Wolfgang Rübsam to understand why amidst all the other distractions organ music continues to feed his soul and, through him, ours. As a former pilot, a barber, recording engineer, teacher, and recitalist, he’s totally fearless, and willing even to risk a Bach Trio Sonata in concert. Wolfgang Rübsam reflects on his career and accomplishments, and shares some great and timeless music, From the Wolf’s Den, this week on Pipedreams.

The door is wide open, and the variety and intensity of performers involved in the world of the pipe organ continues to astonish and delight. Our next Pipedreams program explores the vivid work of a dozen European soloists, and the determined involvement of an excellent audio engineer. Christoph Martin Frommen who has documented several grand masters, and some relative youngsters still in their early twenties, for whom musicianship is crucial and the pipe organ is only the means of their expression. The air is alive with beguiling sounds and an astonishing array of talent, as we sample the catalog of a young European CD label, with fresh breezes from abroad enlivening the realm of the King of Instruments. Sail along with us on the Continental Zephyr new sounds from Aeolus Records of Germany, this week on Pipedreams.

What a challenge it must have been, growing up in the household of the world’s foremost organist, and knowing Dad expected you to follow in his footsteps. On our next Pipedreams broadcast, we’ll listen to the music of four of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most gifted offspring, each of them rising to the challenge with capability and individuality. From Wilhelm Friedemann’s quirky fugues to Carl Phillip Emmanuel’s Sonatas, the chamber music of Johann Christoph Friedrich, and the concertos of trail-blazer Johann Christian, you’ll be amazed at the craftsmanship so skillfully displayed by this most unique family. Like father like son? Well, almost, as you’ll discover when we compare the various musics of the four most talented Bach children with the example of their father. He set an incredible standard, which each boy worked hard to achieve in music Baroque and Beyond. It’s Sebastian and Sons, this week on Pipedreams.

It’s a mini tour of four centuries of musical life in an around Vienna on our next Pipedreams broadcast. We include works by Mozart, of course, also some by his illustrious predecessors Kerll, Muffat, and Wagenseil, and some by those who followed after, too. We’ll visit historic Klosterneuberg Monastery and Saint Michael’s Church plus at least one instrument which Mozart himself played, we’ll offer a tiny tribute to Franz Schubert, and we’ll dance away our cares to a Strauss Waltz. Tune in to enjoy works by Kerll and Muffat, Schubert and Strauss, Radulescu, Wagenseil, and Mozart, as we follow the trail of An Austrian Succession, this week on Pipedreams.

It had to start somewhere, even when it comes to new styles of writing for the keyboard. On our next Pipedreams broadcast, we’ll trace the art of the organ from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, from Antegnati to Ravanello, with recordings on some of the earliest playable pipe organs, solos, duets, saucy sonatas, romantic tone poems, and dramatic concertos. Influenced by the world at large, by court, church, theatre, and concert hall, these pieces by Gabrieli and Galuppi, Bergamo and Bossi, and Casella document a remarkable and colorful artistic progression an Italian Evolution, this week on Pipedreams.

We journey back in time on our next Pipedreams program, to the days when movies were real events and movie palaces were the most opulent buildings in the land. The sound of the theatre organ is filled with nostalgia, but these remarkable, resilient instruments are even more vital today, as we discover in conversation with American Theatre Organ Society president Stephen Adams while listening to seventeen different artists and installations. We’ll travel from the Granada Theatre in Kansas City to the Vancouver Orpheum, from Wichita’s Century II Convention Center to the Sanfillipo Music Salon near Chicago. Whether in tunes by Gershwin or Jerome Kern, Chopin or Richard Rodgers, every generation finds its true love in the world of the Mighty Wurlitzer where Everything Old is New Again, this week on Pipedreams.

