1988 Metzler organ at the Church of St. Nicolas, Bremgarten, Switzerland

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 a game of getting-to-know-you. First a few notes, then some others and before you know it, we’re into a new adventure in sound. For hundreds of years, players have explored the limits of their instruments and of their own techniques in works that evolved from the sheer tactile pleasure of pushing down the keys and seeing what happens. Marius Monnekendam in the Netherlands, Robert Elmore in the United States, Girolamo Frescobaldi of Italy, J.S. Bach in Germany and many others have written some of their most exciting music following this scheme. Tactile and tantalizing, our program explores four hundred years of repertoire, instruments from three centuries, and the delights of things done by hand. Better than a good massage, with a tingling sensation guaranteed, we Reach out and Touch the Art of the Toccata, this week on Pipedreams.

…music and conversation featuring internationally touring British recitalist Christopher Herrick, in celebration of his 40th anniversary as a recording artist.

…how better to explore a pipe organ’s voices, and test a player’s mettle, than in the playing of variations?!

…music and conversation feature internationally-touring British recitalist Christopher Herrick, in celebration of his years as a recording artist.

…music and conversation featuring internationally touring British recitalist Christopher Herrick, in celebration of his 40th anniversary as a recording artist.

…Individual viewpoints concerning music which is at the heart of all organ enthusiasm, the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.