Hans Davidsson - Buxtehude and the Schnitger Organ Video

Today we want to share a video we created featuring Hans Davidsson's recording, "Buxtehude and the Schitger Organ", which is the third volume of Buxtehude's complete organ works.

Buxtehude's visit with Arp Schnitger in Hamburg in 1687 began an association that lasted for many years and resulted in the building of the four manual organ at the Cathedral in Lübeck, as well as modifications to the organ at Saint Marien. As there are limited details regarding registrations for Buxtehude's music, Hans Davidsson explores the encounter between the music and the four manual organ in Göteborg, Sweden to bring new perspectives to his performance on this final volume of the complete works of Buxtehude.

Buy Dieterich Buxtehude and the Schnitger Organ from the Gothic Catalog and save.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Happy St. Patrick's Day! What better way is there to celebrate than by listening to The Great Organ of Saint Patrick's Cathedral?

GREAT ORGAN OF ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, New York City
Donald Dumler, organist

This organ CD is always in our best-sellers list, year after year. With both popular and unusual works in his progam, Cathedral Organist Donald Dumler strikes just the right balance of musical choices.

Both the Chancel and Grand Gallery Organs were built by Kilgen, and are controlled by two new "twin" five-manual consoles. With 177 stops and over 9,000 pipes, the organ is both a grand musical statement, and a priceless antique whose sounds evoke the ideals of organbuilding in the 1920's.

Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D Minor
Bach: Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Clarke: Trumpet Voluntary
Creston: Prelude from Suite for Organ
Clokey: Pastorale
Edmundson: Vom Himmel Hoch
Handel: Largo from "Xerxes"
Durufle: Prelude & Fugue on ALAIN
Jongen: Choral
Daniel-Lesur: In Paradisum
Massenet: Meditation from "Thais"
Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance, No. 1

Currently out of stock at http://gothic-catalog.com, but find it at the following preferred retailers (and both have MP3 versions available):

ArkivMusic.com

ClassicsOnline.com

The ECU Chamber Singers

Monday we posted a review on the ECU Chamber Singers from the American Record Guide in which the reviewer stated that they were “One of the nation’s finest vocal ensembles". Today we bring you a couple of videos to show you this is no empty statement.

ECU Chamber Sngers - Faire is the Heaven



ECU Chamber Singers - Sanctus from Frank Martin's Mass for Double Chorus a cappella.

Eternal Light
East Carolina University Chamber Singers
Daniel Bara, conductor

New music for a capella choir and solo instruments
Four world-premier recordings
Includes the first recording of Egil Hovland’s Agnus Dei (2000)

Gothic Records G-49242
List price: $18.98
Our price: $15.98

American Record Guide Reviews Eternal Light

From American Record Guide:

“If you follow the best American academic choirs, this one should be on your must-hear list. Their sound is rich and smooth, their technique is well-nigh faultless, and their spiritual intensity will touch any listener’s soul.”


“One of the nation’s finest vocal ensembles & and they prove it here.”

Eternal Light
East Carolina University Chamber Singers
Daniel Bara, conductor

New music for a capella choir and solo instruments
Four world-premier recordings
Includes the first recording of Egil Hovland’s Agnus Dei (2000)

Gothic Records G-49242
List price: $18.98
Our price: $15.98

The ECU Chamber Singers’ first Gothic recording

One of the best-sounding organ/choral discs we have ever recorded!

The ECU Chamber Singers and organist Janette Fishell are conducted by Daniel Bara
in these monuments of the English choral tradition.
The choir’s sound is greatly enhanced by the sumptuous acoustics of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville,
and its large, new Fisk organ.

Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb
Howells: Requiem
Ireland Greater: Love hath no man
and more…

Sound sample of Tu es Petrus (Pearsall)

Gothic Records G-49256
List price: $18.98
Our price: $15.98

Hymns Through the Centuries - Digitally Re-Mastered

We have just completed a full digital re-mastering of the most popular recordings in our catalog:

Hymns through the Centuries
The Cathedral Choral Society
Washington National Cathedral

Great hymns from the broad church tradition sung by a large choir in a monumental space with a large organ.
You will be singing along—guaranteed!

