1962 Marcussen & Søn organ at St. Hans Church, Odense, Denmark

We offer a gamut of the organ experience on this week’s Pipedreams program, from some of the simplest to the most challenging of music. Climb up the scale with the eight Little Preludes and Fugues by J.S. Bach - student music with a heart - as we pair those with contrasting works by the greatest German organ composer AFTER Bach, Max Reger. It’s a confluence of contrapuntal ingenuity, from serene to seismic, and performances on a pathbreaking organ at a splendid cathedral in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Trumpet fanfares and other bracing measures spice up this week’s broadcast as we celebrate spring with improvisations and anthems dedicated to the festival of rebirth. Marilyn Keiser plays a Festal Flourish, Kevin Bowyer borrows from Bach’s Little Organ Book, James Culp asks a pointed question, Craig Philips contributes a song for a special morning awakening, and everywhere sons and daughters sing. With instruments in Texas, Italy, and our nation’s capitol, and choirs from Beverly Hills and Britain, we offer Music for an Easter Uprising.

Michael Barone reviews a summer selection of recent recordings of music by and related to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Everything has to start somewhere, and on this week’s Pipedreams broadcast it begins with some alpha wavesmusic in the key of A, beginning a scalar ascent through some of Johann Sebastian Bach’s best and best-loved works. Wolfgang Rübsam performs at the Martini Church in Groningen, the Netherlands; Kevin Bowyer solos in Odense, Denmark; and Daniel Chorzempa, David Roght, Hans Fagius, Noel Rawsthorne, Jean-Patrice Brosse, Thierry Mechler and E. Power Biggs all reveal the genius of Bach in preludes and fugues, fantasies and chorale settings.

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.

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.

No questions are asked when the name of Bach comes up. He is the undisputed master of organ music by worldwide acclaim, and this week, we offer a multi-national celebration of Bachian art, works of amazing grace and glorious intensity. From across Europe and the United States come a host of players, from Albert Schweitzer to David Schrader, Aram Basmadjian to Pierre Bardon. From England, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France and America, our retrospective celebrates universal appeal and border-crossing cooperation. It’s Bach International.

Music from four centuries in which a single ‘good idea’ generates multiple perspectives on a theme.

An eclectic and engaging survey of evidence of the pipe organs potential for color and variety, from recent recordings.

…celebrate the springtime festival of rebirth with anthems ancient and modern and sonorous solos old and new.

…familiar songs take on a new life in the hands of imaginative composers and agile performers playing upon an organ’s many pipes.

…with a good theme, organist-composers can provide an exceptional ‘tour’ of the tonal resources of any instrument.

…magical music, both old and new, adds immeasurably to the spirit of the Nativity Festival.

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

…one of the world's best known texts provides us with glimpses into the composer's craft and the organ builder's art.

…an international array of soloists leads us through the magical intricacies of The Art of Fugue/Die Kunst der Fuge (S. 1080) by Johann Sebastian Bach.

…whether fiery demonstrations of tactile agility or thoughtful meditations on cosmic principals, this genre provides a touchstone for the organist’s art.

…can there ever be a surfeit of these characterful, complex and compelling treasures?

…A New Year's sampler of recent releases.

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…a summer seasonal sampler of recent recordings, with comment.

A summer survey of recent releases of organ music on compact disc.

Profound and soulful meditations, songs of sadness and shipwreck on themes of Titanic import.

a quarterly review of recent organ recordings, drawing from the incredible variety of new and interesting materials which are available to music lovers these days.