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The Merton Organ

Benjamin Nicholas, organist

Bach/Dupré: Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29
Bach/Duruflé: Ertödt uns durch dein’ Güte (from Cantata No. 22)
Franck: Pièce héroïque
Stanley: Voluntary in A minor
Messiaen: Prière après la Communion
Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Mendelssohn: Andante with Variations in D
Langlais: Dialogue sur les mixtures
Dupré: Cortège et Litanie
Vierne: Clair de lune
Vierne: Carillon de Westminster

“In a note, Dobson’s vice president and tonal director John Panning says the instrument’s tonal design ‘combines a classical framework with a 19th-century love of colour and dynamic variety.’ Happily, Benjamin Nicholas provides ample evidence of how successful that blend has been in lithe, supple and pleasingly nuanced performanes of a varied programme.”

Michael Quinn, Choir & Organ (May/June 2014)

©2014 Delphian Records Ltd DCD34142. Available through iTunes.


Ein neues Lied/A New Song
Organ and choral music of Distler and Bender

David Herman, organist
The University of Delaware Chorale, Paul D. Head, conductor
Lloyd Shorter, oboe

Distler: Five selections from Dreißig Spielstücke, Op. 18/I
Distler: Partita on Nun kimm, der Heiden Heiland Op. 8/I

Bender: Ritornel from A Cantata for Baptism, Op. 58
Bender: Voluntary from Wedding Sonata, Op. 49 No. 2
Bender: Sanctus from Missa pro Organo, Op. 52
Bender: Gaudeamus pariter, Op. 78 No. 2
Bender: Prayer from the Gallican Sacramentary, Op. 43 No. 3
Bender: Eight selections from 90 Kleine Choralvorspiele, Op. 2

Works by Herman’s teacher, Jan Bender, and Bender’s teacher, Hugo Distler.

“The repertoire of [Distler and Bender] is full of direct gestures. Like Hindemith it is refreshingly unsentimental but not heartless; it is cheerful and audience-friendly. Here it is played and sung musically. The splendid small colourful Dobson organ is ideally suitable.”

Available directly from David Herman. Extracts from this recording appeared in Pipedreams 1231.


The Dobson Organ
at Sykes Chapel
The University of Tampa

Haig Mardirosian, organist

The premiere recording of Op. 89.

Dupré: Prelude & Fugue in B Major, Op. 7, No. 1
Dupré: Cortége et Litanie, Op. 19
Buxtehude: Prelude and Fugue in F# Minor (BuxWV 146)
Robert Shafer: Acclamation and Song
Reubke: Sonata in C Minor, The 94th Psalm
Von Paradis: Sicilienne
Verdi: Grand March from Aïda (trans. Lemare)

©2011 Centaur CRC3153. Available through iTunes.


Cherry Rhodes at the Kimmel Center
A Live Recording

The first recital recording of Op. 76.

J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in E Minor (BWV 548)
Liszt/Guillou: Symphonic Poem: Orpheus
Mader: Afternoon of a Toad

Lidón: 4 piezas para la Misa
Guillou: Scènes d’Enfant d’après The Turn of the Screw d’Henry James
Still: Reverie

©2010 Delos DE3381. Available through Amazon and iTunes.


Opus 76
The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ
Alan Morrison, organ
The Chamber Orchestra
   of Philadelphia,
Mischa Santora, conductor

Following its premiere performance in Verizon Hall in February 2007, Peter Dobrin of the Philadlephia Inquirer wrote:

“Eric Sessler's Organ Concerto (with strings and timpani) received its premier with Alan Morrison, its dedicatee, as soloist. It comes in three mood-distinct movements: an ecstatic first, a quiet and churchy second, and an austere if fast third. Sessler's music is not harshly dissonant, but not harmonically obvious either. At Curtis he studied with Ned Rorem. But it was another Curtis personality whose influence was more strongly felt in the second movement, when the string writing approached the Francophile beauty of Samuel Barber.”

Writing on Sequenza21, Phil Muse says:

“[Sessler’s Organ Concerto] is a stunning conception, being both a display piece for the organ and a solid concert work for the orchestra, which remains an equal partner with the soloist throughout the 18-minute piece, so that it is an organ concerto in every sense of the word.”

