1890 Hill organ at Town Hall, Sydney, Australia

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.

…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.

…from Gounod to Gershwin, we offer a collection of melodious, mobile music guaranteed to keep you on your toes.

…some up-tempo tunes to keep the blood warm and take us through to the beginning of spring.

…enhancing that ‘spring feeling’ with scores from the classics to Broadway songs, tuneful takes on the change of seasons.

…the tradition of grand pipe organs in civic halls seems to have been an English invention, one carried on successfully throughout the Empire and still maintained…and emulated…today.

…Additional little-known compositions by master-organist Marcel Dupre, including his concerto for Organ and Orchestra.

…A wide ranging summary of the past twelve months in the world of the king of instruments, with competition winners, new instrument dedications, and memorial tributes to friends and mentors...in particular, E. Lyle Hagert, Douglas L. Butler, and Klaas Bolt (requiescat in pace).

…A Summer guide to recent organ music recordings, focusing on sonic and emotional appeal and variety.

…a glimpse at the Australian scene through recordings of several famous (and large) instruments, plus new-music performances (and commentary) by Ralph Morton.