Inspired Program Notes
1. Cathédrales (Pièces de Fantaisie, Suite No. 4, Op. 55) Louis Vierne (1870-1937) (Rieger Orgelbau, Sanctuary) [10’16]
Jeffrey Brillhart (b. 1955)
2. Carillon Leo Sowerby (1870-1937) (Petty-Madden Organ, Chapel) [7’05]
James Kealey (b. 1994)
3. Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) (Rieger Orgelbau, Sanctuary) [13’50]
Jeffrey Brillhart
4. Psalm Prelude (Set 1, No. 2), Psalm 37, v. 11 Herbert Howells (1892-1983) (Petty-Madden Organ, Chapel) [6'47]
Jeffrey Brillhart
5. Präludium und Fuge über den Namen BACH, S.260 Franz Liszt (1811-86) (Petty-Madden Organ, Chapel) [12'55]
Daniel Carroll (b. 2005)
6. Prélude, Adagio et Choral varié sur le thème du 'Veni Creator', Op 4 Maurice Duruflé (1902-86) (Rieger Orgelbau, Sanctuary) [22'32]
James Kealey, and Bryn Mawr Chant Society
7. Toccata (from “Le Tombeau de Couperin”, M.86) Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), transcribed by Jean-Baptiste Robin (b. 1976) (Rieger Orgelbau, Sanctuary) [4'12]
Daniel Carroll (b. 2005)
Louis Vierne’s Cathédrales is a musical depiction of the great Gothic cathedrals of France—monuments of stone, light, and faith that profoundly shaped both his life and his artistry. Although blind from birth, Vierne possessed an extraordinary ability to evoke architectural grandeur through sound. As organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris for nearly four decades, he knew intimately the awe inspired by these magnificent spaces.
Rather than depicting a specific cathedral, Cathédrales captures their timeless spirit. Massive chords suggest soaring walls and towers, while broad melodic lines and rich harmonic colors evoke the play of light through stained glass and the resonance of bells beneath vaulted ceilings. Moments of quiet contemplation alternate with passages of overwhelming majesty, creating the impression of walking through a vast sacred space where history, worship, and architecture converge.
Composed in 1914, Cathédrales stands among Vierne’s most evocative character pieces, demonstrating his remarkable gift for transforming visual and emotional impressions into compelling musical narratives.
(Program Note by Jeffrey Brillhart)
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Affectionately known as the “Dean of American church music” in the mid-20th century, the musical output of Leo Sowerby encompasses Chamber music, five symphonies for orchestra, sacred and secular songs for voice, a healthy dose of choral works, anthems, and cantatas, and over a dozen pieces for organ solo. Carillon (1917) is a short work from Sowerby’s early years of composing. Perfect for the Petty-Madden organ at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, the piece utilizes the multiple sets of string stops, with specific asks for chimes (which are housed in the Echo division of the organ), in addition to other percussion stops, simulated on this recording with combinations of perky flutes on the swell division. Emblematic of his writing, this work is chromatic, yet soothing, recalling the chiming of church bells in the air.
(Program Note by James Kealey)
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Among Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest achievements for the organ, the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor is both an extraordinary display of compositional mastery and a work of profound emotional depth. It begins with an eight-measure bass theme which is repeated throughout a series of twenty variations. From this unchanging foundation, Bach creates an astonishing range of textures, colors, and expressive intensity, gradually building from quiet simplicity to monumental grandeur. Without pause, the passacaglia gives way to a virtuosic fugue whose subject is derived from the opening bass theme. Here Bach transforms the work’s architectural foundation into a brilliant contrapuntal structure, weaving multiple voices into a thrilling culmination.
(Program Note by Jeffrey Brillhart)
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Herbert Howells composed his Psalm Preludes between 1915 and 1938, creating a series of deeply personal meditations inspired by selected verses from the Psalms. Rather than illustrating the texts literally, these works seek to capture their emotional and spiritual atmosphere. The first prelude of Set I is associated with Psalm 34:6: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”
Beginning with a quiet, searching melody, the work unfolds in a single, continuous arc of increasing intensity. Richly colored harmonies, expressive chromaticism, and long-breathed melodic lines create a sense of prayerful longing that gradually rises to an impassioned climax before subsiding into peaceful resignation. Throughout, Howells demonstrates his distinctive harmonic language—at once rooted in the English cathedral tradition yet infused with the lush sonorities of early twentieth-century Impressionism.
(Program Note by Jeffrey Brillhart)
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Franz Liszt’s Praeludium and Fugue on B-A-C-H is an exploration of the registrational and textural possibilities of the organ. Liszt took one of the simplest themes and created this kaleidoscopic and almost orchestral work, challenging both the instrument and the performer. Liszt utilized his piano technique to create many textures that no one else had created on the organ before, and paved the way for later composers to develop it further. This piece includes reserved, introspective moments which lead to climaxes of drama and virtuosity.
(Program Note by Daniel Carroll)
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In 1926, just one year before he was to become Louis Vierne’s assistant at Notre-Dame de Paris, Maurice Duruflé composed a set of variations on a liturgical theme, which he himself played in his own concerts. Four years later, the famed composition competition Les Amis de l’Orgue required of its competitors a three-movement work. Duruflé composed the two preceding movements to the variations, and won the prize with his Prélude, Adagio, et Choral varié sur le thème du ‘Veni Creator’, on the great Pentecost hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus (Come Holy Ghost, our heart’s inspire). The thematic material for the first two movements is derived from various phrases of the hymn, but it is not yet heard in its full entirety. After some twelve minutes of quiet music depicting the meandering movement, and then the calm and serene nature of the Holy Spirit, a sudden rush of mighty wind builds towards the end of the Adagio to a triumphant climax, before dying out as quickly as it began, giving way to a radiant and glorious statement of the full hymn, followed by four variations, each perhaps representing different qualities of the Holy Spirit (as described in Galatians 5:22-23); goodness, gentleness, meekness, culminating in the joy of the Spirit in the most triumphant toccata-finale.
With thanks to the Bryn Mawr Chant Society for their participation in this recording.
Bill Adelhelm, Tony Brown, Bill Bosch, Fred Fletcher, Mike Hogue*, Brian Middleton*, Siddhartha Misra*, Nick Provenzale*, Klaus Volpert, Jeff Wilber*
(* denotes Staff Singer)
(Program Note by James Kealey)
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Maurice Ravel’s Toccata is the final movement from his suite for piano: “Le Tombeau de Couperin.” The toccata was transcribed by the prolific French organist and composer Jean-Baptiste Robin. Ravel structured Le Tombeau de Couperin after a keyboard suite of François Couperin by taking the classical dances such as the menuet, rigaudon, and forlane and reinventing them through his own impressionistic style. The toccata is a crossover between classicism and impressionism, weaving the centuries-old form throughout the harmonic language of Paris in the early 20th century.
(Program Note by Daniel Carroll)