SKU: HL.49045845

UPC: 841886033801.

New music on old instruments and new organ literature in dialogue with historical Iberian works. The present edition contains a collection of works, composed for an authentically rebuilt historical Spanish organ and covering a wide range of styles, which adds new sounds to the purely Baroque repertoire. With works by Jose Blasco de Nebra, Francisco Correa de Arauxo, Antonio de Cabezon, Pedro de Araujo, Antonio de Cabezon and new compositions by Guy Bovet, Michael Kapsner, Pavel Klimashevsky, Zsigmond Szathmary and Alfred Muller-Kranich. The new Spanish organ of the Hochschule fur Musik Mainz as an authentically rebuilt historical instrument from the workshop of the organ builder Joaquin Lois from Tordesillas in Castile shall both adequately reproduce early music and be a source of inspiration for contemporary music. For this reason, the Hochschule fur Musik Mainz commissioned five composers to write modern compositions according to the motto 'Early music in dialogue with New Music' which are a valuable addition to the repertoire of historical instruments of the 'Siglo de Oro'. Certain specifications had to be taken into account: e. g. a limited pitch range, half stops for treble and bass registers, the short octave as well as a mean-tone temperament. In addition, each composition is based on a work of the Iberian organ literature; sometimes, the work found its way into the new composition, sometimes, it only served as an inspiration. The pieces can also be played on a modern organ, although there is a special charm in playing and hearing them played on an appropriate historical instrument. Encompassing a broad range of styles, the resulting collection adds new sounds to the purely Baroque repertoire.

SKU: CA.5014200

ISBN 9790007140816. Key: B flat minor. Language: all languages.

Josef Gabriel Rheinberger dedicated his 9th Organ Sonata (composed in May 1885) to Alexandre Guilmant, the indefatigable concertizing virtuoso who had already given the first Paris performance of Rheinberger's 1st Organ Concerto (in F major, op. 137). With opulent harmonies, conspicuously frequent tempo changes, and chords which are a true delight when played on a Cavaille-Coll organ, the rhapsodic Fantasie at the beginning of the 3rd movement certainly lives up to its name. The separate edition is taken from the Rheinberger Complete Edition.

SKU: MN.12-128

UPC: 688670121289.

The three movements that make up Nocturnes, Book I are programmatic pieces that take as their points of departure a painting, the rhythms of a great city, and a poem. 1. The Starry Night is a written down improvisation based on Vincent van Goghs famous picture of the same name. The tonal material is a quite literal transformation of the visual elements of the painting: the melismatic cadenzas mirror van Goghs swirling starlight, and the powerful chords were suggested by the sinister trees that shoot upward to puncture the skys patterns. 2. Stovers Rag is a product of the ragtime revival of the early 1970s, when many composers tried their hand at writing concert rags. The New York night, which was not without its sinister element in those days, is expressed in an updating of the classic ragtime format. The piece looks backward as well, with the old French Baroque basse de trompette making an appearance in the trio section. 3. The Song of Shadows taps the nostalgic mood typical of the poetry of Walter de la Mare. The poem of the same name pictures a lone musician on a winter night, an dog sleeping before a sinking fire, and, at the end, the spirits that are summoned by music. The opening melody, played on an 8 flute with tremulant, suggests the blues-tinged sound of an alto saxophone, and throughout the movement the organs capacity for sustained tone is used to suggest and atmosphere of dreamy timelessness. The pieces were written in 1971 and first performed on July 2, 1972 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, with the composer at the console.