If one is good, two is better or so it would seem on our next Pipedreams broadcast when we explore the remarkable and charming repertoire of organ duets. Whether together at one keyboard or tossing musical messages back and forth between opposing galleries, these selections do prove that you double your pleasure when two organists perform together. When four hands and four feet are set loose at the console, opportunities abound for sonorous and sensuous surprise. Artists include Anthony and Mary Jane Newman, Joseph and Phoebe Payne, Hans Fagius and David Sanger, and Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault, on instruments in Bologna, Boston, Munich, Mount Kisco, and Roswell, Georgia… music by Frescobaldi, Wesley, Daniel Pinkham, Bruce Neswick, Jean Langlais, and Myron Roberts. It’s a new world of experience, music For Two to Play, this week on Pipedreams.

His music is dramatic and challenging, and he’s one of the most promising talents on the international organ scene. This week on Pipedreams, we visit with Naji Hakim, who talks about his childhood in Lebanon and his youthful dream of becoming an organist. He’s realized this dream and proves it with performances recorded at the Parisian Sacred Heart Basilica, and in recital at Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina, Minnesota. Music of Bach, Franck, Dupré, and Langlais, plus a cameo appearance by Naji’s equally talented wife Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet. A young lion of the organ, it’s Naji Hakim of Paris, this week on Pipedreams.

We tug on the rope of opportunity during our next Pipedreams broadcast, and rejoice in the tintinabulation of bell music. Organ composers are not alone in finding the sounds of bells and chime themes irresistible. Our timeless collection embraces the French Baroque, the British Cathedral, and even the hills of Hollywood, where such diverse artists as George Wright, Simon Preston, George Thalben-Ball and Thomas Murray celebrate with clangorous abandon the creativity of Louis Vierne, Percy Faith, Frederick Delius, Edward Elgar, and many others, fourteen composers all told, who have written carillon compositions which will jangle your chimes. Church bells, tower bells, carillons, winter sleighrides and even a Brazilian vacation are conjured up this weeks music for the King of Instruments. “Ring Those Bells!” a clangorous collection, this week on Pipedreams.

There’s never any question that when this fellow plays the organ, he means it… an outspoken and charismatic talent, Carlo Curley joins us for our next Pipedreams broadcast to share some of his views on the art and some of his vibrant recordings made in England and America. You’ll hear favorites by Purcell, Widor, Guilmant, and Bach, on famous instruments at Royal Albert and Royal Festival Halls in London, Belheim Palace [birthplace of Winston Churchill], Girard College Chapel in Philadelphia, and the Century II Convention Center in Wichita. When he’s hot, there’s no one quite so energized or entertaining as American virtuoso Carlo Curley. Pipes and passion go hand in hand. Hear what all the fuss is about as Carlo parades from Girard College Chapel in Philadelphia to Royal Festival Hall in London. Follow the Curley Cues this week on Pipedreams.

We’ve everything from a 16th century Italian dance to a grand orchestral march, featuring instruments of only a dozen stops to several hundred. On our next Pipedreams program, we sample some recent recordings from Saint Christopher’s-by-the-River in Ohio, and the Riverside Church in New York City, the first CD release from Ocean Grove Auditorium, the latest from the Mormon Tabernacle, plus a tribute to Dame Gillian Weir, the last album from George Wright, and a pair of critically acclaimed surveys of the complete organ works of Marcel Dupré. Sounds good? You bet! We’re Going On Record with a review of recent recordings this week on Pipedreams.

It’s all about praise, joy and thanksgiving. Our next Pipedreams program provides music to gladden the heart and lift the spirits. We’ll have a celebratory Prelude by Franz Schmidt, a composer hailed in his native Austria, and almost totally unknown elsewhere. Max Reger contributes a tumultuous chorale-fantasy, Vincent Youmans provides some popular songs, Pierre Cochereau takes us to an Easter morning service at Notre Dame Cathedral, and the choir of Ascension Episcopal Church in Stillwater, Minnesota offers up a cheerful shout. Stimulate the senses and sooth the soul, with Serene Alleluias, this week on Pipedreams.

