1979 Möller organ at the Church of Saint Boniface, Sarasota, FL

One of the delights about the organ is its virtually limitless repertoire, and this Pipedreams program explores some of that as we sample a collection of the latest releases of pipe organ repertoire on compact disc. Hear pieces by Bach’s favorite pupil, a work for organ and cello by written by one Paris Conservatoire professor for himself and a colleague, a canny combination of organ sound with an electronically synthesized harp, a quiet bluesy Arietta by African American pianist Thomas Kerr, and a sonorous symphony by Alexander Guilmant which will make your speakers rumble.

The music bubbles over with imaginative ideas. French virtuoso and teacher Marcel Dupré created an incredible body of organ compositions during his more than 80 years. Though much of it is frequently performed and very popular, none of it was recorded until British recitalist Jeremy Filsell decided to climb the mountain. From audience charmers to works of powerful religious emotion, from simple teaching tools to the most complex of technical hurdles, these pieces represent one of the most important, and astonishing, sets of compositions from the 20th century. He began brilliantly and built strength upon strength. In his lifetime, early 20th century French organist and composer Marcel Dupré, was simply the best. Englishman Jeremy Filsell talks about his CD cycle for the Guild Music label, and shows us what he and Dupré are made of, as we investigate The Dupré Legend this week on Pipedreams.

There’s something for everyone on our next Pipedreams broadcast. We’ll feature everything from charming Renaissance dances played on a restored instrument from the early 1500s to an improvised waltz that’s only a few months old. Our sampler of current CDs includes the sound of the largest church organ in New England and works by Bach played on an instrument from his time and territory. We’ll light up the dawn with a poem perfectly fitted to a venerable Skinner organ in one of Detroit’s once-fine neighborhoods, reminisce about the early days of Pipedreams broadcasts with a piece we premiered here, and savor the splendor of a Vierne Symphonic Finale played in grand manner on a near-perfect organ in Toulouse. From Dupré to Dirksen, and Willan to Walton, it’s a variety sampler of the best new organ compact discs, with profound preludes, delicious dances, and scintillating sorties. To keep up with the recent and the remarkable, we’re Going On Record with new releases in review, this week on Pipedreams.

We’ve everything from a 16th century Italian dance to a grand orchestral march, featuring instruments of only a dozen stops to several hundred. On our next Pipedreams program, we sample some recent recordings from Saint Christopher’s-by-the-River in Ohio, and the Riverside Church in New York City, the first CD release from Ocean Grove Auditorium, the latest from the Mormon Tabernacle, plus a tribute to Dame Gillian Weir, the last album from George Wright, and a pair of critically acclaimed surveys of the complete organ works of Marcel Dupré. Sounds good? You bet! We’re Going On Record with a review of recent recordings 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.

This is fair and pleasant music, grave yet rapturous, from the pen of Marcel Dupré, a collection of introspective Vespers Antiphons which began as improvisations and proved to be so compelling that he was commissioned to later write them down. On our next Pipedreams program, these and other such works by Benjamin Britten, Larry King, and William Mathias provide startling contrast to outspoken scores by Percy Whitlock, Daniel Gawthrop, Barbara Harbach, and Brent Weaver, where heraldic brilliance calls us to attention and involvement. It’s a program of contrasts, brilliant and subdued, theatrical and introspective, with instrumental and choral pieces dedicated to color and collective prayer. From the Cathedral in Mallaga to Trinity Church, Wall Street, delight in variety Fanfares and Antiphons, this week on Pipedreams.

Famous also for his superb improvisations and exacting teaching methods, today we remember him through his compositions. This week’s show explores fourteen virtuosic and poetic movements from the pen of French wizard Marcel Dupré. We’ll hear the three Preludes & Fugues of Opus 7 that set the world afire when he was but 26, four of his Opus 50 Inventions, ironic miniatures, concise as an Oriental haiku, and the Seven Pieces which he wrote during his tours in the 1920s and dedicated to friends he made along the way. In his twenties he astonished the world with virtuosity, by his thirties he’d amazed us with his depth, and throughout his career we regarded him as the best there was. The great man himself teams up with his former students and advocates in a musical offering of Seven Pieces, times two.

From the 17th through the 20th centuries, composers have gathered together movements of tenderness, audacity, rhythm and color to create sweet samplers of their art.

…a preview of some of the performers to be featured in this summer’s national convention of the American Guild of Organists.

…you don’t want to be left all alone when things go bump in the night in the organ loft!

…in the countryside and city, a collection of old noëls in settings from three centuries.

…the canny British-born recitalist, musician-in-residence at Washington National Cathedral, has made an international reputation with his recordings, arrangements, and compelling performances.

…from the pen of one of the great 20th century virtuosos, Marcel Dupré, music to challenge the technique of performers and engage the imagination of listeners.

…a multi-performer, multi-venue presentation of Marcel Dupré’s provocative and profound musical interpretation of Paul Claudel’s vivid fourteen-poem cycle, Le Chemin de la Croix.

…with greetings from England, Iceland, France, Austria, Poland, Italy, Canada and the United States.

…two celebrated 20th century masters, Marcel Duprè and Max Reger, left sets of seven characterful works that convey the many mercurial moods of the King of Instruments.

Proof that the creative spirit was alive when Marcel Dupré improvised in Paris eighty years ago. On August 15, 1919, while substituting for an ailing Louis Vierne, 33-year-old Marcel Dupré improvised for an afternoon service at Notre Dame Cathedral. In the audience, totally by chance, was Claude Johnson, head of Rolls-Royce. He was so moved by the music that he encouraged Dupré to write down his improvisations, guaranteed their publication and sponsored Dupré’s subsequent London debut recital which marked the beginning of this artist’s astounding international career.