Paul Dukas (1865-1935): The Sorcerer's Apprentice (arr. Thomas Trotter)
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937): Symphonie V, Op. 42, No. 1 - Allegro Vivace
John Gardner (1917-2011): Five Dances for Organ, Op. 179
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Fantaisie in E flat major
Derek Bourgeois (1941-2017): Serenade, Op. 22
Tielman Susato (c.1510-1570): Dances from Danserye (arr. Thomas Trotter)
Zsolt Gárdonyi (b. 1946): Mozart Changes
Rachel Laurin (b. 1961): