SKU: HL.50605486

ISBN 9781705190500. UPC: 196288126539.

Bela Bartok composed Dance Suite in 1923 for the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Hungary's capital through the unification of Buda, Obuda, and Pest. It soon became one of his most popular orchestral works, and in 1925 he arranged it for piano solo. Adam Tabajdi completed the organ version of Dance Suite in 2019/20, and recorded it on the Kern organ of Sapporo's Kitara Concert Hall later that year. His transcription was inspired by the composer's own version for piano, exploiting the alternative solutions offered by the ''orchestral'' timbres of the organ, with its manuals and pedals. The ideal instrument for the present version is an expansive, eclectic style organ with at least three manuals. This flamboyant arrangement requires great virtuosity, stamina, and creativity from the performer. Adam Tabajdi (b. 1993) is an outstanding young Hungarian organist. Alongside the music of J. S. Bach, his repertoire includes Liszt,and Franck, as well as twentieth-century works, with a special focus on Messiaen, Ligeti, and Florentz. He is a committed performer of contemporary music, but he also feels a close connection with the works of old masters such as Sweelinck, Weckmann, and Couperin. In 2021 he won first prize in the Toulouse International Organ Competition, and in 2022 he was awarded the Junior Prima Award.

SKU: CA.1804300

ISBN 9790007032005.

SKU: HH.HH304-SOL

ISBN 9790708092537.

Tim Raymond's dramatic and inventive organ piece was composed for the instrument in St Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, and was inspired by a plainchant melody found in a manuscript compiled there in 1481. Atmospheric, mysterious and fluid textures alternate with energetic, toccata like passages, reflecting and transforming the pitch structures and temporal proportions of the chant a meditation on the Trinity. A further dimension connects and resonates with the colourful pantheism and cosmic symbolism of the Van Eyck brothers' famous fifteenth century altarpiece, The Adoration of the Sacred Lamb, created for, and housed in, St Bavo's.

SKU: HL.49045437

ISBN 9790001162715. UPC: 841886029088. 9.0x12.0x0.168 inches.

On the occasion of the quincentenary of Reformation Day in 2017, the composer Enjott Schneider thoroughly studied Martin Luther the individual and all his contradictions. The result is a brilliant, demanding organ symphony which is perfect for concerts on the subject of Reformation and Martin Luther.The composer describes the five movements of the symphony as follows:'1st movement:Wir glauben all an einen Gott with its quintuplet-like beginning is very Gregorian in style, outlining the range of Lutheran emotionalism between the Middle Ages and the modern era. The irrationality of faith ultimately has priority over any thought and evidence. At the beginning of the movement, sounds of knocking on wood remind of the nailing of the Ninety-Five Theses to the doors of churches in Wittenberg. The chorale melody sometimes hides with an almost rough medieval saltarello, referring to Luther's robustness and vitality with which he knew to carry away even common people.2nd movement:In 1530, the electoral prince of Saxony presented to Luther at Coburg Castle the golden signet ring with the Luther rose which became the symbol of his theology of grace. A white heart with black cross is fixed on a five-petalled rose. To him, white is the colour of angels and ghosts, black stands for the pain of crucification: The just shall live by faith, but by faith in the Crucified. But the fact that the rose and the heart are the dominating symbols shows how Catholic Marian piety remained an ingredient of Luther's spirituality throughout his life. In line with the dominant five-petal structure of the rose, this movement was composed, to a large extent, in accordance with the floating, lyrical rhythm in 5/8 time.3rd movement:The omnipresence of death and dying - from the plague and war to the never-ending dangers of daily life - was an essential part of the world view of that time. Fears ensued that might heighten into the grotesque, e.g. in the pictures of Hieronymus Bosch. The Danse macabre was a popular motif in those years. Luther's chorale Mitten wir im Leben sind / mit dem Tod umfangen from 1524 (Enchiridion from Erfurt) is based on the Gregorian chant Media vita in morte sumus created in France around 750 and, with its idea of transience, inspired a simplistic air.4th movement:The famous confession delivered at the Diet of Worms in 1521, I stand here and can say no more. God help me. Amen, are not Luther's words but the version later used as text for a pamphlet. However, it represents quite plainly the straightforwardness and inevitability of his mission. Musically, it was made into a perpetuum mobile, i.e. a dogged, ostinato and never-ending musical air.5th movement:The Mighty Fortress, on the other hand, is one of the great symbols of Martin Luther which, with its shining C major key, embodies the Protestant ideology and willful nature of the Reformation unlike any other song. Heinrich Heine called it the Marseille anthem of the Reformation, Friedrich Engels the Marseillaise of the Peasants' Wars. This disputability is not thought through to the end but rather interrupted: With a jubilant birdcall version of the melody, the finale shows a rather chamber-music-like side of the ideals of freedom of Christians.'.