1745 Stumm organ at Saint Paul’s Church in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany

When George Fredric Handel needed to draw crowds to performances of his new oratorios, he discovered that they’d come to see HIM play the organ. Now that’s star-power. And although the ravages of time have been less kind to some of his contemporaries, Handel’s concertos, and specifically those written for the organ, are still among the most delightful concert works ever devised from that period.

Put some spring in your step with this week’s show, and perhaps even respond to the urge to get on your feet and troop around with these parade pieces and processionals for diverse occasions. Whether it be a pompous processional from Paris, or a splashy sound-off by Sousa, our program guarantees to make you move up out of your chair, fall in and straighten that rank and, in response to irrepressible rhythms and March Again.

In celebration of the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [born 1/27/1756], we explore some of the music he wrote for the organ, and some that he didn’t.

…a spring quarterly survey of recent recordings.