1995 Fritts organ at Stanford University, Stanford, CA

It’s a multiplicity of riches on our next Pipedreams program, a sampling from sixteen new releases, including historically correct instruments at Stanford University in California. We’ll also visit Presbyterian churches Rochester and Buffalo, New York, Hexam Abbey in England, and the Cathedrals in Fulda, Germany and Washington DC, hearing Wolfgang Rübsam, Paul Manz, Gillian Weir and still others perform at the top of their game. From the Church of Saint Sulpice in Paris to the west coast of America, we’ll hear colorful music from four centuries of repertoire showcasing the king of instruments in all its glory.

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.

…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.

…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.