Eric Sessler: Organ Concerto
Anne Wilson: Toccata for Organ
Vivaldi/Bach: Concerto in A Minor
Joseph Jongen: Prière, Op. 37 No. 3
Dan Locklair: Rubrics
   The Peace May Be Exchanged
Calvin Hampton: Five Dances for Organ

©2010 ACA Digital CM20108
Available on iTunes.


…a dream album…79 minutes and 11 seconds of pure musical magic. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

—John Obetz, The Diapason (September 2007)

I have never heard an organ sound so good from top to bottom in a thoroughly natural concert hall setting.
Arthur Lintgen, Fanfare Magazine (July/August 2007)

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Olivier Latry, organ

The premiere organ and orchestra recording of Op. 76.

Samuel Barber: Toccata Festiva
Francis Poulenc: Organ Concerto
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 “Organ”

Marc Rochester, in the March 2007 issue of Gramophone, writes:

“This salute to a new organ finds the Philadelphia in mouth-watering form…Eschenbach's intuitive reading [of Saint-Saëns's “Organ” Symphony] casts the work in a rich perspective…The organ shows its stature with palpable depth in the first movement and majestic presence in the finale…”

In the February 18th edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns writes:

“Just on the basis of the Saint-Saëns symphony, this disc is among the best out there. It boasts a French suaveness showing the Philadelphia strings at their best, but also an edgy grandeur, especially in the way that the final movement is played like a matter of life and death…The sound quality is the best Ondine release yet, well-focused but spacious, allowing the microphone-friendly organ and orchestra to blend beautifully.”

And Tim Ashley, in the February 16th edition of The Guardian, writes:

“Saint-Saëns's Third Symphony [is] conducted with such majestic fury by Christoph Eschenbach it takes your breath away…The sound is magnificent and thrillingly loud.”

Hybrid SACD (SACD Surround 5.0 / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo - playable on all SACD and CD players); booklet with liner notes in English, French and German; packaged in a slipcase.

©2007 Ondine ODE 1094-5. Available on iTunes.


Postludes

Susan Bates, organist

A recording of favorites by the organist of West Market Street United Methodist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, home of our Op. 71.

J.S. Bach: Concerto I in G Major
Purcell: Trumpet Tune in D
James M. Bates: “All Things Bright and Beautiful”
Gigout: Toccata in B minor
“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
Vierne: “Carillon de Westminster”
“Eternal Father, Strong to Save”
Vierne: Toccata in Bb minor
Distler: Partita on “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland”
Mouret: Rondeau from Sinfonies de Fanfares
Vierne: Final from Symphony I

©2007 Susan Bates


Kaleidoscope:
Reflections on 20th Century German Organ Music

A recording by Dr. John Bernthal, Associate Professor of Music and Associate University Organist at Valparaiso University, performed on the Reddel Memorial Organ, originally built by Schlicker in 1959 and rebuilt by Dobson in 1996.

Distler: Orgelpartita Wachet auf, ruft uns di Stimme
David: Christus, der is mein Leben
Hindemith: Sonate I für Orgel
Reda: Choralkonzert III: Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam
Feller: Diptychon
Pepping: Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit
Walcha: Ein fest Burg ist unser Gott
Gárdonyi: Meditation über Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort
Michel: Swing Five (Erhalt uns, Herr)
Kunkel: Sonne der Gerechtigkeit - Toccata

©2006 Valpo Arts Media VMCD1017


Cherry Rhodes
In Concert

Recorded with live audience on Op. 75 at Los Angeles’ Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on the Feast of St. Cecilia, 22 November 2003.

Nicolas de Grigny: Hymn Ave Maris Stella
   Cantus firmus en taille
   Fugue à 4
   Duo
   Dialogue sur les grands jeux
Alessandro Scarlatti: Toccata No. 11
   Allegro – Presto
   Partita alla Lombarda
   Fuga
Franz Liszt: Symphonic Poem: Orpheus (arr. Guillou)
Felix Mendelssohn: Prelude & Fugue in E minor (trans. W.T. Best)
Larry King: Revelations of Saint John the Divine for Organ and Electronic Tape
Calvin Hampton: Five Dances
   The Primitives
   At the Ballet
   Those Americans
   An Exalted Ritual
   Everyone Dance
Fr. Marius Joseph Walter: Meditation on Salve, Festa Dies
Michel Corrette: Pièce de Tonnère

©2005 Delos International DE 3346. Available on iTunes.


