SKU: AY.FRD106
ISBN 9790302117506.
Paul J. Sifler, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, immigrated to the United States at the age of 11, and following his studies at the Chicago Conservatory as music, led a long and prolific career as a composer and organist. The Despair and Agony of Dachau has been performed at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and in Sifler's native Ljubljana, performances which were preceded by a reading of Psalm 22. Phrases from the Psalm beginning My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me? are used to depict the tragedy of the concentration camp at Dachau. Among the traumas represented are the furnaces, described by a mighty roar, the scurrying of rats and barking of dogs. This work was composed to provide a history lesson for the future, and to offer the fervent prayer that mankind will never again be involved in such an atrocity.
SKU: SU.80101410
Fantasy-Variations on Two Themes (2017) for organ was written for Heinrich Christensen in celebration of his significant 2017 birthday. The musical material for the work comprises two different themes. The first is a short melody by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). (It was a sketch originally intended for inclusion in, but ultimately left out of, Nielsen's late organ work 29 Little Preludes.) This theme represents Heinrich's native Denmark. The second theme is the American folk-gospel hymn Angel Band. This theme represents Heinrich's adopted American homeland. It serves also as a remembrance of our dear mutual friend Harry Lyn Huff (1952-2016), for whom the tune was a particular favorite. Both these themes are developed freely in a set of alternating fantasy-variations. The opening variation begins with a dramatic pedal solo before quoting both themes. The second variation is a lyric setting based on the Nielsen melody. The third is a jubilant hornpipe on Angel Band. The fourth is an aria on a transformation of the Nielsen melody. The fifth is a gigue-toccata on Angel Band. The sixth is an atmospheric contemplation: lush chords in the manuals move slowly and hint at Angel Band while the Nielsen melody is heard for the first time in its complete original form on a high pedal stop. The seventh and final variation begins with a brief evocation of the harmonies of the late Daniel Pinkham (a mentor to both Heinrich and me) before going on to return dramatically and jubilantly to the opening music, bringing together both themes again in a bold conclusion. Instrumentation: Organ Duration: 15' Composed: 2017 Published by: Zimbel Press.
SKU: HL.14035114
Few baroque composers were ever able to create work as sunny, as joyous as Vivaldi did in this beloved Gloria. The contrast of mood throughout the work as it moves through the drama of the Mass to its satisfying double final movement shows the composer at the height of his powers.Vivaldi composed this work in Venice in about 1715, during his fruitful time at the Ospedale della Pieta. In his lifetime this priest, composer and virtuoso Violinist achieved enormous musical success. Considering his great popularity in the modern era, it is difficult to believe that public appreciation of his work declined after his death and that the Gloria languished undiscovered forcenturies. It wasn't until 1957 that the restored work was heard again in its entirety. Since that time, this moving and joyous Gloria has been recorded more than one hundred times and perennially appears on concert series around the world.
SKU: HL.49016122
ISBN 9790001144261. UPC: 884088202545. 9.0x12.0x0.065 inches.
Funeral music plays an important role in music history for the articulation of grief and sorrow is an essential task of music. The important German organ composer Harald Genzmer (born in 1909) wrote his 'Musik der Trauer' in 2001, deeply affected by the death of his wife. The music is full of emotion and sentiment, expressing grief, sorrow, desperation, but also fierce rebellion against the inescapability of fate. At the end, the motif 'Christ ist erstanden' can be heard as an expression of Christian hope.
SKU: SU.80101403
Symphony for Organ (2013) is cast as a dramatic progression from darkness into light. The first movement, Masque, is extremely violent and bleak. The title is used with a touch of irony--for this is not a masque of courtly diversion, but rather a furious struggle against the darkness, played out in a series of dramatic episodes following a Tudor-era formal design. The ending builds to a dramatic peak, and leaves us in shell-shocked silence. The second movement, Sarabande, begins quietly and mournfully, and gradually gains in fervency. A faster middle section is a spinning dance before the return of the opening music. In the coda, the light gradually approaches. The third movement, Chorale, evokes the colors of a new dawn. The music of the first movement's struggle gradually becomes washed in the blaze of morning. Instrumentation: Organ Duration: 21' Composed: 2013 Published by: Zimbel Press.
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