Add volume 2 for a special package price of $24.98!

VOLUME 1 When in our music God is glorified Ye watchers and ye holy ones A mighty fortress is our God Where cross the crowded ways of life O sacred head, sore wounded All glory, laud and honor Abide with me, fast falls the eventide My shepherd will supply my need Come, ye thankful people, come Let all mortal flesh keep silence Rock of ages, cleft for me Praise, my soul, the King of heaven Come, risen Lord Carillon hymn: St Peter Eternal Father, strong to save Amazing grace! how sweet the sound Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty Nearer, my God, to thee Dear Lord and Father of mankind In Christ there is no East or West Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Crown Him with many crowns Word of God, come down on earth The Church's one foundation God of our fathers Father, in thy gracious keeping Peal Bells

VOLUME 2 Peal Bells Jesus, my all, to heaven has gone Our thanks we give for love and hope In the bleak midwinter Creating God, your fingers trace Rejoice, ye pure in Heart! Let all the world in every corner sing Organ solo: Ar hyd y nos Of the Father's love begotten Come down, O Love divine Spirit of God, descend upon my heart God is love What wondrous love is this! All my hope on God is founded Carillon Solo: Leoni O God of our divided world Christ, might Savior Breathe on me, Breath of God I vow to thee, my country The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended Lord of all hopefulness O brightness of the immortal Father's face O praise ye the Lord! Bagpipe Solo: Hyfrydol

Gothic G-49112 Volume 1
Retail price: $18.98
Our price: $15.98

Gothic G-49204 Volume 2
Retail price: $18.98
Our price: $15.98

Volumes 1 & 2 together
Retail price: $37.96
Our Price $24.98!

Click here to see all of our hymn CDs

The Organ Loft - Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra at Trinity Lutheran; Duruflé Mass 'Cum Jubilo'

The Organ Loft - March 6, 2011
Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra at Trinity Lutheran; Duruflé Mass 'Cum Jubilo'
Webcast and Broadcast Schedule

This week on the Organ Loft, we're featuring music for the end of Epiphany and the beginning of Lent. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra plays Bach and Improvisations on Lutheran choral themes (at Trinity Lutheran in Lynnwood), followed by Maurice Duruflé’s Mass cum jubilo for men’s voices and organ (Trinity College, Cambridge).

Program

1. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra: Improvisation: Dance Suite on “Wie Schön leuchtet der Morgenstern”¹
2. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra: Improvisation: “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden”¹
3. Gabriel Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine¹
4. J. S. Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in a, BWV 904¹
5. J. S. Bach: “Erbarm dich, mein, O Herre Gott” BWV 721¹
6. J. S. Bach: “Fantasia super “Komm, Heiliger Geist” BWV 651¹
7. Maurice Duruflé: Messe 'Cum jubilo' Opus 11²

Recordings Used:

1. “Bach, Improvisations and the Liturgical Year” Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, organ. ReZound RZCD-5016
2. “Duruflé: Complete Choral Works” Choir of Trinity College, Richard Marlow, dir. Chandos CHAN 10357

Listen Online:

KING-FM Seattle's Classical Choice — Sundays at 10:00 PM

OREGON: KWAX-FM and the University of Oregon radio network — Sundays at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM

Buxtehude Organ Works Reviews

Here are some more great reviews for Hans Davidsson's Complete Organ Works of Buxtehude collection:

"I bought your registration Dieterich Buxtehude and the Mean-Tone Organ employing the ULSI technique. It’s really fantastic the high level of quality you are able to extrapolate from the true sound of the organ." —Gianni Movia, Italy

"I just heard the Buxtehude. It’s incredible! Wow! The music, performer, organ, room and recording are perfectly matched with the highest quality. The sound of the organ came to the point of the true reproduction of the reality." —Munetaka Yokota, organbuilder

"Buy this album if you are interested in audio technology and are curious about what Erik Sikkema means by ULSI technology!" —Hans Hellsten, Sweden

"Diderich ‘Hansen’ Buxtehude (1637–1707) was born in Denmark, and was active as an organist, composer, and cultural entrepreneur in Denmark and Sweden as well as in Germany, where he became known as Dieterich Buxtehude. He grew up in Helsingør, Denmark, and served as organist in Helsingborg (now in Sweden) and Helsingør before accepting one of the most prestigious musical positions in North Germany, that of organist at St. Mary’s Church, Lübeck, in 1668. During his nearly forty years of service there he achieved fame not only as an organist but also as the composer and director of a concert series known as the Lübeck Abendmusiken. Although he left an impressive corpus of arias, sacred concertos, and cantatas for voices with instruments as well as two printed editions of sonatas for strings, it is chiefly his organ works that captured the attention of performers both in his day and in our own. His organ music appeals to modern listeners because it is full of the fantasy, variety and unpredictability that characterises seventeenth-century music, yet is rooted in the major-minor tonal system familiar to our ears. The works fall into two broad categories, those based on chorale melodies and those freely composed. He set many chorales as short preludes, with a highly ornamented melody to be played by the right hand on one manual, a two-voice accompaniment for a second manual, and a continuo-like bass for the pedal. Despite their unity of style, they show endless variety in their ornamentation. His extensive chorale fantasias, on the other hand, develop each phrase of the chorale in a contrasting style. His free pedaliter praeludia are the works for which e is best known, demonstrating his virtuosity as both a composer and a performer. The large organ that Buxtehude played in St Mary’s in Lübeck had fifty-four stops on three manuals and pedal. Recent research suggests that it may have been in mean tone, a tuning in which the tonal excursions that Buxtehude included in some of his praeludia would have been difficult to play. Hans Davidsson’s bold undertaking of the recording of Buxtehude’s entire organ repertoire in mean tone gives us startling new insights into how this ‘heavenly harmony’ might have sounded in the seventeenth century. This beautifully produced double-CD is the first in a projected three-volume series from Loft Recordings and is essential listening for anyone interested in early organ music."
—John Pitt, New Classics (UK)

"Hans Davidsson has recently released a recording called ”Dieterich Buxtehude and the Mean-Tone Organ”. It is a double CD and the first of three sets that will cover the complete organ works of Dietrich Buxtehude. It is not merely another recording of the complete organ works of Buxtehude, but a recording with a vision and a pedagogical design.

"The idea is to record Buxtehude on a large organ in mean-tone, something that has never been done before. The reason it hasn’t been done before is that that there has been a belief that the music of Buxtehude has been intended for well-tempered organs – but convenience has probably also played a part. Newer research has shown that the organ works of Buxtehude were written in a context where mean-tone temperament was an important ingredient. A counter-argument based around the existence of pieces in remote keys- such as the preludes in f#-minor and A major – is not sustainable since the keyboard compositions of Buxtehude’s time didn’t have the same function as they began to have around hundred years later in music history. Composing and improvising were still two parts of the same practice, so a composition lived a life that probably consisted of a large number of improvised versions and one or several written down versions (perhaps even in different keys). The written notation of a piece was a tool to develop and spread (to colleagues and students) that organ playing that was mostly improvised.

“Pedagogical design” is a somewhat clumsy way to say that Hans Davidsson’s recording is so much more than a recording. The buyer gets a richly illustrated booklet, and if he or she is not content with the exciting essays there are even more detailed program notes and registration indications of the record label’s website. The program notes are excellent examples of texts that contain a good balance of facts, speculations and explanations of musical choices.

"I suspect a larger ambition behind this very complete production. The aurally and visually magnificent organs, the important role of the organist in both church service s and local musical life and a music making where composition, improvisation and interpretation were different sides of the same practice: all these aspects of the North German Baroque organ art can be made into a story about the golden age of organ art. And that is what Hans Davidsson achieves with rhetorical power in both playing and texts. The story of the golden age makes us question our present but also- paradoxically – enables us to shape our future. Presumably that is the intention, and I think that is excellent.