Believe it or not, there’s a Russian repertoire for pipe organ, and we’ll be exploring it on our next Pipedreams broadcast. Even though the Orthodox Church in Russia specifies choral music only, and the former Soviet regime did little to encourage the instrument because of its close ties to other religious traditions, organs have been built and maintained in Russia for several centuries, and composers such as Glinka and Glazunov and even Shostakovich have written for them. You’ll hear solos from the 19th and 20th centuries, music inspired by a dream, transcribed from an opera, and an extraordinary Sonata for Organ and Cello by Tatiana Sergeieva, certain to make your ears perk up. Unorthodox? Absolutely. Who knows anything about an organ tradition in Russia, but there is one, and we get to its heart with dance tunes sonatas, even music heard in a dream. Prepare for a delightful surprise From Russia With Love, this week on Pipedreams.

On this week’s Pipedreams program, we’ll visit the far northeastern United States to listen to some historic organs in Maine. We’ll hear instruments from Lewiston, Newcastle, Augusta, and Bangor, where at Saint John’s Roman Catholic Church a superb 140-year-old instrument by the famous Hook Brothers of Boston still stirs the soul. Plus, we’ll stop by Merrill Auditorium at Portland’s City Hall where the recently renovated 1912 Kotzschmar Organ, America’s first municipal pipe organ, entertains thousands visitors each year. Ray Cornils, the Kotzschmar organist, shares some insights and spreads the word about special summer events keeping popular interest in the pipe organ alive throughout the state. From up north and down east, our music’s from the state of Maine. It’s The Maine Thing this week on Pipedreams.

Wake up and smell the coffee. The pipe organ is making a comeback in some American concert halls, as capacity audiences at Cleveland’s Severance Hall know full well. Think about it - when was the last time 2,000-plus people paid top dollar for tickets to a solo organ concert? This week’s Pipedreams program shares the Ohio celebration with selections from inaugural-series recitals by Thomas Murray, Gillian Weir, and Thomas Trotter. built in 1931 by the famous Ernest M. Skinner of Boston, had been unheard and long forgotten in an inaccessible above-stage chamber. For the past seven decades it had been akin to a “hidden treasure.” Now the Norton Memorial Organ has taken the place of pride immediately behind the orchestra, the result of an extensive auditorium renovation. In virtually every detail, the organ has been restored by the Schantz Company of Orrville, Ohio with its original voice intact. Enjoy the exquisite period colors and the impressive power of “The Severance Skinner, Saved by Schantz” this week on Pipedreams.

Some music just makes you want to tap your toes, and our next Pipedreams broadcast offers plenty of encouragement in that direction. From a Renaissance Basse Dance to modern Bolero, our collection explores that natural urge to move to music. You’ll hear some of the popular hits of the early 16th century and before, a rock-and-roll waltz, the Saint Louis Blues Twist, a Ritual Fire Dance, and even a macabre revel of spooks and goblins. Our instruments run the gamut from a tiny medieval-style organetto, to sassy theatre organs in Chicago, Oakland, and Hollywood, and a fine new installation at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. Just try to keep from moving. We’ll explore the extremities of tonal variety and rhythmic energy in music that urges “Dance, Everyone!” this week on Pipedreams.

These days we’d probably just call it ‘getting off’, but years ago when a great performer let loose his imagination, you found yourself transported to marvelous new musical worlds. On our next Pipedreams program, we celebrate multiple opportunities for unfettered inventiveness in a varied collection of inspired works from the German Baroque, by Buxtehude, Bach, Bruhns, and Reincken. And we’ll hear how more recent composers Leo Sowerby in America, Percy Whitlock in England and Louis Vierne in France play with the expanded resources of the 20th century pipe organ. From felicitous demonstration of a rank of flute stops, to exploration of the full sonic potential of great instrument and some great players we enter the world of unfettered imagination, where music can take us up, up, and away. Be mesmerized by the masters, soar with the eagles, as we take off on Flights of Fantasy, this week on Pipedreams.