Great Mixture!

Dr. David Herman plays our Op. 74 at the University of Delaware.

Nicolas de Grigny: Hymn Veni creator spiritus
Louis Couperin: Chacone
Johann Pachelbel: Ciacona in F minor
J.S. Bach: Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, heiliger Geist - BWV 631
Bach: Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, heiliger Geist - BWV 667
Bach: Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit - BWV 669
Bach: Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn - BWV 648
Felix Mendelssohn: Sonata No. 3 in A Major
John Philip Sousa: The Washington Post March (arr. Lunger)
William Walton: Spitfire Prelude (arr. Morrell)
Thomas Tallis: Hymn Veni Redemptor
Herbert Howells: Master Tallis’ Testament
Théodore Dubois: Cantilène Religieuse
Dubois: Toccata in G Major

©2006 University of Delaware/Meyer Media UDCD 0601


In His Temple
Music of Edward Elgar

The Choir of St. Paul’s Church, Rock Creek Parish, Washington, D.C.
Graham Elliott, director & solo organist
Neil Weston, organ accompanist

Great is the Lord (Psalm 48), Op. 67
Ave verum corpus, Op. 2, No. 1
Sonata in G (1st movement), Op. 28
O salutaris hostia
Ave Maria, Op. 2, No. 2
Give unto the Lord (Psalm 29), Op. 74
O salutaris hostia
Doubt not thy Father’s care
Te Deum laudamus, Op. 34, No. 1
Benedictus, Op. 32, No. 2

The first recording of Dobson Op. 80.

©2005 Lammas Records LAMM 187D. Available through iTunes.


Organ Voices
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Cathedral Organist Samuel S. Soria records his second CD on Op. 75.

Dubois: Toccata in G
De Lamerter: You Raise the Flute to Your Lips
Hurford: Paean
Duruflé: Suite, Op. 5
Drayton: Pavane
Reuchsel: Trés lent et douloureux
Messiaen: Joie et Clarté des Corps Glorieux
McAmis: Dreams
Lemare: Andantino
Franck: Choral No. 2 in b

©2005 Delos International DE 3343. Available through iTunes.


Romantics & Classics

Marcus St. Julien plays Dobson Op. 73 at Saint Joseph Abbey in Saint Benedict, Louisiana.

Bach: Toccata in F Major- BWV 540
Clérambault: Suite du Premier Ton
   Basse et dessus de Trompette
   Récit de Cromorne et de Cornet
Alain: Postlude pour l’office de Complies
Walther: Concerto del Signor Meck
Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor - BWV 582
Yon: Humoresque
Franck: Prélude, Fugue, et Variation, Op. 18
Mulet: Tu es petra

Dr. St. Julien performed Op. 73’s dedicatory recital.

Raven - OAR-690


Premiere Organ Recording
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Samuel S. Soria, organist

The first CD made of Dobson Op. 75.

Wyton: Fanfare
Vierne: Naïades from 24 pièces de Fantasie
Reubke: The 94th Psalm - Sonata for Organ
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E minor - BWV 548 (“Wedge”)
Messiaen: L’Ascencion pour Orgue
   II. Alleluias sereins
  III. Transports de joie
Howells: Psalm Prelude, Set 2, No. 1

“I have previewed this CD a number of times and feel sure that it will impress the organ aficionado both with the quality of the sound and the quality of the music. Samuel Soria (Sal to his friends), the Cathedral's organist, formerly organist at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral for nine years, plays with virtuosic skill and abandon. His selection of repertoire demonstrates the vast range of this state-of-the-art instrument.

“The CD packaging offers an extra surprise. It folds out into a four-color poster which illustrates the dramatic and triumphant look of the cathedral organ as seen from a close-up vantage point.

“Buy this beauty, turn up the volume, and break a lease!”

—Harry Pack in the Delos Diary

©2004 Delos International DE 3331. Available through the OHS Catalog and iTunes.


Martin Jean, Organist
The Reddel Memorial Organ at Valparaiso University

Former Associate Professor of Music and University Organist of Valparaiso University and now Director of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Associate Professor of Organ, Martin Jean presents a program on the Reddel Memorial Organ, originally built by Schlicker in 1959 and rebuilt by Dobson in 1996.

