New CD! Lofty Ambrosia

"...(an) intriguing program... ...assured, clear playing." - The American Organist

Meet the perfume of the gods!  Discover 7 varieties of music from Europe, England and the United States, all from composers born in the 19th century.  This disc deviates from the expected Baroque literature usually emphasized by Nancy Metzger.  And its not entirely perfume!  This music is strong yet beautifully melodic, taking the listener from the quietest sounds to the total bombast of the loudest reed stops. There is indeed a valid connection between the Baroque era, in which the expressive performer sought to “move the listener,” and the Romantic era, in which the expressive player sought to “move the listener.”  The difference is in how the “passions” were transmitted by the composer in the music.

This new disc was recorded in 2008 on 3 Northern California organs:

•The Scott Nelson organ at All Saints Episcopal Church, Sacramento, built in 1999 in the English Cathedral tradition (58 ranks)

•The 1981 Manuel Rosales mechanical action organ at First Presbyterian Church, Marysville, utilizing some original pipework from the church’s 1869 E. & G. G. Hook organ (23 ranks)

•The 2008 Gene Bedient organ at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sacramento (59 ranks)

Each of these instruments contributes unique qualities to this rather obscure literature, creating a pastiche of warm, rich sounds. Composers represented include Niels Gade, Frank Bridge, Marcel Dupré, S. S. Wesley, Arthur Foote, Mendelssohn and Théodore Dubois. The complete play list is given below.

To fund the completion of this recording project, Nancy Metzger was named the 1st recipient of the Mu Phi Epsilon Mary Alice Cox Award for Lifelong Learning.

Lofty Ambrosia Playlist

Scott Nelson Organ, 1999, 3 manuals, 58 ranks, utilizing Aeolian-Skinner chests, with new and vintage pipe work from various makers. All Saints Episcopal Church, Sacramento, CA

Three Tone Pieces -Niels Gade
1- #1 in F Major
2- #2 in C Major
3- #3 in A Minor

Two Pieces, 1914 -Frank Bridge
4- Andantino in F Minor
5- Andante con moto in D Flat

6,7- Cortège et Litanie -Dupre-Farnam

Manuel Rosales Organ, 1981, 2 manuals, 23 ranks, mechanical key and stop action, utilizing 8 ranks from the 1869 E. & G. G. Hook organ of First Presbyterian Church, Marysville, CA

8,9- Choral Song & Fugue -Samuel Sebastian Wesley

Four Pieces -Arthur Foote
10- Prelude in E Flat
11- Night, a Meditation
12- Postlude in C
13- Cantilena in G

Gene Bedient Organ, 2008, 3 manuals, 59 ranks, with electro-pneumatic slider chests. St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sacramento, CA

14- Allegro, Chorale & Fugue- Felix Mendelssohn
15- Grand Choeur- Théodore Dubois

$15.00

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