"This is a double CD that can be recommended in every respect to be bought, listened to, studied and challenged by:

"Buy this record if you are interested in sound recording and are curious about what Erik Sikkema’s USLI-technique means. It is enough to listen to it with just open ears to realize that organs seldom sounds this good on records, you can hear both the room and the details.

"Listen to this music if you, in an increasingly more noisy, more tone deaf and more insensitive world are in need of good examples and inspiring role models to be able to continue your work as a church musician, organist or pedagogue! Here is a story from the golden age of organ art, from the 17th century North Germany where the bourgeois proudly invested in magnificent organs and where the organist was a kind of musical preacher.

"Study this production even if you have heard all earlier and current recordings of Buxtehude’s organ works, and even if you have played them all! There are new details to discover, new relationships to understand and new interpretations to experience. Hans Davidsson has begun a rereading of the musical heritage of Buxtehude; a rereading that surprises, challenges and pleases. It is for example an excellent idea to use the history of David and Goliath as an interpretive pattern for the battered Prelude Fugue and Ciacona in C-major. To play Buxtehude in mean-tone is a risky decision, but here it is so well argued and convincingly done that all you can say is: of course, this is the way it must be. It must be impossible not to be seduced by the lovely principals and flutes of the Örgryte organ.

"Be challenged by this record if you think that music can’t be talked about. It is reasonable that you sometime not speak instead of playing or listening. But there is a rich tradition, at least within what is nowadays called western art music, to talk about music, and to let that speaking and knowledge enrich the interpretation and the listening. Hans Davidsson shows with his interpretation of the Preludium in D-major (BuxWV 139), that there is instrumental music that is so close to speech that even if it doesn’t speak, it can be understood clearly.

"Hans Davidsson’s ”Buxtehude and the Mean-Tone Organ” is a brilliant combination of musicality, fantasy, learning and pedagogy. Buy it! Since both the musicianship and program notes are so rich in information the record should be enjoyed in small doses, but that is a good thing: it lasts longer!"

Hans Hellsten, Swedish Church Music Journal
Professor of organ at the School of Music in Malmö, Sweden
Translation Fredrik Tobin

Buxtehude Organ Works—Hans Davidsson (7 CDs total)

Includes:
Volume 1: Buxtehude and the Mean-Tone Organ (2 CDs)
Volume 2: The Bach Perspective (2 CDs)
Volume 3: Buxtehude and the Schnitger Organ (3 CDs)

North German Baroque Organ, Gothenburg, Sweden

Recent research shows that Buxtehude had only mean-tone organs at his disposal during his life. Although there are many good recordings on well-tempered organs (including some antiques), performing these works on mean-tone instruments requires both a radical re-assessment of traditional performance ideas and a large and extraordinary organ. Hans Davidsson is the ideal performer for this task, and he plays the huge “North German Baroque Organ” of Gothenburg, Sweden. The complete organ works are recorded here in three volumes totaling seven compact discs.

Hans Davidsson on YouTube

We've been talking about Hans Davidsson and the Complete Organ Works of Buxtehude a lot lately, so today we thought it would be fun to share some videos of Hans Davidsson we came across on YouTube.

Enjoy:

Buxtehude Organ Works—Hans Davidsson (7 CDs total)

Includes:
Volume 1: Buxtehude and the Mean-Tone Organ (2 CDs)
Volume 2: The Bach Perspective (2 CDs)
Volume 3: Buxtehude and the Schnitger Organ (3 CDs)

The Organ Loft - Be Still, My Soul & Bach Mass in F

The Organ Loft - February 27, 2011
Be Still, My Soul & Bach Mass in F
Webcast and Broadcast Schedule

This week on the Organ Loft you'll hear selections from “Be Still My Soul”, a recent disc from the choir of All Saints Beverly Hills, and Bach’s Mass in F with the Washington Bach Consort.

Program

1. Percy Whitlock: "Be Still, My Soul“¹
2. Harold Friedell: "Jesus, so lowly“¹
3. Gabriel Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine¹
4. J.S. Bach: O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig, S. 656²
5. F. Melius Christiansen: Lamb of God³
6. J.S. Bach: Mass in F major, BWV 233⁴

Recordings Used:

1. “Be Still, My Soul” Choir of All Saints’ Church, Beverly Hills, CA, Dale Adelmann, conductor, Craig Phillips, organist, Gothic G-49251
2. “The Leipzig Chorales/J.S. Bach” Christa Rakich, organ; Loft LRCD-1078-79
3. “Eternity” National Lutheran Choir, David Cherwien, director, NLCA02022 (available from The Gothic Catalog)
4. “The Bach Masses, v.1” Washington Bach Consort, Reilly Lewis, dir. Loft LRCD-1068

1. “Be Still, My Soul” Choir of All Saints’ Church, Beverly Hills, CA, Dale Adelmann, conductor, Craig Phillips, organist, Gothic G-49251

2. “The Leipzig Chorales/J.S. Bach” Christa Rakich, organ; Loft LRCD-1078-79

3. “Eternity” National Lutheran Choir, David Cherwien, director, NLCA02022 (available from The Gothic Catalog)

4. “The Bach Masses, v.1” Washington Bach Consort, Reilly Lewis, dir. Loft LRCD-1068



Listen Online:

KING-FM Seattle's Classical Choice — Sundays at 10:00 PM

OREGON: KWAX-FM and the University of Oregon radio network — Sundays at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM

Out of Stock or Out of Print? Here are some options

Have you ever wanted a recording from any of the labels in The Gothic Catalog, and it's either out of print or out of stock? Well, we have some suggestions for you.

ArkivMusic is stocking out of print releases from both Gothic Records and Loft Recordings. Here are links to these albums:

Gothic Records
Loft Recordings

These include such favorites as:
The Riverside Years / Frederick Swann
Frederick Swann Plays Two Organs By Reuter
Marches / Douglas Major
L'organiste Parisien (1864-1999) - Franck, Et Al / Adam
The Young Bach / Harald Vogel
The Shapenote Album / Doug Fullington, Tudor Choir
Clemens Non Papa: Requiem, Motets / Fullington, Tudor Choir
And many more...

And, if the album you're looking for is simply out of stock, make sure to send us an email at info@gothic-catalog.com. You can also check ClassicsOnline for the CD, or if it's not in stock there either, you can download the MP3s there as well. Here are the links to our recordings on ClassicsOnline:

Gothic Records
Loft Recordings
Clarion Records
ReZound
Quilisma
Washington National Cathedral

William Porter Plays Bach

Just in case you missed Sunday's Organ Loft broadcast, here's a taste of what you would have heard:




Make sure to tune in next week (click for listening information).

Bach: One of a Kind
William Porter, organist
Fritts organ, Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, Washington

This is the first nationally released CD recorded on the new Paul Fritts organ at PLU. Fritts' magnum opus, this spectacular organ has 54 stops/ 80 ranks on three manuals. The pedal division includes a full length 32' Posuane as well as a 32' Subbass. The combination of one of the finest organ builders and organists in the United States, 24-bit recording technology, and Lagerquist Hall's four-second reverberation time, make this CD a must-have!

Our number one selling Bach organ CD.

"Star Recording!" Recording of the month, The Organ magazine, UK

"This disk is highly recommended as one of the best single Bach organ recording I've heard in quite a while. An organ recording for Bach lovers."—BachCantatas.com

Buy the CD from The Gothic Catalog.

Listen to samples and download mp3s from ClassicsOnline.

The Organ Loft - Byrd Mass in 4 Voices, Bach and Franck

The Organ Loft - February 20, 2011
Byrd Mass in 4 Voices, Bach and Franck
Webcast and Broadcast Schedule

This week on The Organ Loft, we feature the Mass for four voices by William Byrd, Frank's Chorale in A minor, and two works by Bach.