Bolcom: Gospel Preludes, Book 4:
  Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
  Sweet Hour of Prayer
  Free Fantasia on O Zion Haste and How Firm a Foundation
J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in E minor - BWV 548
Brahms: Fugue in A-flat Minor
Pachelbel: Ciaconna in F minor
Liszt: Fantasia & Fugue on Ad nos, ad salutarem undam

“Amongst all the CDs I have of organs in the States, this is probably the best, both for instrument and performance: highly recommended.”

—reviewed in The Organ

“This is a stirring marriage of performer and instrument...”

—reviewed in The Diapason

©2000 Raven Recordings


Wind Song

Marijim Thoene plays Dobson Op. 73 at St. Joseph Abbey, St. Benedict, Louisiana, and Anne Chabreck plays flute in the splendid acoustics of the magnificent abbey church.

C.P.E. Bach: Sonata in g minor
Bourland: Cantilena for Organ and Flute, Clarinet or Saxophone
Pinkham: Miracles for Flute and Organ
Kropfreiter: Two pieces from Vier Stücke
Jehan Alain: Trois Mouvements pour Flûte et Orgue, Op. 64
Vander: Powwow Suite for Organ and Flute

“What a fine recording this is! The repertoire is interesting and in many instances not available anywhere else, the playing is first class, and the organ is a true gem in a wonderful acoustic. it is these types of musical projects that give us all hope that the organ has a bright future ahead for people that truly are interested in new music of meaning, beauty and depth. This is a disc that is very easy to recommend with great enthusiasm.”

—reviewed by David Wagner in The Diapason, July 2009

Raven - OAR-910


Mystics & Spirits

Marijim Thoene plays Dobson Op. 73 at Saint Joseph Abbey in Saint Benedict, Louisiana.

Bach: Prelude in a minor - BWV 543
Vosk: Songs of Creation for Native Flute and Organ
Atkinson: Adoro te
Messiaen: Dieu Parmi Nous
Langlais: Ave Maria, Ave Maris Stella
Tournemire: Improvisation sur le Te Deum
Hovhaness: Habakkuk, Opus 434

Dr. Thoene is joined in the Vosk work by Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl, native American flute.

“With a very clear and thrilling principal chorus, the Dobson organ is ideally suited to German baroque and classical organ music…The massive effect produced by the Dobson organ on the big chords in [Tournemire’s Improvisation sur le Te Deum] makes it very difficult to believe that one is listening to an organ of only 38 ranks—one could almost believe it was an instrument of 138 ranks or more…The organ shows itself to be an extremely versatile one in managing to convey something of the Cavaillé-Coll sound palette that would have been at Langlais’ disposal at St. Clotilde.”

—John L. Speller, The Diapason, December 2006

Raven - OAR-680


Classical Perspectives
Organ Music from Trinity Chapel at Bethany Lutheran College

Aaron Burmeister, organist

Buxtehude: Praeludium in C Major
Distler: Partita Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Major
Mendelssohn: Sonata No. 1 in F
Brahms: Two Chorale Preludes from Op. 122
   Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele
   O Gott, du frommer Gott
Langlais: Incantation pour un jour Saint


Ji-yoen Choi
Organ Recital

The winner of the 2000 AGO National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance presents a program on the Reddel Memorial Organ at Valparaiso University.

Bach: Prelude & Fugue in C major - BWV 547
Bach: Sonata No. 4 in e minor - BWV 528
Albright: Organbook III, Vol. 2:
   Jig for the Feet (Totentanz)
   Nocturne
   Finale - The Offering
Brahms: Fugue in a-flat minor
Langlais: Fête
Larsen: Aspects of Glory
   III. Tambourines
Locklair: Ayre for the Dance
Dupré: Variations sur un Noël, Op. 20

“...so rhythmically compelling that one could hardly sit still.”

The American Organist

©2001 Naxos 8.555367. Available on iTunes.


In Praise of the Organ
Latin Choral and Organ Music of Zoltan Kodály

The Bach Chorale Singers, William Jon Gray, Conductor
Marilyn Keiser, Organist

Recorded in the Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana

Veni, veni Emmanuel
Ave Maria
Laudes Organi
Pange lingua
Missa brevis

“...the 87 voice Bach Chorale, a major community musical force in northern Indiana, responds well to Gray's impassioned leadership...The famous Valpo Schlicker...sounds importantly improved by the recent Dobson tonal work...Dr. Keiser's accompaniments are masterful.”