There’s something for everyone on our next Pipedreams broadcast. We’ll feature everything from charming Renaissance dances played on a restored instrument from the early 1500s to an improvised waltz that’s only a few months old. Our sampler of current CDs includes the sound of the largest church organ in New England and works by Bach played on an instrument from his time and territory. We’ll light up the dawn with a poem perfectly fitted to a venerable Skinner organ in one of Detroit’s once-fine neighborhoods, reminisce about the early days of Pipedreams broadcasts with a piece we premiered here, and savor the splendor of a Vierne Symphonic Finale played in grand manner on a near-perfect organ in Toulouse. From Dupré to Dirksen, and Willan to Walton, it’s a variety sampler of the best new organ compact discs, with profound preludes, delicious dances, and scintillating sorties. To keep up with the recent and the remarkable, we’re Going On Record with new releases in review, this week on Pipedreams.

Whether searching for your lover Shenandoah across the wide Missouri, or settling into a fountain reverie, showering in the South Pacific or praying by the River Jordan, this week’s Pipedreams focus is “liquid lyricism.” You’ll hear about splashing water nymphs, a bathtub songfest, elusive rainbows, and challenges to seafaring men. The music of Handel, Bach, Richard Rodgers, Louis Vierne, and even Chopin will provide a cooling array of aural aquatic images. From the banks of the Jordan to the mighty Rhine, whether in sunshine or moonlight, on Babylon’s shores or in the lively South Pacific, it’s not your normal organ program. From folk traditions to timeless classics, it’s all about Water Music, this week on Pipedreams.

The music bubbles over with imaginative ideas. French virtuoso and teacher Marcel Dupré created an incredible body of organ compositions during his more than 80 years. Though much of it is frequently performed and very popular, none of it was recorded until British recitalist Jeremy Filsell decided to climb the mountain. From audience charmers to works of powerful religious emotion, from simple teaching tools to the most complex of technical hurdles, these pieces represent one of the most important, and astonishing, sets of compositions from the 20th century. He began brilliantly and built strength upon strength. In his lifetime, early 20th century French organist and composer Marcel Dupré, was simply the best. Englishman Jeremy Filsell talks about his CD cycle for the Guild Music label, and shows us what he and Dupré are made of, as we investigate The Dupré Legend this week on Pipedreams.

One of the late romantic masterworks for orchestra is a symphony by Cesar Franck. And one of the great achievements of the 19th century French organ school was this same Cesar Franck’s introduction of a symphonic manner of writing for the pipe organ. But the Symphonic Organ and Franck’s D-minor Symphony are not usually on the same page… that is until our next Pipedreams broadcast when Jane Parker-Smith and Thomas Murray apply their magic to a remarkably effective transcription of the piece. Other items qualify as recent discoveries, some hundred years after the fact, and one familiar score may surprise you with its unconventional conclusion. They don’t teach it this way in the conservatory. Indeed, everything about the work of this estimable French composer is more than a bit out of the ordinary. It’s either been arranged, newly discovered, or radically transcribed. All of it’s enjoyable, and Franckly Unexpected. The music of Cesar Franck, this week on Pipedreams.

We take the psalmists directive, at least for few moments, and venture Beside Still Waters on our next Pipedreams program by listening to music by American composers. Douglas Cleveland plays Dan Locklair’s Windows of Comfort… a series of movements inspired by Tiffany stained glass window scenes. David Higgs presents the world premiere of Three Meditations, by Augusta Read Thomas, and Mary Preston joins the Colorado Symphony for a colorful and sizzling new Concerto for Organ and Orchestra by Gerald Near which might make you stand up and shout bravo. From alpha to omega, we explore the living art of colorful contemporary repertoire with Douglas Cleveland, David Higgs, and Mary Preston as our soloist guides. From an Organist’s Guild Convention in Denver, it’s the American Muse at work, this week on Pipedreams.

