Project Completed This sixth volume completes George Ritchie’s series of recordings which comprise all of the works for organ by J. S. Bach. Together, the recordings survey ten organs which have been built in America by artisans who work in a style based on historical precedents. Each volume includes registrations of the works recorded, stoplists and descriptions of the organs, and musicological notes on the works by George Stauffer and George Ritchie. Five of the six volumes contain two CDs each, and are offered at the price of a single CD. Two Organs: Martin Pasi built the three-manual organ for Saint Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska in 2003 as his firm’s Opus 14. The organ features dual temperaments: one well-tempered and the other 1/4-comma meantone (George Ritchie uses the meantone temperament for the Prelude and Fugue in C Major). The 78 ranks include two at 32' pitch. Charles Fisk (1925-1983) built his largest instrument in 1979 for the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Like the Pasi organ, the Fisk was built to play a wide range of historical literature. The Great and Brustwerk divisions follow North German Baroque models located in the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. Some characteristics derive from the work of Andreas and Gottfried Silbermann, blending German and French ideas of the 18th century. Fisk has incorporated stops in the style of 19th-century organs by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The organ has four manuals and 86 ranks, two of which are at 32' pitch. CD 1 Martin Pasi & Associates Organ, 2003, Saint Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 Prelude Concertato in E Major, BWV 566 Prelude and Fugue in A Major, BWV 536 Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535 Prelude and Fugue in E Minor Cathedral, BWV 533 Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 549 Fugue in C Minor on a Theme of Legrenzi, BWV 574 Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531 Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her, BWV 701 Allein Gott in der Höh sei Her, BWV 711 Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721 Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731 Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein, BWV 734 CD 2 C. B. Fisk Organ, 1979, House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minnesota Fugue on the Magnificat, BWV 733 Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 550 Partita on O Gott du frommer Gott, BWV 767 Prelude and Fugue in D Minor Fiddle, BWV 539 An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653b Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 720 Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727 Valet will ich dir geben, BWV 736 |