The King of Instruments – WILLIAM ALBRIGHT – Organ Works – Double CD (2023)

Released in October 2023.

The American composer William Albright (1944-1998) is one of the most idiosyncratic artistic personalities of the American music scene. One of the focal points of his work is his rich organ oeuvre, which also plays an important role in European concert life. This oeuvre spans a dazzling stylistic arc from the experimental avant-garde of the 1960s to post-modern eclecticism, incorporating elements of ragtime and jazz.

The goal of the undertaking is – before the year 2024, in which the composer would have celebrated his 80th birthday – to present a CD production that is a representative cross-section of his organ works. The double CD now being produced will fill a gap, since Albright recordings are not yet available on the European CD market.

The selected acoustic spaces and their instruments are highly suitable for the stylistic demands: the Jesuit Church in Vienna and its Späth organ, which is held in high esteem internationally, and the Monastery Church of St. Gabriel in Maria Enzersdorf in Lower Austria and its Rieger organ, which is the place where I work.

Program (on 2 CDs):

The King of Instruments (1978) A Parade of Music and Verse for Organ and Narrator
Introduction
The Manuals
The Pedals
The Flues
The Mixtures
The Flutes
The Principales
The Sesquialtera
The Reeds
The Clarion and the Faggott
The Gamba
The Celeste
The Organist

Pneuma (1966)

In Memoriam (1983)

Flights of Fancy (1991/92) Ballet for Organ
Curtain Raiser
Valse Triste
Tango Fantastico
Pas de deux
Ragtime Lullabye
Shimmy
Hymn
Alla Marcia – The A.G.O. Fight Song

From: Organbook III, Vol.I (1977/78)
Fanfare/Echo
Recitative – chorale
Mountains

Symphony for organ (1986) with Percussion (or pre-recorded tape)
Lento, Maestoso, Lento – Molto ritmico – Lento
Cantilena
Tarantella macabra
Ritual

Sweet Sixteenths (1975) A concert Rag for Organ

Chasm (1985)

Agnus Dei (1996) from: Missa brevis for Soprano and Unison Treble Voices and Organ

Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten (1963) Chorale-Partita in an Old Style
Chorale
Variation 4
Variation 5

From: Organbook III, Vol.II (1977/78)
Nocturne
Finale – The Offering

“Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” (1997)

Duration: 149:46