With themes from ancient chants and traditional hymn, we celebrate a season of reawakening on our next Pipedreams program, exploring four centuries of music for the Resurrection Festival. Through performances on historic instruments at Altenburg Abbey and the Martini Church in Groningen, the Netherlands, we’ll discover that Johann Sebastian was not the first Bach family organist, though hwe was certainly the most ingenious. Franz Lehrndorfer will improvise on the immense new instrument at the Cathedral in Munich. And Melanie Ninneman and Helen Jensen perform a seasonal duet. It’s music to raise the spirits, literally - a seasonal selection from four centuries of compositions on resurrection themes, with works by Pachelbel and John Rutter, a fantastic improvisation from the Munich Cathedral, and some of Bach’s most exuberant chorale-preludes. All together, their colors and harmonies will stir your soul - music for This Joyful Eastertide, this week on Pipedreams.

PAUL MANZ: Hymn Improvisation Suite in G: All Praise to Thee, Eternal God; Praise the Almighty; All glory be to God on high; If thou but suffer God to guide; Praise God, from whom all blessings flow –Paul Manz (1965 Schlicker/Mount Olive Lutheran, Minneapolis, MN) Manz Music CD-921

Some of them are small and could fit in your living room. Others are large and make a mighty noise. All of them are old, but what does age mean in this context? On our next Pipedreams, we hear the music of historic pipe organs in and around Detroit. Some still are playing in their original settings, others have been moved to new homes, properly restored to begin a second century of use. All tell us something about times past, when the organbuilder’s art in the United States was at its first full bloom. They look back over more than one hundred fifty years of experience, and remind us that beauty is as much in reflection as forward motion. Aesthetic archeologist and fixit-magician Dana Hull shares some surprises from her territory. She shares her insights, introducing us to a vibrant and sturdy breed: the Historic Organs of Michigan, this week on Pipedreams.

It must be pretty wonderful to have a pipe organ in your living room and still more amazing to own the largest theatre organ in the world. On our next Pipedreams program, we visit the Place de Musique, Jasper and Marion Sanfilippo’s snazzy residence north of Chicago to hear Tom Hazleton play the Mighty Wurlitzer Plus, and explore with curator Robert Ridgeway some of the other marvelous musical machinery for which the Sanfilippos have an obvious fascination. Before radio, surround-sound stereos and video arcades, you could summon your own private concert at the drop of a coin. Hear the photoplayers, music boxes, automatic violinas and orchestrions all restored to better-than-new condition. Hear a world of music spring to life as we visit a private collection of marvelous mechanical musical instruments: band organs, pianolas, a violano-virtuoso, and a Mighty Wurlitzer. In the company of Tom Hazleton and Robert Ridgeway, ours is a special guided tour like no other of A Home for Music this week on Pipedreams.

He’s absolutely the best tonic for any time of year. On our next Pipedreams program, we anticipate the coming of spring and celebrate the March birthday of arguably the world’s finest composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. Drawing on some exclusive-to-Pipedreams recital recordings from the American Guild of Organists Convention in Seattle, you’ll hear James David Christie at Saint Alphonsus Church, Christa Rakich at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Paul Jacobs at Epiphany Episcopal, and Robert Bates at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. Also James Kibbie at University of Michigan, Peter Sykes in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Bill Chouinard at the Wooddale Church in Minnesota. It’s a Prelude in C, a Concerto in G, and other music sent Vom Himmel hoch, from heaven above. American organists recorded in recital in Seattle, Eden Prairie, Ann Arbor, and Reykjavik celebrate the change of seasons and honor one of history’s all-time greats. We offer Bach for Springtime, this week on Pipedreams.

Before the age of intercontinental air travel, he travelled thousands of miles touring the world as a virtuoso recitalist. The friendly and fatherly Alexander Guilmant also taught at the Paris Conservatory and, along with his compatriots Franck and Widor, revolutionized the art of the organ in 19th century France. Guilmant’s repertoire covered four centuries, and his own compositions number in the hundreds, embracing equally sweet sentiment, intimate charm, and the glory and passion that only organ music can deliver. We’ll offer you a taste of the best, from Pastorales to Caprices, Marches to Madrigals, Sonatas to Symphonies. With an international reputation and an exceptional repertoire, Alexander Guilmant ranks high on the list of famous French organists, and you’ll know why when you listen to his music. It’s Alexandre the Great, this week on Pipedreams.

