ORGANIX kicks off with a rousing recital by acclaimed organist William Wright in a program of delightful favourites celebrating the arrival of spring.

J.S.Bach - "Wir danken dir, Herr, wir danken dir" - Sinfonia from Cantata BWV 29
This arrangement from the Cantata "We thank thee, Lord, we thank thee", may seem a strange way to begin a concert of music for spring " but let’s look at it this way " we are thankful spring has arrived and we are thankful for the wonderful music which this organ is able to bring to life. Bach was no stranger to transcriptions and he was able to adapt other orchestral music to the resources of the organ, and Dupré has done the same with this piece. We hear the different "choruses" of the manuals as the music moves back and forth from keyboard to keyboard while the fingers keep up a constant dance.

J.S. Bach - Trio Sonata VI in G major (BWV 530)
Bach was a master teacher and he lavished great care in teaching his eldest son all the skills needed to become a first rate performer. Wilhelm Friedemann was one of the most famous performers and improvisers of his day and it was through exercises such as these trio sonatas that his facility was brought to the highest level. Bach, being the great composer he was, could not allow a mere exercise to remain that, but transformed them into the beautiful art forms which we hear. This is the last of a set of sonatas in which the idea of two obligato instruments playing accompanied by a continuo group is brought together under the hands and feet of one performer. The lightness of the themes and transparency of the lines make this an ideal introduction to spring.

A.F.Hesse - Introduction, Theme and Variation in A major (Opus 47)
Son of an organ builder, this virtuoso performer was giving organ recitals in Leipzig, Hamburg, Berlin and other major cities in Germany before he was twenty years old. He inaugurated the organ in St. Eustache in Paris and introduced the music of Bach, especially his fugues, to an admiring French public. The theme and variations we hear is what we might consider a rather serious approach to a light-hearted theme, but the colours of the organ have a good chance to be heard.

W.A.Mozart - Adagio and Rondo in C (KV 617)
Organists have to scrounge a bit to find material which Mozart wrote for the organ. Although a great admirer of the instrument (he it was who named it the "king of instruments") and a facile performer on it, he did not have occasion to write for a large instrument. His works for a small "mechanical organ" and in this case for the "glass harmonica" (tuned glass saucers were suspended on a wooden axle, partially immersed in water, and played with the friction of the fingers on the rims) produced entrancing works which organists delight in playing.

Charles Marie Widor - Symphony V - Allegro Vivace
In 1870, the 24-year-old Widor was appointed as organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the most prominent position for a French organist. The organ at St.-Sulpice was Cavaillé-Coll's masterwork; the instrument's spectacular capabilities proved an inspiration to Widor. Widor remained as organist at St. Sulpice for 64 years until the end of 1933. He was succeeded in 1934 by his former student Marcel Dupré. Meanwhile, in 1890 he succeeded César Franck as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire, where he also became composition professor in 1896. His music enchants the public with its melodic line and grand pomposity " this first movement of his fifth symphony moves from majesty to delicacy and back again.

F. Mendelssohn-"Spring Song" from "Songs Without Words" (arr. Wright)
The 19th century was the age of the piano, a period in which the instrument, newly developed, became an essential item of household furniture and the centre of domestic music-making. Short piano pieces always found a ready market, none more than Mendelssohn's eight albums of Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words), a novel title that admirably describes the length, quality and intention of these short pieces. While Mendelssohn didn’t give his pieces titles, many have been christened by various pianists; this one’s light accompaniment of a lilting melody certainly conjures up images of spring.

Four Dances
Jean-Philippe Rameau - Gavotte from Le Temple de la gloire (arr. Lemare)
Alfred Hollins - A Trumpet Minuet
Percy Aldridge Grainger - Handel in the Strand " a Clog Dance (arr. Wright)

What better way to express our delight in the world around us than with music of the dance! "Le Temple de la Gloire," is an opera-ballet, with a libretto by Voltaire; it had its premiere in Versailles, France, in 1745. Its theme is the search for an enlightened King who deserves to dwell in the Temple of Glory. Written as a ballet-opera, "The Temple of Glory" (1745) celebrated the victory of the French at Fontenoy in the war of the Austrian succession.

Hollins was a brilliant performer, and after studies in Germany landed in the Free St. George’s Church in Edinburgh. Although he made this his home, he toured widely; his organ recitals were not only entertaining but were also instructive. His ability to entertain & instruct was based on a sound musicianship derived from a profound understanding of the music and a thorough knowledge of the musical instruments. Typically his music was light and airy incorporating tuneful melodies with fairly conventional harmonies.

Grainger was born in Brighton, Australia. Quite precocious at an early age, Percy made his first concert tour when he was twelve. Soon afterwards, he went to Germany with his mother to further his training as a pianist and composer. Between 1901 and 1914, Percy and his mother lived in London where his talents flourished. With the aid of a phonograph, Percy collected songs from folk-singers and from these made many famous arrangements from these. In 1914, Grainger moved to America, where he lived for the rest of his life. He became an American citizen and during a brief spell in the U.S. Army Bands, he "dished-up" (as he put it) the Country Gardens piece which many people now equate with his name.

Johann Kaspar Kerll - Capriccio on "Cuckoo"
Born in Vogtland (Saxony) Kerll early exhibited formidable talent. While still in his teens he was sent to Vienna to study. He soon managed to combine services to the court of Vienna with that of Brussels! After studies in Rome, he went to Dresden, attended the wedding of Philip IV of Spain, traveled to Moravia and then accepted the post of Kapellmeister at the Munich court under Elector Ferdinand Maria. The Munich years were especially important for Kerll: he was apparently favoured by Ferdinand Maria, who would provide support for the rest of Kerll's life; in 1664 he was ennobled by the emperor; in 1669 his first published works appeared. Kerll gave up his post in Munich in 1673 for unclear reasons - it is believed that there was a particularly serious quarrel with other court musicians (Italian singers) which made him leave. Kerll did, however, maintain contact with Elector Ferdinand Maria until his death. In 1674 Kerll moved to Vienna. A pension was granted to him in 1675 by the emperor, who in 1677 employed him as one of his court organists. His position did not deter him from writing many light-hearted works, of which this Capriccio is one; in Europe the sound of the Cuckoo is one of the reassuring signs of spring!

Charles Marie Widor - Symphony V - Allegro cantabile " Adagio -Toccata
Widor's best-known single piece for the organ is the final movement, Toccata, from his Symphony for Organ No. 5, which is often played as a recessional at wedding ceremonies and even at the close of the Christmas Midnight Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica. When an organist hears a reference to "the Widor", he instantly knows the speaker is referring to the Toccata from Symphony No. 5. Widor was pleased with the world-wide renown this single piece afforded him, but he was unhappy with how fast many other organists played it. Widor himself always played the Toccata rather deliberately. He recorded the piece, along with his Symphony Gothique at St. Sulpice in his eighty-eighth year. Widor had several students in Paris who were to become famous composers in their own right. Widor wrote music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles (some of his songs for voice and piano are especially notable) and composed four operas and a ballet, but only his works for organ are played with any regularity.