1693 Schnitger; 1993 Ahrend organ at Jacobikirche, Hamburg, Germany

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.

When you’ve got it, flaunt it. As a center for trade and diplomacy, the seventeenth-century north German port of Hamburg was one of the most prosperous independent cultural centers of Europe. As a city, it supported composers like Scheidemann, Praetorius and Reincken who, in turn, provided the foundations of a German Baroque style. This week, we sample the musical life of this cosmopolitan Hanseatic center and hear some of the music and instruments for which the city was, and remains, famous. Guy Bovet, Douglas Bush, Gustav Leonhardt and Julia Brown play upon a proud cultural tradition, and we serve up delectible samples from our Hamburger Hotdish.

It’s almost like a peal of bells, and why not, since this week’s program is all about praise. The phrase We praise you, oh God. We acknowledge you to be the Lord… has inspired composers through the centuries. Dupré, Attaignant, Buxtehude, and Demessieux, have each created monuments on this text and we’ll also listen to a very snappy setting from the French Baroque by Charpentier, as well as chorale versions by Britten and Berlioz. The celebrations continue through time and traditions, as we shout our praise: Te Deum!

…a tribute to the foremost organ composer before Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude [1637-1707].

…an eclectic and engaging survey of evidence of the pipe organ’s potential for color and variety, from recent recordings.

…fountains, flowing rivers, and frothy waves, in a bathtub or lapping upon a south sea island, are but a few of the inspirations behind this collection of ‘water music.’

…in the company of guest commentator and biographer Kerala Snyder, we explore the profoundly influential music of the “Great Dane” of the German Baroque organ scene.

…the old boys in northern Europe showed the way, and others later followed with extravagant compositions that explore the stylus phantasticus manner.

…where the sound of history comes alive in the home territory of Arp Schnitger and Dieterich Buxtehude.

…a survey of music by the Lüneburg master Georg Böhm[1661-1733], whose exemplary shock-waves inspired, among others, the young Johann Sebastian Bach.

…a glimpse at some intriguing repertoire and exquisite recordings made by engineer-producer Christoph Frommen for his Aeolus Music label.

…in the company of guest commentator and biographer Kerala Snyder, we explore the profoundly influential music of this “Great Dane” of the German Baroque organ scene.

…intriguing, invigorating, and inflammable compositions on themes for the Feast of Pentecost.

…Danish recitalist Bine Bryndorf provides an in-depth assessment of the greatest organ composer before Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, plus works by his teacher Heinrich Scheidemann and his ‘followers’ Nicolaus Bruhns and Johann Sebastian Bach.

…a reflection on the art of the great Netherlands organist and teacher, Gustav Leonhardt.

…concert performances from near and far keep the King of Instruments in the spotlight.

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A winter collection of recent organ recordings in review.

Varied splendid and vibrant settings of the perennially affirming hymn of praise, faith and celebration, a sonic spectacular!

A cautionary contrast of realities facing historic instruments in Hamburg, Germany, and at the University of Pennsylvania’s Irvine Auditorium in Philadelphia.

A sonorous survey of nine instruments by the most illustrious of North German Baroque organbuilders, Arp Schnitger [1648-1719], in celebration of the 350th anniversary of his birth.

A summing up of the past year, with celebrations and memorial tributes, highlights of some exceptional recordings, and some glimpses into the future.