Program

1. J.S. Bach: Fugue in E minor, BWV 548¹
2. William Byrd: Mass for four voices²
3. J.S. Bach: Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend, BWV 709¹
4. Cesar Franck: Chorale no. 3 in A minor³

Recordings Used:

1. “J.S. Bach: One of a Kind” William Porter, LOFT LRCD-1025
2. “William Byrd: The Three Masses” Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips, director Gimmel CDGIM 345
3. “Gallic in Greensboro” Andre Lash, organ, Pro Organo CD 7213

Listen Online:

KING-FM Seattle's Classical Choice — Sundays at 10:00 PM

OREGON: KWAX-FM and the University of Oregon radio network — Sundays at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM

Joan Lippincott - Bach

Joan Lippincott marked a few milestones recently. First, she celebrated her 75th Birthday, and second she celebrated 30 Years of recordings on Gothic Records.

Her "celebration" album was the J.S. Bach Concerto Transcriptions recording on the Paul Fritts Organ, Opus 20 at Princeton Theological Seminary. The recording features Lippincott's own dazzling transcription of the Bach/Vivaldi concerto for four harpsichords.

Gothic Records has celebrated the milestone by issuing The Joan Lippincott Bach Collection on Gothic featuring 8 CDs.



Make sure to check out our video from The Organ Loft episode "Celebrating Joan Lippincott":

Valentine's Day - Evening Wind

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and we have a wonderful album to share that will make any Valentine's Day celebration even better.

Evening Wind
Choral Music of J.A.C. Redford
Los Angeles Chamber Singers (Grammy winner!)
Peter Rutenberg, Conductor

Evening Wind is a new collection of Choral Music by J.A.C. Redford. With texts by E. E. Cummings and William Wordsworth, this music weaves starswept skies and sunflecked seas around the theme of love.

J.A.C. Redford is an accomplished composer of concert, chamber and choral music, whose works have been performed by Cantus, The Debussy Trio, Los Angeles Chamber Singers, Los Angeles Master Choral, St. Martin's Chamber Choir, Utah Chamber Artists and Utah Symphony. In films, Redford is best known for scores to The Trip to Bountiful, Oliver & Company, and Newsies, as well as the television series Coach and St. Elsewhere for which he received Emmy® nominations.

The Los Angeles Chamber Singers have been one of L.A.'s premier ensembles for 16 years. This brilliant choral organization guided by Peter Rutenberg, specializes in contemporary choral literature and works closely with Los Angeles composers to develop and encourage new repertoire. Evening Wind is their fifth release, their first for the Clarion Label.

“Upon hearing a performance of Love is the Only Every God, I was struck by the evocative, colorful settings of these E. E. Cummings texts. This is music that every college/professional conductor should know.” —Jerry McCoy, University of North Texas

Listen to Samples, and download mp3s at ClassicsOnline.com

Purchase the CD from The Gothic Catalog & Save!
List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $15.98
You save $3.00!


Program:

Evening Wind (2005)
Napili Bay, 2PM (2002)
Love is the Every Only God (2001)

• Love is the Every Only God
• First Interlude
• What Time is it?
• Lady Will You Come With Me
• Second Interlude
• White Guardians
• Now that, More Nearest
• Silently If

Night Pieces (2004)

1. How Beautiful the Queen of Night
2. A Night-Piece
3. The Sun Has Long Been Set

Love Never Fails (1997)

"The Dream Keeper" from Mornings Like This

If you missed this Sunday's broadcast of The Organ loft, don't despair. You can still listen to William Averitt's "The Dream Keeper" in our newest Organ Loft YouTube Video:

See Frederick Swann in Concert!

Click to view larger version

Frederick Swann will be live in concert at the Church of Good Shepherd in Arcadia, California on Sunday, February 13th at 3pm! The concert is to dedicate the newly installed Rogers 5-Manual Masterpieces Series Classical Organ, the largest digital drawknob organ on the West Coast.