The impulse is inexorable, and it’s not just the organist’s feet that want to move out. Our next Pipedreams program celebrates the ceremonial and the aerobic opportunities of music in the manner of a march. Some pieces have the expected pomp and circumstance, but others are majestic, or joyous, or somber, or even side-splittingly funny. Siamese children, archers, marionettes, three kings, and even penguins get into the act, as we step right out according to rank and file. Whether stepping out to a little number by Bach, or a grand romp by Sousa or Elgar, we’ll get our legs and ears in shape and take advantage of an energy which makes you want to move. Ready? Start with your left left-right organ music for a parade. We March Forth!, this week on Pipedreams.

It’s organ and orchestra on our next Pipedreams program, from the inaugural week’s concerts at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall where the Watjen Concert Organ, built by C.B. Fisk, made its debut with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle symphony during the Millennial Year National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. Hatsumi Miura premiere’s Robert Sirota’s new piece, In the Fullness of Time, resident curator Carole Terry performs Aaron Copland’s path-breaking Symphony Number 1, and Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet-Hakim introduces the vibrant Seattle Concerto by her husband, Naji Hakim. The crowds at Benaroya Hall went wild, and you will, too, as we share in Seattle’s Pride, America’s newest concert organ, this week on Pipedreams. There’s unrepentant optimism in the new Seattle Concerto by Naji Hakim, and a world of expressive possibility in music by Copland and Robert Sirota featuring the potent Watjen Concert Organ recently inaugurated at Benaroya Hall by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony. It’s Seattle’s Pride this week on Pipedreams.

…the famous French recitalist, recording artist and teacher Marie-Claire Alain talks about her life and shares her music. With more than 200 albums to her credit, she is synonymous with the art of French organ music today. On our next Pipedreams program, Marie-Claire Alain talks about her family’s history, including the time when her organist father built an instrument for their home, upon which her older brother composed some of the foremost works of the 20th century. Meanwhile, this little black sheep of the talented Alain family grew up to be a famous teacher and recitalist who helped popularize the French Classics, and has recorded the complete works of Bach three times. Marie-Claire Alain talks and plays from the heart. She is a vital force in broadening the French musical perspective. Daughter and sister, teacher and recitalist, she has lived a life with and for music. Hear her story Alain on Alain this week on Pipedreams.

The work of African-American organ composers is a powerfully compelling story in music and on our next Pipedreams broadcast we’ll explore its diverse nature. With performer and commentator Mickey Thomas Terry, we’ll visit the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Patrick’s Church, and the National Presbyterian Church, all located in Washington, DC. Here we’ll listen to largely unknown creations by Thomas Kerr, William Cooper, Noel DaCosta, George Walker and Eugene Hancock. We’re highlighting music for organ with African percussion, and organ solo settings of African-American spirituals, music for church services, and pieces for the concert hall. It’s a multi-faceted discovery, spelled out In Black and White the African-American organ art, this week on Pipedreams.

…through works of the Couperin Family, we provide a fog-reducing introduction to music in French Classic style. Truly fit for a king. Their family dynasty served the Royal French Court, and French music, for nearly 200 years. The Couperins were masters of the keyboard and organists at the Church of Saint Gervais in Paris from 1653 to 1830. On our next Pipedreams broadcast, we’ll explore their works: the majestic and austere verses and fantasies by Uncle Louis, the charming miniatures of the grandson Arman-Louis and his son Gervais-Francois, and the monumental and poetic Masses by François Couperin who was called “The Great” for good reason. It’s a study of the evolution of style, and an introduction to the flavorful recipes of Classic French organ registration. This week, we’ll also hear program host Michael Barone demonstrate a few “French Classic” registrations with some illustrative performances. For anyone who has ever wanted to hear him play, here’s your chance! The colors are rich, the rhythms saucy, the flavors as beguiling as a good French wine. We’ll savor the art of the Baroque Organ in Paris, through music from four generations of the famous Couperin family: Louis, Armand, Gervaise, and Francois. From “C” to Shining “C”, an introduction to elegance, this week on Pipedreams.