—Michael Barone in The American Organist, January 2001

©1998 Pro Organo


Dedication:
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Tucker Memorial Organ

Paul Boehnke
Bach: Toccata in d minor
Bach: O Mensch bewein dein’ Sünde gross
Brahms: Es ist ein’ Ros
Buxtehude: Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne

David Engen
Peeters: Élégie, Op. 38
Garlick: Fanfare and Bridal March
Dupré: Nativité (Symphonie-Passion)

Tom Klug
Alain: Pour l’Office de Complies
Widor: Allegro Vivace (Symphony V)

The Olivet Choir
Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine
Kellam: Lacrimae Amantis
This work was commissioned by Olivet in honor of David Engen’s 10th anniversary as organist/choirmaster.

Featuring all of Olivet’s organists since the installation of Op. 4, this recording is available directly from

Olivet Congregational Church
1850 Iglehart Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104-3524 651/646-1478


Hymnal Masterworks

Hymnal Masterworks celebrates the artistic and spiritual power found in the common hymn. The collection features gifted artists performing unique and original adaptations of tunes from around the world.

Shirley Sprunger King plays Dobson Op. 27 with the Deknatel Consort of Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. Hymns representing the church year arranged for organ and ’cello, English horn, flügelhorn, flute, oboe, piccolo and trumpet.

©1996 Faith and Life Press


Piéce d’Orgue

Paula Pugh Romanaux plays the Dobson organ at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Works of J. S. Bach, Zipoli, Frescobaldi, Marchand, Franck, Dupré and Tournemire.

©1994 Independent Arts Council


Soli Deo Gloria:
The Reddel Memorial Organ

Wolfgang Rübsam plays the Reddell Memorial Organ at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana.

Works of Marchand, J. S. Bach, Scheidemann, Buxtehude, Widor and Dupré.

VUCA Media VMCD-1004


John Knowles Paine
Organ Music

Murray Forbes Somerville plays the 1997 Dobson Organ at Pakachoag Church, Auburn, Mass., as well as the 1863 E. & G.G. Hook organ at the Church of the Immaculate Conception and the 1863 E. F. Walcker/1947 Aeolian-Skinner in the Methuen Memorial Music Hall.

Fantasia and Fugue in E minor, Op. 2, No. 1
Andante con Variazioni in A
Prelude and Fugue in G minor
Prelude in C minor
Double Fugue on God Save the Queen
Fantasia on Ein’ feste Burg
Variations and Fugue on The Star-Spangled Banner

“Somerville's playing is incomparable. He has just the right proportions of dramatic flair, delicate line, and saucy fun that allow these works to come alive and sparkle. I cannot imagine better...His choice of instruments is also inspired...As usual, Raven's engineering is superb. This is a ‘must have’ for lovers of organ music.”


—American Record Guide, March-April, 2000

“The use of three instruments, two of which Paine probably knew [the 1863 Hook at Immaculate Conception and the Walcker/Æolian-Skinner in Methuen] is intriguing in itself. The small—about 30 ranks—and recent Dobson instrument holds its own in this august company, by the way.”

—Charles Huddleston Heaton, The Diapason, December 2006

Raven - OAR-460


J.S. Bach:
Clavierübung III

Carl B. Staplin plays the Dobson Organ, Opus 61 at Faith Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa. The Chancel Choir of Faith Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa; Eric Dale Knapp, conductor.

Calcante Recordings - CD 010


The Art & Craft of Playing Hymns

A set of two instructional videotapes and DVDs presented by Sue Mitchell Wallace, FAGO. Contain interviews with prominent church musicians, instruction right from the organ console, and excerpts of an exciting hymn festival. Also comes with a 32 page workbook. Played on Dobson Op. 44 at the Calvin College Chapel, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“Her careful narration, the many quotations which are included and interspersed throughout both volumes, and the interviews of her colleagues will also give new insights to students of church music, to pastors, to those planning worship, and to all those who are engaged in the ‘awesome experience’ of leading hymn singing.”

—Marilyn Keiser in The Hymn, January 1998.

Produced by Selah Publishing Co.


Singing our Faith
A Hymn Festival

Sue Mitchell Wallace, FAGO and the Calvin College Capella. Played on the Dobson De Witt Family Organ at the Calvin College Chapel, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Produced by David Schaap


Please also visit our page of audio samples.

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