1923 Adema organ at the Basiliek Sint Bavo [Basilica of Saint Bavo], Haarlem, The Netherlands

This week’s Pipedreams program takes on the challenge of evoking vivid visual images - and with our ears we’ll view a procession in an ancient cathedral, a thunderstorm in the countryside, colorful landscapes in southern France, and an art show at a gallery. Along with works by Mulet, Ermand Bonnal, Eugene Reuchsel, and Lefebure-Wely, we’ll enjoy a complete performance of Mussorgsky’s famous keyboard impressions of paintings by his friend Victor Hartmann - visions of children playing near the Tuileries, the Market at Limoges, the Catacombs, the Ballet of the chicks in their shells and the Great Gate of Kiev. Nine soloists paint the town with organic colors. For more on Pictures at an Exhibition, read Paintings in Sound, by Michael Barone.

…delightful representatives of the Netherlands organ experience, with instruments and repertoire from five centuries.

…a collection of terrifically tactile and telling tests of musical virtuosity and stamina.

…a potpourri of music in observance of the 300th birthday year of three renowned composers (Bach, Handel and Scarlatti), the centenary of a legendary recitalist (Lynwood Farnam), and the Feast of the Epiphany.

…inspiring music by (and inspired by) the great Georg Friedrich Handel, in unusual (and inspired) settings

…A New Year's beginning which surveys a miscellany of new releases of organ music on compact disc. Host Michael Barone provides commentary.

…A survey of recent recordings.

…Music of the organist Alexandre Guilmant of France.

…A disparate grouping of mostly unusual opportunities for the acoustic embellishment of your June nuptials.

…A further exploration of known and unknown works which sound better on the pipe organ than their composer ever imagined.

…A New Year's sampler of recent releases.

…Variants on the Reformation Hymn, and other musics of faith and fortitude.

…through arrangements, transcriptions and revised attributions we discover that Wolfgang Amadeus really did revere the 'king of instruments', sometimes in unexpected ways.

…Probing and poetical musical impressions for Holy Week.