An incredible series of events has led to the installation of the largest all-digital drawknob organ in California - and it happened virtually overnight. Reverend Dr. Philip Bertolo Wood serves as Senior Pastor, a position he has held since 1996. Timothy Durkovic is Director of Music, Principal Organist and Carol Choir Director. The music ministry involves over 130 people. In 2010, a new 3-manual Rodgers organ was installed in the Chapel chancel area. and Antiphonal Division and Festival Trumpet were mounted high in the rear to great aural effect. The results in the Chapel were so successful that the church developed a renewed and immediate interest in installing a new organ in the Sanctuary. Through a generous donation, funds were immediately available and plans were made for the installation of a new 5-manual Rodgers in time for Easter - just two weeks away.

The Masterpiece organ selected for the Sanctuary is a state-of-the-art digital instrument that is equivalent to 195 pipe ranks, larger than any other all-digital drawknob instrument in Southern California, according to Dr. Robert Tall. A handsome dark oak casework for the rear gallery is under construction and will be installed mid-summer. The new casework will be visually pleasing with its new facade pipes and a new flamed copper Trumpet en Chamade. The existing Moller pipe organ served the congregation well, but it was in need of rebuilding and was not adequate for the size of the building. The church opted not to incorporate the Moller instrument into the new organ. Instead, the pipes were removed and given to several organ builders to be reused in local projects.

Frederick L. Swann (born 1931) is a prominent Americam church and concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor, and former president of the American Guild of Organists (2002–2008). During his career spanning more than a half-century, he has performed on most of the well-known pipe organs in the world and made numerous compact disc recordings.[1] Swann has been called "one of the country's most distinguished organists".[2] He is Organist Emeritus of the Crystal Cathedral and the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. He has appeared at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Paul's Cathedral in London; and Passau Cathedral in Germany. He played the inaugural concert of the 6,125-pipe organ of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall.[5]

The Los Angeles Times called Swann's playing "Splendid, probing, brilliant and entertaining ... As always, Swann is an inspiration". Baltimore Sun music critic Tim Smith has called him "one of the country's most distinguished organists".
For further information, please visit the church website at www.goodshepherdarcadia.org and call Timothy Durkovic, Music Director, at 626-447-2181.

If you are unable to make it to this great concert, make sure and check out our Frederick Swann recordings on The Gothic Catalog!

Also, to listen to samples and download Frederick Swann recordings, visit ClassicsOnline.com!

The January Organ Recordings Sale Has Five More Days!

Our January Organ Recordings sale is going strong, and you still have FIVE more days to save! Check out the kinds of savings we have going on:

Great Organ of Washington National Cathedral/Major List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $14.98  You save $4.00!  Douglas Major plays spectacular large-scale works and a transcription of Handel's famous Water Music suite on the large organ of the National Cathedral.  Recently repressed by popular demand!  Mary Preston, In Concert! List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $6.98  You save $12.00!  One of America's leading organists plays in concert on one of America's largest and most important organs -- the landmark Opus 100 of the C.B. Fisk organ company.  Called upon repeatedly to perform at the national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, Mary Preston has flawless technique and an elegant style to communicates to the listener.  The encore also reveals that she has a sense of humor... Preludes & Postludes for the year beginning 9-11-2001/Ferré List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $6.98  You save $12.00!  Presented here are some of the organ works which were played by Susan Ferré during services at Pacific Lutheran University, from the first day of classes on September 11, through the year for more than 130 services, to the triumphant sending forth of Pentecost Sunday and Commencement Worship on May 26th, 2002. Equipped with one of the finest organs in the world, Lagerquist Hall provided the means for a wide range of musical expression during this unusual musical, and liturgical year. Maurice & Marie-Madeleine Duruflé at the National Shrine List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $14.98  You save $4.00!  Recorded in 1967, this historic recital is the premiere recording of the Basilica's two large organs, built by the Möller. The recording is full of important moments: the transcription of a Handel organ concerto played as a duet on the two instruments, Maurice Duruflé's transcription of Tournemire's improvisation on Victimae Pascali, played by Mme. Duruflé.  The concert concludes with Maurice Duruflé's Prelude and Fugue on the name of Alain (again, played by Mme. Duruflé).  Those looking to find an example of authentic French organ playing need look no further. Festival of Nine Lessons/St. John's Cathedral Denver/Pearson List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $15.98  You save $3.00!  Donald Pearson directs the Cathedral Choir, Boys & Girls Choir and instrumentalists in a unique version of the traditional "Lessons and Carols" liturgy.  Bach: One of a Kind/Porter List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $6.98  You save $12.00!  This is the first nationally released CD recorded on the new Paul Fritts organ at PLU. Fritts' magnum opus, this spectacular organ has 54 stops/ 80 ranks on three manuals. The pedal division includes a full length 32' Posuane as well as a 32' Subbass. The combination of one of the finest organ builders and organists in the United States, 24-bit recording technology, and Lagerquist Hall's four-second reverberation time, make this CD a must-have! Our number one selling Bach organ CD.  Lippincott/Philadelphia Brass List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $14.98  You save $4.00!  The virtuoso brass ensemble, Philadelphia Brass join organist Joan Lippincott at the large Mander organ of Princeton University Chapel in this grand recording, animated by a large acoustical space.  Complete Works of Weckman/Hans Davidssohn (3 CDs!) List Price: $39.98  Our Price: $29.98  You save $10.00!  All components make this the ultimate organ CD, with two booklets comprising 56-pages of detailed information on registrations, the organ, Weckman, and his music. Organist of the Jacobi Church in Hamburg, Matthias Weckman (sometimes spelled Weckmann) was a student of Heinrich Schütz and Jacob Praetorius II. He combined elements from a wide variety of musical languages to create a clear and complex style all his own. Hans Davidsson is the world's leading Weckman scholar and this recording is the first to use Weckman's original registrations. Mozart for Four Hands and Feet/Ciofini & Verges List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $6.98  You save $12.00!  This CD offers up a true European community of forces: Salzburgian music, performed by a Spaniard and an Italian at the same time, on a Spanish organ! This recording will transform the way you think about the organ, and about Mozart. If you?ve always considered the organ to be mainly a liturgical instrument, listen to these great symphonic works and then think again. Rediscover the majesty of these pieces as arranged for what Mozart himself called the "King of Instruments."  Michael Farris at SMU List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $6.98  You save $12.00!  Completed just after the large organ at the Meyerson Symphony Center (home of the Dallas Symphony), the Fisk at SMU shares many of the same characteristics that have made Fisk the leading builder of concert hall organs.  The organist is Michael Farris, who was on the organ faculty of the Eastman School of Music when he died tragically in his early 40's.  Farris won three national performance competitions including the MTNA Collegiate Artists Competition in 1976, the Ft. Wayne Competition in 1985, and the National Young Artist Competition of the American Guild of Organists in 1986 and was one of the brightest "organ" stars of his generation.  Fanfare/G. Hancock List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $9.98  You save $9.00!  A master of improvisation in Anglican style plays the great organ of St Thomas Church in NYC.  Also includes works by Bach, de Grigny, and Reger. Christmas at Spivey Hall/Chenaults List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $9.98  You save $9.00!  The Chenaults are known for commissioning imaginative arrangements of music for two organists.  Here they reprise popular Christmas favorites on the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Pipe Organ (built by Ruffatti) in Spivey Hall near Atlanta. Includes "Sleight Ride", "Greensleeves", Carol of the Drum, Gesu Bambino, White Christmas and many others.  Frederick Swann Plays the Gillespie Concert Organ List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $9.98  You save $9.00!  Best-known as the former organist of The Crystal Cathedral, Frederick Swann delivers the premiere recording of the new Fisk organ in Costa Mesa, CA. Swann plays a diverse program specifically chosen to showcase the wide and colorful tonal spectrum of this superb new organ.  Messiaen: Les Corps Glorieux/Colin Andrews List Price: $18.98  Our Price: $12.98  You save $6.00!  Each of the seven movements of this powerful work presents a musical and theological statement, expressed in Messiaen’s unique musical vocabulary. The haunting opening creates a mystical, mantra-like atmosphere that lays the path for an hour of extraordinarily compelling music. Colin Andrews, a large Fisk organ, and the acoustics of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, NC, are the ideal ensemble for Messiaen’s mystical masterpiece.