The tradition of organ music in Christian community chapels dates back to the middle ages but, as you’ll discover on our next Pipedreams program, it’s still a very lively tradition. We’ll hear four instruments, three of them newly installed, play music both historic and modern. Buxtehude and Pinkham at Mount Saint Joseph Convent in Kentucky, Reger at Saint Norbert’s Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin, pieces by James Hopkins and Marius Walter premiered at Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon, and works by James Primosh, Libby Larsen, and Maurice Duruflé recorded at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, star, as we sample new Sounds from Sacred Spaces. We celebrate the related arts of composition and instrument building with a program of new music on new pipe organ installations featuring the artistry of Cherry Rhodes, Ladd Thomas, Douglas Reed, David Heller, and Douglas Cleveland. Let the spirits soar to Sounds from Sacred Spaces, this week on Pipedreams.

The magnificent Organ Sonata by Sir Edward Elgar is but one of the highlights of this week’s Pipedreams broadcast. In it, four players, two in London and two in New England, will revel in an almost orchestral wash of color. Joseph Payne plays from the Mulliner Book, Malcolm Archer takes us to Lancaster Town Hall, Robert Wolley performs 16th century music on an instrument equally old, and Colin Walsh has a blast at Lincoln Cathedral. Experience the lush sounds that characterize organ music from jolly old England. Beyond Bach and Franck and Widor, there’s a wonderful realm of experience awaiting us in the works of British composers. From the Mulliner Book and early pieces by Orlando Gibbons and Dr. John Bull, through the proud pages of Hubert Parry and Charles Stanford, to the entire First Sonata by Edward Elgar, we prove it’s not a desert island as regards its organ music. Come and celebrate England’s Glory, this week on Pipedreams.

She was the first American to record the Schoenberg Variations and has been a life-long advocate of new music for her instrument. On the next Pipedreams program, we visit with Dr. Marilyn Mason who has been on the faculty of the University of Michigan for more than half a century. She’s one of a kind, and her boundless energy continues to inspire through her teaching, her recitals, and the study-tours she leads to historic instruments abroad. She’ll reflect on her career, share some sage advice for living a good life, and play just a few of the many pieces in her expansive repertoire. At Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall, the National Shrine in Washington, and at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, we’ll celebrate The Art of Marilyn Mason. She blows her own horn, but that’s OK since she has plenty of which to be proud a long list of commissioned works and premiere performances, several hundred successful students from her University of Michigan studio, and a life-time of achievement and personal satisfaction. We celebrate The Art of Marilyn Mason this week on Pipedreams.

From a parish church in Raykjavik, Iceland, to a splendid mansion near Philadelphia, our next Pipedreams program samples great sounds and keeps your finger on the pulse of the pipe organ world. It’s a review of recent compact discs, giving you an opportunity to hear the largest church organ in America, a brand-new installation in Seattle, historic instruments in Central Germany from the time of Bach, and a stunning organ-with-trumpet duo from France. We’ll also listen to a sensuous Arabesque by Debussy, a youthful Pastorale by Ned Rorem, new music by Pamela Decker, a tango - believe it or not, and some jazzy measures from the old country. This week’s program is a wild mix of new organ compact discs including jazz stylings from Germany, a Tango from the Desert, Variations in Seattle, a sweet song from the DuPont summer mansion, and Bach in Iceland. John Weaver, Peter Sykes, Michael Keeley, and other share the glory as we sample new releases of organ compact discs, Going On Record, this week on Pipedreams.