The Organ Loft - Potpourri!

The Organ Loft - March 13, 2011
Potpourri!
Webcast and Broadcast Schedule

This week on the Organ Loft, we're featuring a wide range of music, and local artists/instruments. We've got Choral Arts Northwest and William Porter playing Bach at PLU. We'll also have music from Craig Phillips, Rheinberger, Flor Peeters, Vierne, Sibelius, Bach, and a Spiritual arranged by Norman Luboff.

Program

1. CRAIG PHILLIPS: Serenade for Horn and Organ¹
2. RHEINBERGER: Kyrie²
3. FLOR PEETERS: Aria³
4. VIERNE: Finale from Symphony no. 1 in d minor op.42³
5. SIBELIUS: Finlandia OP.26⁴
6. J.S BACH: Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor BWV 528⁵
7. Spiritual arr. by Norman Luboff: Deep River²

Recordings Used:

1. “A Festival in Song: The music of Craig Phillips” GOTHIC G49207
2. “Choral Arts Live in Concert 200-2003” Choral Arts live concert recording
3. “Organ Under Glass” Peter Baicchi playing the Crystal Cathedral Organ 1997
4. “Around The World in 80 Minutes. Nigel Potts, Concert Organist”. GUILD GMCD7165
5. “One of a Kind; the Music of Johann Sebastian Bach” William Porter, organist. LOFT LRCD1025

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

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.

Upcoming New Release - The Craighead-Saunders Organ!

We've got a new release coming out this month from Loft Recordings artist Hans Davidsson featuring the Craighead-Saunders Organ!

The Craighead-Saunders Organ
Hans Davidsson
David Higgs
William Porter

The Craighead-Saunders Organ in Christ Church, Rochester is the newest instrument in the collection at the Eastman School of Music. The organ is the result of an eight-year international research project documenting and copying the 1776 organ built by Adam Gottlob Casparini (1715-1788) in the Holy Ghost Church in Vilnius, Lithuania, one of the best preserved late-baroque organs in all of Europe. After a thorough documentation of the original instrument, a team from GOArt, at Gothenburg University in Sweden, led by Mats Arvidsson and Munetaka Yokota, worked closely with the Eastman School of Music and a group of some of the finest organbuilders in Americato produce the first research instrument after Casparini anywhere in the world, and the first large-scale historical reconstruction at this level in America. The instrument opens a new window on the aesthetics of the Enlightenment Era and on the organ music of a previously often ignored period, while at the same time helping us experience well-known repertoires from Bach to Mendelssohn in a new light.

Preorder this exciting new release on Amazon.com today!

The Organ Loft - Bach Organ Fugues

The Organ Loft - March 21, 2010
Bach Organ Fugues
Webcast and Broadcast Schedule


Program: Bach Fugues

1. Fugue in c-minor, BWV 575 1
2. Fugue in G major, “Jig”, BWV 577 2
3. Fugue in g-minor, “Little”, BWV 578 2
4. Fugue in C major, BWV 566 3
5. Fugue in D major, BWV 532 4
6. Fugue in C major, BWV 564 5
7. Fugue in e-minor, “Wedge”, BWV 548 6
8. Fugue in g-minor, BWV 542 7

Recordings Used:
“Bach: Preludes and Fugues” Lionel Rogg, organ HARMONIA MUNDI 290772
“Bach: Great Organ Favorites” E. Power Biggs, organ CBS42644
“Johann Sebastian Bach” Wim van Beek, organ MARTINIKERK GRONIGEN WBG 9905
“J. S. Bach: The Works for Organ, Vol 2” Kevin Bowyer, organ NIMBUS 5289
“Bach on the Fritts!” Jonathan Biggers, organ CALCANTE RECORDINGS CAL CD009
“One of a Kind” William Porter, organ LOFT RECORDINGS LRCD 1025
“Bach organ works, vol. 1” George Ritchie, Raven OAR-250

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

Recording Projects

We are currently working on two very exciting new organ recordings!

On the first album we're working on, we've got a star-studded lineup. We'll have Hans Davidsson, William Porter, and David Higgs all on one album! The second album will feature the extremely talented Joan Lippincott playing Bach's Art of Fugue.

So what organ inspired us for these two amazing projects? The new Eastman Italian Baroque, Craighead-Saunders Organ. It is a copy of an 18th century instrument in Vilnius built by Italian, Casparini, whose work was well-known by J.S. Bach! In other words, it is currently the MOST AUTHENTIC Bach Organ in the U.S.!

The Craighead-Saunders Organ was built for Christ Church as a research project by a joint venture of American and international organ builders. The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester is the main partner and co-sponsor of the project, which involves collaboration with the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and Göteborg Organ Art Center in Sweden. The organ, which is named after two legendary Eastman organ professors David Craighead and Russell Saunders, was installed in Christ Church with the simultaneous restoration of the original organ in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The original organ, found in the Church of the Dominicans (Holy Ghost Church) in Vilnius, was fortunately well preserved in a region afflicted by years of war and conflict. It is the only remaining example of a large organ created by Adam Gottlob Casparini and considered to be one of the most valuable musical artifacts of its time in Europe today.