SKU: HL.253940

12.0x9.0 inches.

Jan Rybarskis Fantasia for Organ is a work of a great emotional impact. Its romantic dramaturgy leads the listener into the state of deep reflections. The work is monumental; its structure resembles a one-part sonata with a fugue in the middle fragment. The arrangement requires organs with minimum 16-18 voices in two manuals. Despite fast passages and at times complicated harmony that require a lot of practice, the work is played with comfort. The author, as an organist-practitioner, uses difficult technical elements that he controls in a perfect manner. The proportion of the traditional and modern harmonics is ideal, which means it perfectly corresponds to the dramaturgy of the work. The main formative element is the rhythm that - as the author claims himself - inspires, opens both the performer and the listener to the experience. The structure of the Fantasia brings connotations to the course of a human life, with a film story that apparently is different for everyone, but conveys one truth common to all people: in order to overcome difficulties, you need to trust God.

SKU: HL.48184877

Born in 1965, Thierry Escaich studied in Paris where he obtained eight first prizes for Organ and Composition. His performances and works during his professional career have also received various distinctions, Three Sketches for Organ being no exception. Composed in 1991, Three Sketches is very modern, exploiting tonality, rhythm, harmony, and many other elements to a virtuosic level. Esciach's is a great improvisation expert and Three Sketches reflects aspects of this through use of complex rhythms and developed melodies. With a typical performance lasting around 11 minutes, the Three Sketches are called, 1) Tournament, 2) Ritual, and 3) Variations on a Memory. For all advanced organists seeking to vary and expand their contemporary repertoire, Esciach's Three Sketches is an exciting addition to the repertoire..

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.'.

SKU: PE.EP11591

ISBN 9790014135119. German.

The seven chorale fantasias by Max Reger are among the most important of organ repertoire ? masterpieces blending chorale melody and programmatic music based on the text of the chorales.

Published on the occasion of the composer's 150th birthday, this fundamentally revised Urtext edition, in two volumes, is edited by the internationally renowned organist and Leipzig professor of organ Martin Schmeding.

As one of the most influential Reger interpreters, Schmeding not only includes the latest research, but also addresses the need for a contemporary interpretation of the chorale fantasias on modern organs. The edition includes all the original dynamic and agogic indications (including continuation lines to cresc., etc., which are missing in many modern editions), as well as all the original registration and manual indications.

SKU: HL.48025143

UPC: 196288096023.

The term chiaroscuro (light-dark), which originates in painting, can be applied to Martin Christoph Redel's uvre as a whole, with its clearly defined style full of contrast, its linearity, spatiality and richness of form. In his almost 10-minute organ piece of this title, models from the Renaissance or early modernism are reflected with their free formal design. The work is available as a recording by the organist Friedhelm Flamme, who also gave the world premiere, on the portrait CD released in 2022 on the Genuin Classics label (GEN 22760) on the occasion of the composer's 75th birthday.

SKU: HL.49044329

ISBN 9790001199452. UPC: 841886022386. 9.0x12.0x0.12 inches.

Wittrich's modern interpretation of one of the most famous chorales in which traditional forms and structures of traditional church music merge with flavours of jazz, rock and pop music.