At the Organ
James Paterson (1854-1932)
Oil on canvas
The Magic Lantern
Tagged
organ
Carlo Dolci (1616-1686, Italian Baroque Era painter, Florentine school)
St Cecilia at the Organ, 1671
Oil on canvas, 96,5 x 81 cm.
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Arthur Honegger (1892-1955): Laudate Dominum (excerpt from ‘A Christmas Cantata’, H 212, 1953)
Jindrich Jindrák - baritone, Jaroslav Tvrzsky - organ
Czech Chorus, Kühn Children’s Chorus
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Serge Baudo (1966, Prague)
(Thank you, zveneczi)
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Electrelane / “The Valleys”
This song is so beautiful.
The lyrics are an adaptation of a poem written by Siegfried Sassoon in 1916 titled “A Letter Home.”
Well, I know you’ll swear it’s true
That you found him decked in blue
Striding up through morning-land
With a cloud on either hand.
Out in Wales, you’ll say, he marches
Arm-in-arm with oaks and larches;
Hides all night in hilly nooks,
Laughs at dawn in tumbling brooks.
Yet, it’s certain, here he teaches
Outpost-schemes to groups of beeches.
And I’m sure, as here I stand,
That he shines through every land,
That he sings in every place
Where we’re thinking of his face. (read the rest here)
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Iannis Xenakis / ‘Gmeeoorh’ (1974) for organ
performed by Christoph Maria Moosmann
The foreword to the score of ‘Gmeeoorh’ includes a detailed description of the manuals and stops of the organ for which it was written. Evidently, a recording of their tones and ranges was produced for the composer, and Xenakis made great use of the wide palette of timbral colors. In fact, the changes of stops are so numerous and intricate that the score would be impossible to perform without an assistant. The notes themselves are difficult enough to play, with often extremely concentrated and intricate arborescences involving both hands and feet. There are times when the polyphony is such that the sounds fuse, creating blocks of sound in constant evolution, the inner details being imperceptible. This effect is also due to the lack of distinctive attack in the sounds and the naturally reverberant venues organs are usually located in. (text via Xenakis: his life in music / by James Harley)
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Alice Coltrane / “Oh Allah”
Alice Coltrane, organ and harp; John Blair, Leroy Jenkins, Julius Brand, and Joan Kalisch, violins; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Jack DeJohnette, drums. String arrangement by Alice Coltrane, transcription by Ornette Coleman. Recorded April 6, 1971.
In Alice’s own words:
OH ALLAH is a prayer for peace, unity and concord. The strings helped me to voice this plea. “O Mustafa Lord Allah, bring forth us all together again. We can depend on You to envelop us in Your all-embracing arms of universal harmony, tranquility, and love.” (taken from the Universal Consciousness LP liner notes)
The Ancient of Days, William Blake
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Lili Boulanger / Pie Jesu (pour voix, orgue, quatuor a corde et harpe)
Given the sudden surge of love for Lili Boulanger here on tumblr, here is what might very well be my favorite piece of hers. It’s a haunting / eerie arrangement and composition for harp, string quartet, organ, and boy soprano.
