Hyperion Records | Organ Fireworks, Vol. 11

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CDA67577

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Recording details: January 2006
Eugene McDermott Concert Hall, Morton H Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, USA
Produced by Paul Spicer
Engineered by Andrés Villalta
Release date: August 2006
Total duration: 67 minutes 27 seconds

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'Some wonderful pieces to hear...The rich sounding recording makes the most of the fireworks' (Essex Chronicle)

'As we have come to expect from Christopher Herrick and Hyperion everything is done to the highest standard. The varied and exciting programme is convincingly played, making full use of the extensive tonal spread of the organ, whilst the accompanying programme notes are both comprehensive and interesting....Another fine organ firework display, which I'm certain readers will enjoy' (Cathedral Music)

'Christopher Herrick is his usual inimitable self, combing a sense of fun with a spontaneous grandeur which is at times, totally arresting. The listener is also regaled with the impressive sound of the Lay Family Organ in Dallas, Texas, a 4535-pipe monster. Volume XII please?' (Classical.net)

Organ Fireworks, Vol. 11

Christopher Herrick (organ)

1		Prelude 'for a Solemn Occasion' [5'05] Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
2		Marche moderne, Op 2 [6'23] Edwin Lemare (1865-1934)
		Glagolitic Mass Leos Janácek (1854-1928)
3		Movement 7: Organ solo [3'09]
		American Folk-Hymn Settings, Op 231 Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
4		Movement: Battle Hymn of the Republic [4'28]
5		Go tell it on the mountain [1'12] John A Behnke (b1953)
6		Festive Trumpet Tune [2'28] David German (b1954)
7		Danke-Swingfüglein [1'41] Matthias Nagel (b1958)
8		Grand chœur dialogué [5'09] Eugène Gigout (1844-1925)
		Organ Sonata No 5 in C minor, Op 80 Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)
9		Last movement: Choral et Fugue [8'36]
		Våg å leve 'Dare to live' Mons Leidvin Takle (b1942)
10		Movement 16: Festmusikk [3'53]
11		Marche américaine, Op 31 [3'17] Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), arr. Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
		Fiesta! Iain Farrington (b1977)
12		Movement 5: Fast Dance [3'12]
13		Die ganze Welt hast du uns überlassen 'Blues Chorale' [3'11] Hans-Martin Kiefer (b1956)
14		Sonata eroïca, Op 94 [15'43] Joseph Jongen (1873-1953)

Our pyrotechnic world tour of organs continues apace. Fresh from Volume 10 recorded in Canada, Christopher Herrick now heads south to unleash the power of the Lay Family Concert Organ in Dallas, Texas. One of the largest mechanical concert organs ever built, this 4,535-pipe monster dominates the stage of the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall and proves the perfect vehicle for a wide-ranging programme of unabashed new-world swagger.

Alongside such iconic works as Copland’s Preamble (composed to mark the UN adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights) and the French Americana of Langlais and Widor we have a selection of jazz-infused works which allow both player and instrument to develop a whole new aspect of the organ repertoire. The programme concludes with Joseph Jongen’s epic Sonata eroïca, a veritable landmark in twentieth-century organ-writing and one which leads us out in a thunderous blaze of heroic bravura.