1981 Eisenbarth organ at the Cathedral, Passau, Germany

If the organ is the king of instruments, then our next Pipedreams program is a showplace for the kings of kings. This week we will compare seven of the world’s largest pipe organs in all of their Olympian splendor. We’ll listen to Peter Baicchi as he plays at the Crystal Cathedral and Fred Swann as he shows off the latest additions to First Congregational Church, Los Angeles. We’ll also visit the Cadet Chapel at West Point, the Mother Church of Christian Science in Boston, and Passau Cathedral, the largest church organ in Europe. And we’ll hear the mightiest of all, the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia, and Senator Emerson Richards’ still-unrealized dream at Atlantic City’s Boarwalk Hall. It’s Big, Bigger, Biggest, the giants in their homes, this week on Pipedreams.

It’s a game of getting-to-know-you. First a few notes, then some others and before you know it, we’re into a new adventure in sound. For hundreds of years, players have explored the limits of their instruments and of their own techniques in works that evolved from the sheer tactile pleasure of pushing down the keys and seeing what happens. Marius Monnekendam in the Netherlands, Robert Elmore in the United States, Girolamo Frescobaldi of Italy, J.S. Bach in Germany and many others have written some of their most exciting music following this scheme. Tactile and tantalizing, our program explores four hundred years of repertoire, instruments from three centuries, and the delights of things done by hand. Better than a good massage, with a tingling sensation guaranteed, we Reach out and Touch the Art of the Toccata, this week on Pipedreams.

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.

What do a city auditorium in New Zealand, an historic church of in Manila, a Scandinavian university science project and the Tennessee Valley Arts Commission have in common? Each celebrates the art of the organ. This week we’ll savor performances from Christchurch Town Hall, the parish of Las Pinas in the Philippines, the Hamburg Baroque Organ Project of Gothenburg, Sweden and the Unitarian Church in Knoxville where pipe organs, old and new, excite the imagination with ear-intriguing sounds. The proof is in the playing. Enjoy some sonically beguiling CD releases while we’re Going On Record with organ music in review.

An organist’s perspective on a grand and glorious repertoire for the musical stage.

Perhaps from hanging around in the organ lofts near those bell towers, organ composers have amassed a fine pile of bell-music.

…a collection of music meditations on the themes of Easter’s resurrection.

…a prelude to the upcoming spring Pipedreams Organ Tour in the land of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner.

…some musical memories featuring artists and instruments enjoyed during the 2009 Pipedreams Tour.

…special music from around the globe amplifies and illuminates the good tidings of Christmas.

…some musical memories featuring artists and instruments enjoyed during the 2009 Pipedreams Tour.

…our annual Olde Yeare-New Year reflection, with highlights from recent recordings, concert excerpts, prize-winning performances, memorial tributes, and more.

…a contrapuntal convergence honoring the births of Johann Sebastian Bach (3/21/1685) and Max Reger (3/19/1873).

…two celebrated 20th century masters, Marcel Duprè and Max Reger, left sets of seven characterful works that convey the many mercurial moods of the King of Instruments.

…equalizing any potential clergy/musician power struggle, our performers here all are men of the cloth.

…Olivier Messiaen –A Tribute, an introduction to and celebration of the work of this century's foremost organ composer, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. The following are all works by Messiaen. : Diptyque (1930) –organist Jennifer Bate (1989 Danion-Gonzalez organ/Beauvais Cathedral) : Le banque celeste (1926) –organist Susan Landale (1852 Cavaille-Coll/St. Vincent de Paul Church, Paris)

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

Women performers and composers make vital contributions to the tradition of the organ.