The 1730 Trost organ of the Stadtkirche in Waltershausen, Germany

It’s kind of like a test drive. This week’s Pipedreams program is a review of a dozen recent compact discs, including one from an obscure - and ravishingly lovely - parish church in Waltershausen, Germany. We’ll visit Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, the old Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn, a lavish museum near Los Angeles, and Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas. We’ll have music by Bach and his pupil Krebs, a French organ symphony rediscovered, and an introduction to the explosive improvisational talent of Wayne Marshall, who takes George Gershwin for a ride.

From a parish church in Raykjavik, Iceland, to a splendid mansion near Philadelphia, our next Pipedreams program samples great sounds and keeps your finger on the pulse of the pipe organ world. It’s a review of recent compact discs, giving you an opportunity to hear the largest church organ in America, a brand-new installation in Seattle, historic instruments in Central Germany from the time of Bach, and a stunning organ-with-trumpet duo from France. We’ll also listen to a sensuous Arabesque by Debussy, a youthful Pastorale by Ned Rorem, new music by Pamela Decker, a tango - believe it or not, and some jazzy measures from the old country. This week’s program is a wild mix of new organ compact discs including jazz stylings from Germany, a Tango from the Desert, Variations in Seattle, a sweet song from the DuPont summer mansion, and Bach in Iceland. John Weaver, Peter Sykes, Michael Keeley, and other share the glory as we sample new releases of organ compact discs, Going On Record, this week on Pipedreams.

We explore things new and engaging on our next Pipedreams program, sampling recent releases of organ music on CD, including a jazzy Te Deum from Germany, the sound of praise today. With saxophone? Sure. Plus we’ll have trumpet voluntaries featuring festival reed stops on instruments in Kilgore, Texas; Hendersonville, North Carolina; and Chartres, France. The 1930 Skinner organ at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio, is at its best under the hands of Todd Wilson, but really old is the 1730 Trost organ at Waltershausen, Germany, playing music by a kid who grew up just west of there, Johann Sebastian Bach. Would Bach have approved? Absolutely, because he knew the builder of this instrument and loved his work. These and other stunning sounds from cathedrals in Toledo, Ohio, and Saint Louis, Missouri, and a jazz-friendly congregation in Stuttgart are all part of the plan. We’re Going on Record with CDs in review, this week on Pipedreams.

Seasons change, the days get shorter, and darkness seems more prevalent; it’s no wonder we become introspective at this time of year. Our next Pipedreams program plays with that theme, and the notion of expectation that comes as part of the package. Winter descends, and old chorales and chants for the season call out in earnestness and hope. We follow the Psalmist’s admonition and look to the hills for help. Is it all about hunger? In the end, music provides the key, and a dozen recitalists, plus choirs from Dallas, Texas; Bangor, Maine; Stockholm and Indianapolis ask the questions and resolve to find solutions—uncertainty, with a purpose, leads to an harmonious resolve. We acknowledge Advent Anticipation, this week on Pipedreams.

There’s no denying his place as one of music’s grand masters. Even his name provides a motive for further exploration. On our next Pipedreams broadcast, we celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach with some adventuresome early works, several colorful arrangements of his works by other composers and a few pieces in modern mode which were inspired by his example. In his own time, he was a prime mover and has been an inspiration for musicians ever since. From Alice Tully Hall to Saint Wenzel’s Church in Naumburg, Robert Clark, Catharine Crozier, Barbara Harbach, Anthony Newman, and friends sweep through the workshop and find Chips off the Old Bach, this week on Pipedreams.

Although we’ll never be able to find a definitive Bach organ, we do know where he played and the sorts of instruments which influenced him. On this week’s show, we’ll visit the church in Arnstadt, Bach’s first important job, drop in at the Castle Church in Lahm, where he helped a cousin with the organ design, and at Altenburg Palace where, later, his best pupil, Krebs, was employed. We’ll hear an instrument by Silbermann, who Bach respected but with whom he did not see eye-to-eye, also the new organ at Saint Thomas Church, Leipzig, modeled after one in Bach’s hometown, and the extraordinary Hildebrandt masterpiece in Naumburg, which we think Bach designed. Bach traveled the countryside as Germany’s foremost recitalist, and we follow his footsteps to hear the sounds he knew and the organs which were important in his growth as an artist. Come with us to Arnstadt, Altenburg, Naumburg, Leipzig and Lahm, as we revisit history and celebrate Bach’s Royal Instruments.

A marvelous miscellany of colorful compositions which share little beyond their common format name.

A multi-generational encounter with two masters of the polyphonic arts, introduced by Brink Bush.

Composers old and new create music of awe and expectation that preludes the Christmas festival.

…a preview of some of the performers to be featured in this summer’s national convention of the American Guild of Organists.

…an international sampler of instruments and players, all in recent recordings, commit to individual revelations of the spirit of the greatest of all composers for the organ, J.S. Bach.

…in recently discovered scores, unusual arrangements, or pieces forgotten in dark corners, the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach always delights, born March 21, 1685.

…during his later Leipzig years, Bach revised and prepared a diverse collection of chorale preludes that were his final testament in this format.

…though Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was reputed to be the finest organist of his era, he died penniless while his younger brother, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, prospered as harpsichordist to Frederick the Great and, later, Music Director for the city of Hamburg.

…whether in recently discovered scores, unusual arrangements, or pieces forgotten in dark corners, the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach always delights (b. 3/21/1685).

…a visit with British well-rounded organist Margaret Phillips, including selections from her impressive Bach cycle and other examples from her extensive discography.

…music on themes for the season of Advent, heralding the coming of Christmas.

…whether in his own country or in Switzerland, Japan or the USA, Bach’s music thrills, unequivocally.

…delight in the sounds of some of the instruments that will be visited during the PIPEDREAMS tour in Germany this week.