1898 Willis organ (restored by Harrison & Harrison, Ltd. in 1960) of Lincoln Cathedral.

Trumpet fanfares and other bracing measures spice up this week’s broadcast as we celebrate spring with improvisations and anthems dedicated to the festival of rebirth. Marilyn Keiser plays a Festal Flourish, Kevin Bowyer borrows from Bach’s Little Organ Book, James Culp asks a pointed question, Craig Philips contributes a song for a special morning awakening, and everywhere sons and daughters sing. With instruments in Texas, Italy, and our nation’s capitol, and choirs from Beverly Hills and Britain, we offer Music for an Easter Uprising.

The magnificent Organ Sonata by Sir Edward Elgar is but one of the highlights of this week’s Pipedreams broadcast. In it, four players, two in London and two in New England, will revel in an almost orchestral wash of color. Joseph Payne plays from the Mulliner Book, Malcolm Archer takes us to Lancaster Town Hall, Robert Wolley performs 16th century music on an instrument equally old, and Colin Walsh has a blast at Lincoln Cathedral. Experience the lush sounds that characterize organ music from jolly old England. Beyond Bach and Franck and Widor, there’s a wonderful realm of experience awaiting us in the works of British composers. From the Mulliner Book and early pieces by Orlando Gibbons and Dr. John Bull, through the proud pages of Hubert Parry and Charles Stanford, to the entire First Sonata by Edward Elgar, we prove it’s not a desert island as regards its organ music. Come and celebrate England’s Glory, this week on Pipedreams.

If this music makes you think of weddings and beautiful brides, you’re right on target. This broadcast is a collection of preludes, processionals and other pages in praise of matrimony and the emotions and circumstances which lead us to the altar. Whether it be Handel’s Hornpipe or Mendelssohn’s familiar Wedding March, a Salute to Love by Elgar, or Duke Ellington’s In a sentimental mood, you’ll be amazed by the various ways composers have dealt with love and its ramifications. Trumpet tunes and blessings, salutes to love and lullabies, it’s all part of the package when two people tie the knot at a June wedding, and we provide the music appropriate to a chapel or cathedral creating Matrimonial Magic.

Whether because of a guiding star, or a brilliant flash of inspiration, our composers make more vivid that special moment of clarity.

…grander than grand, these impressive instruments resonate in some of England’s most famous ecclesiastical buildings.

…a three-century collective of composers provides a colorful package for our holiday pleasure.

…the splendid sounds of organs in the United Kingdom resonate with pleasurable grandeur.

…Though organists often are invisible when they play, some recent DVD productions showcase both the performance and the performer.

…glorious sounds resound in historic buildings, testament to the richness of a centuries-old musical art.

…a select survey of some sacred music written by one of the 20th century’s most honored composers, Benjamin Britten, on the hundredth anniversary of his birth.

…the splendid sounds of organs in the British Isles resonate with pleasurable grandeur.

…with so many intriguing items slipping between the cracks of our awareness, we thought we might share some overlooked treasures here.

…we honor the life and work of one of the ‘grand old men’ of English cathedral music, Dr. Francis Jackson, CBE, on the occasion of his centenary (b. October 2, 1917).

…the resurrection theme has inspired composers across many generations.

…only good things happen when two organists share a single console!

…Music of the organist Alexandre Guilmant of France.

…a selective, annotated autumn survey of new releases of organ music on compact disc