1868 Cavaillé-Coll organ at Trinity Church, Paris

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Programs that feature this organ

#0126: Serene Alleluias!

It’s all about praise, joy and thanksgiving. Our next Pipedreams program provides music to gladden the heart and lift the spirits. We’ll have a celebratory Prelude by Franz Schmidt, a composer hailed in his native Austria, and almost totally unknown elsewhere. Max Reger contributes a tumultuous chorale-fantasy, Vincent Youmans provides some popular songs, Pierre Cochereau takes us to an Easter morning service at Notre Dame Cathedral, and the choir of Ascension Episcopal Church in Stillwater, Minnesota offers up a cheerful shout. Stimulate the senses and sooth the soul, with Serene Alleluias, this week on Pipedreams.

#0149: Celebration International

Whether on a clear midnight or a morning glorious with heavenly splendor, our next Pipedreams sings its holiday message in many languages. Frenchman Jean Guillou improvises in Switzerland, Lebanese composer Naji Hakim does the same in Paris. From the first noel to the last shepherd’s pastorale, you’ll hear music and instruments from Ireland, England, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and here at home, promoting a universal message of hope and happiness. Join us for a multicultural expression, Celebration International, this week on Pipedreams.

#0218: Attuned to Messiaen

Spiritual mystery and intellectual clarity may seem incompatible concepts, but for composer Olivier Messiaen, probing them was his life and his art. On our next Pipedreams program, we explore his music that many consider to be the most important written for the organ since Bach: his vivid tonal visions of the Eternal Church, his aural pageants descriptive of Christmas scenes, Pentecostal zeal, and Trinitarian principals. The composer himself, eight of his students and disciples, plus one determined and talented youth who is playing the entire cycle in 9-hour marathon concerts, honor his memory ten years after his death. Pentecostal Tongues and Serene Alleluias sound in praise of a higher power while a remarkable man sees colors in sound and reveals his profound faith in art. Enter a surprisingly satisfying world. We are Attuned to Messiaen…this week on Pipedreams.

#0328: Four by Four

The pipe organ of 19th century France offered players a virtual symphonic soundscape, and this week we’ll listen to a pair of works that exploit those resources to the full. Charles-Marie Widor at the Church of Saint Sulpice, was the first to thoroughly articulate a symphonic organ style, creating scores rich in color and virtuosity. Widor’s pupil and colleague, Louis Vierne at Notre Dame Cathedral, increased the emotional intensity of the genre to embrace passion, heartbreak and rage. Nine soloists on as many instruments play the Fourth Symphonies by this pair of famous composers, creating the grandest sort of sonic experience. We’re not kidding when we say it’s as simple as Four by Four.