Frederick Swann Plays the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ

In order to introduce ourselves, we would like to introduce you to some of the recent releases from each of our labels. The first that we would like to highlight is from Gothic Records and is entitled Frederick Swann Plays the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ. This album features a world premiere recording of the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ, C.B. Fisk, Opus 130 featuring 4 manuals and pedal, 73 ranks and 4,322 pipes.


Best-known as the former organist of The Crystal Cathedral, Frederick Swann delivers the premiere recording of the Fisk, Opus 130 with a program and registrations specifically chosen to showcase the wide and colorful tonal spectrum of this superb new organ. The exciting Finale of Widor’s Fourth Symphony, Op. 13, No. 4 displays the full plenum of this organ and Schumann’s serene Fugue on B-A-C-H, Op. 60, No. 3 offers an opportunity to hear its combined 8' foundation stops. Bach’s strong Prelude in C, BWV 545 utilizes somewhat unusual pedal points, and is followed by a majestic alla breve fourvoice fugue. Swann’s Improvisation on “Londonderry Air” is presented to highlight several of the beautiful solo stops and rich flute/string ensembles of the Fisk organ.

Also on this recording is Franck’s Fantaisie in A, one of the Trois Pièces composed in 1878 for the inauguration of the large organ at the Palais du Trocadéro in Paris. His requested registrations can be fully realized on this organ, the reeds of which speak with a decided French accent. In sharp contrast to the “French sound,” the more staid and weighty English ensembles heard in Norman Cocker’s Tuba Tune accompany the commanding Tuba located high in the organ loft. John La Montaine’s Even Song is a quiet, reflective composition and one of three organ works by this Pulitzer-prizewinning American composer. The new Fisk’s beautiful string stops and the solo Doppel Flute are featured.

The works by Mendelssohn and Rheinberger found here are both inspired by Bach. Rheinberger ‘s Passacaglia of Sonata No. 8 is regarded as one of his most outstanding organ works and is performed on this recording in a classic (rather than romantic) manner, using several stops and ensemble combinations not heard elsewhere on this CD. The Six Organ Sonatas of Mendelssohn, commissioned by the English publisher Coventry and Hollier, were composed between 1839 and 1845. Mendelssohn paid homage to Bach by including German chorales or fugues in five of the six organ sonatas.