Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960): Fantasie in C minor *
Vitezslav Novák (1870-1949): Preludium na valasskou písen
Bedrich Antonín Wiedermann (1883-1951): Pastorale dorico
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967): Epigrams (arr. for organ by G. Trajtler)
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967): Praeludium in D flat major
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967): Csendes mise (Low Mass), "Organoedia ad missam lectam"
Milos Sokola (1913-1976): Passacaglia quasi toccata on B-A-C-H

* World Premiere Recording

All of the pieces on this disc are rarely heard or performed, and as you can see one of them is actually presented in its world premiere recording. This makes for a compellingly enticing collection for any and all pipe organ music enthusiasts.

The only composition for organ by Ernst von Dohnányi, his Fantasie in C minor, the premiere on this new recording, was written when in his teens and already demonstrates great potential. Its impressive opening bars, marked by a succession of four ominous chords underpinned by a pulsating low pedal note, set the stage for masterful development including a highly lyrical second subject and a fugal episode leading to an assertive conclusion.

Another one-off for solo organ is the short but beautifully serene Preludium na valasskou písen (Prelude to a Wallachian Folk Song) by Vitezslav Novák. Written at the end of his life, it highlights the pipe organ's evocative tonal characteristics and subtle cantabile beauty. On the other hand, Moravian teacher and organist Bedrich Antonín Wiedermann composed a substantial body of works for the instrument, comprising about a quarter of his total compositional output. His Pastorale dorico well demonstrates his acuity as an organist to utilize the organ's multi-voice capabilities.

The bulk of this CD consists of three works by Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian composer who was first and foremost a teacher and ethnomusicologist who devoted most of his life to the creation of a system to improve music teaching in Hungary's schools. The set of nine Epigrams, originally written for voice and piano, is presented here in a worthy arrangement for solo organ by Gabor Trajtler (1929-2022). They are highly melodic yet short, diminutive pieces that would serve well as offertory interlude pieces in a liturgical context. They are all harmonically inventive and unusually introspective pieces with the one exception being the bright and sprightly No. 5. On the other hand, his Organoedia ad missam lectam (Low Mass - the setting of a mass without singing) is a much more substantial work for the pipe organ. Laid out over 8 segments, from an Introit to the Agnus Dei and Ite missa est, it's a full liturgical mass where the organist assumes the role of both leader and chorister. Contemplative in one instance, and overtly powerful the next, it runs the expressive and dynamic gamut analogous with the instrument.

Last but not least, and the most technically impressive work on this recording, is the Passacaglia quasi toccata on B-A-C-H by Czech composer Milos Sokola. He was known for being a slow and methodical composer, and those exact traits stand out in this work, because although it sounds like an impromptu composition, you can tell that each and every note was painstakingly positioned on the page for maximum impact. Over a foundation of B-flat, A, C and B-natural (BACH) constantly repeated on the pedals, the two hands are relentlessly moving forward in what sounds like stylistic patterns and sequences used by Bach himself brought up-to-date with 20th century harmonic twists, imposing constant demands on the organist's technical endurance. This all builds to an impressive finish that ends on a solid major chord, where the 32' pedal stops get to rattle some windows.

Professor and organist Iain Quinn, whose discography includes more than a dozen releases on the Naxos, Hyperion, Raven and Chandos labels, plays the 106 stop Mander Organ of the Peachtree Road Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Its impressive range of stops run the gamut from a 1' Sharp Mixture to the 32' Contra Bombarde and Double Open Diapason pipes.