This 6CD set contains 100 tracks of popular organ music from the
catalogues of EMI Classics and Virgin Classics performed by some of
the world s finest organists on a wide variety of instruments from
all over the UK and Continental Europe. Further details of the
programmes are as follows: Each of the six CDs is devised as a
concert programme to make an enjoyable listening experience
individually, or together to constitute a major collection of
well-known organ works in a readily accessible form.
The first CD begins with a group of pieces by one of the
greatest composers of all time and one who made a major
contribution to the organ repertoire: Johann Sebastian Bach. The
opening work is instantly recognisable as a piece of music heard in
many films and television shows. Some experts believe that it may
not have been written by Bach, but it is formally attributed to
him. The other Bach pieces are followed by some attractive works by
other composers of the Baroque era such as Buxtehude, Cl rembault
and Couperin, and the CD ends with one of the signature pieces by
Bach s great contemporary, George Frideric Handel: the delightful
organ concerto known as The Cuckoo and the Nightingale .
The second CD begins with another Handel organ concerto and
includes some arrangements for organ of lively tunes originally
written for other instruments such as Clarke s famous Trumpet
Voluntary and Mendelssohn s Wedding March from his incidental music
for A Midsummer Night s Dream , a piece traditionally played at
countless weddings at the end of the ceremony. After further works
by composers such as Brahms, Schumann and Saint-Sa ns, we are back
at another wedding ceremony with Widor s striking Toccata that is
also a favourite for a celebratory departure by the happy
newly-weds.
CD 3 brings together a further selection of mainly French works,
beginning with two pieces by the outstanding young composer Jehan
Alain who was tragically killed in action in the Second World War.
After compositions by Durufl , B ellmann, Mulet and Franck, the
programnme ends with the conclusion to the spectacular Organ
Symphony by Saint-Sa ns with all the orchestral power of the
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse accompanying Matthias
Eisenberg at the organ of Notre-Dame la Daurade Basilica,
Toulouse.
The next CD brings us back to further representative solo works
by Bach, preceded by a splendid organ concerto by Haydn recorded in
Prague. After solos by Bo ly, Mendelssohn, Reger and Murrill we
return to Prague for a lively concerto by an Austrian contemporary
of Mozart s, Johann Albrechtsberger. As well as compositions by
Handel, Buxtehude, Boyce and Sweelinck, CD 5 features a selection
of organ works by Bach from the collection known as the Arnstadt
Chorale Preludes, taken from the world premier recording of the
Authentic Yale Edition played by Werner Jacob on the Silbermann
organ in Arlesheim Cathedral, Switzerland.
The last CD covers works by more recent composers such as
Poulenc, Messiaen and Walton, and, to demonstrate the versatility
of the organ, concludes with some spirited arrangements of several
perhaps unlikely works such as Danse macabre by Saint-Sa ns, Sousa
s march: The Stars and Stripes Forever and finally Wagner s
spectacular Ride of the Valkyries .
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
