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3 of 15 tracks have a preview · 14 works · 54:43

1 Petite Suite Gerald Bales Introduction, Intermezzo, Finale 5:36
2 Fifteen Pieces for Organ Marcel Dupré I am black, but comely, O ye Daughters of Jerusalem 2:36
3 Gavotte in G minor Matthew Camidge 2:00
Ten Tunes for Clay's Musical ClockGeorge Frideric Handel 2 movements3:30
1. 4 A Voluntary on a Flight of Angels 1:16
2. 5 Sonata: (Allegro), (Allegro moderato), Menuet 2:14
6 Communion, Op. 8 Louis Vierne 3:30
7 Pastorellen für die Weihnachtszeit Johann Valentin Rathgeber Nos 1 and 7 3:14
8 Variations to the Sicilian Hymn Benjamin Carr 1:48
9 B-A-C-H Fugue No. 2 Robert Schumann 6:39
10 La Nativité du Seigneur Olivier Messiaen Desseins Éternels (Eternal Purposes) 2:53
11 Adoro Te Gordon Atkinson 9:00
12 Trois Impressions Sigfrid Karg-Elert Harmonies du Soir 4:01
13 Fanfare Nodrog Nosnikta 2:19
14 Pastourelle Fela Sowande 3:31
15 Sonata da Chiesa Barrie Cabena Paean on "Lasst uns erfreuen" 4:06

A chance sighting of Melbourne's oldest surviving organ set the programme in motion: instruments from the mid-nineteenth century to the newest, each heard in repertoire that suits its scale and colour.

Venues include St Patrick's Cathedral, St Mary Star of the Sea, Christ Church Brunswick, The Scots' Church, St Paul's Cathedral and Melbourne Town Hall. The sequence runs from Bales and Dupré through Handel clock tunes, Vierne, Rathgeber and Carr, Schumann and Messiaen, Atkinson's own Adoro Te, and closing pages by Karg-Elert, Sowande and Cabena.

In the artist’s words

Late in 2007, when driving through the north-western suburbs of Melbourne, I came upon the nave of what was planned to be a large church. It was never completed. On looking through a glass and steel structure filling the intended crossing arch, a small single manual organ was seen. With further enquiries, I found that this instrument is considered to be the oldest surviving organ built in the early days of the city, c. 1855. Certainly the wood pipes were made in Melbourne, and it can be assumed that the metal pipes came from England. That this organ should be recorded came to mind, so the chance viewing of St Linus' Church, Merlynston, led to thoughts that some of the city's organs should be included, from the oldest to the newest.

— Gordon Atkinson

Reviews

... first-rate professional production of the disc ... records the important organs of Melbourne, Australia ... a gorgeous harmonic flute features in a brief Dupré Antiphon in the vast acoustic of St Patrick's Cathedral ... a very substantial Rieger organ in the Scots' Church, Dr Atkinson plays his own Adoro Te ... at the Melbourne Town Hall organ he plays a Barrie Cabena sonata, recorded here with verve ... program notes contain photos of the organs.

— Bruce Cross, Organ Canada

Artists

Gordon Atkinson

organ

Gordon Atkinson, although born in Melbourne and retiring there in 2005, spent much of his life in England and North America. After study in Melbourne with A.E.H. Nickson he attended the Royal College of Music in London from 1950 to 1953.

George Frideric Handel

composer

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was a German-born Baroque composer who settled in London and became a naturalised British subject. He is celebrated for his operas, English oratorios, organ concertos and orchestral works.

Olivier Messiaen

composer

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.

Robert Schumann

composer

Robert Schumann (1810–1856) was a German composer and music critic of the early Romantic era. His piano works and songs remain among the most enduring of the period.

Louis Vierne

composer

Louis Vierne’s organ music balances elegant form with romantically rich harmony: six symphonies, fantasy pieces crowned by the Carillon de Westminster, and liturgical scores written for the great French instruments.

Gerald Bales

composer

Barrie Cabena

composer

Matthew Camidge

composer

Matthew Camidge (1764–1844) was an English organist and composer, long based at York Minster, whose keyboard music includes organ concertos and a once-familiar gavotte.

Benjamin Carr

composer

Marcel Dupré

composer

Marcel Dupré wrote organ music of high technical demand and clear liturgical purpose, from the fourteen meditations of Le Chemin de la Croix to the inventive Variations sur un Noël and Handel-based concertos still used in recital.

Sigfrid Karg-Elert

composer

Sigfrid Karg-Elert wrote extensively for organ and harmonium in a late-Romantic vein touched by impressionism and expressionism. His chorale preludes and atmospheric pieces such as Harmonies du Soir still turn up on recital programmes.

Nodrog Nosnikta

composer

Johann Valentin Rathgeber

composer

Fela Sowande

composer

Digital booklet

Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDF

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$25.00 AUD

Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

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Also available to download from the iTunes Store.

Performers

Gordon Atkinson · organ

Technical credits

Recording Engineer Martin Wright
Editing Engineer Rhys Boak
Thanks to Christopher Trikilis
Lachlan Redd
Organ Historical Trust of Australia
Credit John Franklin

Details

List price: $25.00 AUD
Total playing time: 54 minutes 43 seconds
Release date: 2009
Categories: Keyboard, Organ
Genres: Organ, Romantic & Impressionist
Catalogue: MD 3333
EAN: 9314574333329

More to explore

Diapason

This CD marks 150 years of the Bishop Kelly Pipe Organ at St Patrick’s, Mentone. Built by Frederick Nicholson for Prahran’s Independent Church, it is among Australia’s most significant historic instruments. Christopher Trikilis and Dr Gordon Atkinson explore its colours for two and four hands, in music by Vierne, Walther, Hesse, Bonelli and others.