A Recital of organ music from St. Paul's Cathedral Melbourne
The works on this recording span some eighty years of organ writing. Three come from the latter half of the nineteenth century; the remaining three were written in the first half of the twentieth.
Jean Langlais composer
Johannes Brahms composer
Charles Tournemire composer
César Franck composer
Olivier Messiaen composer
Peter Nicholson plays the 1890 T.C. Lewis organ of St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, in a programme spanning Liszt's Fantasia and Fugue on B.A.C.H., Brahms's late chorale preludes, Franck's Choral No. 2 in B minor, and twentieth-century works by Tournemire, Langlais and Messiaen.
Each piece was recorded in a single complete take on the cathedral instrument, whose original Lewis tonal scheme survives largely intact.
Reviews
Starting with a splendid and lively performance of the Liszt BACH, Peter Nicholson continues with some rarely heard Brahms. Splendidly persuasive playing.
Artists
Peter Nicholson
Peter Nicholson studied organ at St. Paul's Cathedral with June Nixon, the then Cathedral Organist. In 1976 he was awarded the Herbert Davis Memorial Prize, and two years later, obtained first-class honours in fourth year practical studies in organ at the University of Melbourne. In 1979 he gained a Fellowship from Trinity College, London in organ performing, and also spent some time studying the works of Bach and Messiaen with Gillian Weir.
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic era. His vast output reshaped piano technique, invented the symphonic poem and pushed harmony toward the twentieth century.
Jean Langlais
Jean Langlais wrote organ and sacred choral music of rich, complex harmony and overlapping modes, shot through with an earthy Celtic folkiness that sits beside Franck, Tournemire and the mid-century French school.
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His music for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice remains central to the concert repertoire.
César Franck
César Franck’s music carries the weight and colour of the Romantic organ loft into symphony, chamber music and song. The Violin Sonata, Symphony in D minor, organ Chorales and Pièce héroïque, and the serene Panis angelicus remain central to the repertoire he shaped.
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) was a French composer, organist and ornithologist whose colour-rich, rhythmically intricate music stands among the major achievements of the twentieth century.
Tracks
- Fantasia and Fugue on B.A.C.H. Franz Liszt 10:13
- Hymne d'action de grâce ("Te Deum") Jean Langlais 4:31
- 2. Herzliebster Jesu 1:55
- 5. Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele 1:39
- 10. Herzlich tut mich verlangen 3:00
- 11. O Welt, ich muss dich lassen 2:35
- Fantaisie sur le Te Deum et guirlandes alleluiatique Charles Tournemire 4:44
- Choral No. 2 in B minor César Franck 13:00
- Transports de joie d'une âme devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne Olivier Messiaen 4:08
Elf Choralvorspiele, Op. 122 Johannes Brahms
Performers
Contributors
Photography
Peter Bainbridge
Front cover illustration
Robert Marsden
Where to listen
A Recital of organ music from St. Paul's Cathedral Melbourne is available for streaming through Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
A Recital of organ music from St. Paul's Cathedral Melbourne is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- MD 3048
- List price
- $20.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 45 minutes 45 seconds
- Producer
- Martin Wright
- Venue
- St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
- Credit
- Peter Bainbridge
Robert Marsden - Release date
- 1984
- Musical work
copyright - © 1984 Move Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 1984 Move Records
- Categories
- Classical, Organ
- Genres
- Organ, Romantic & Impressionist
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574304824
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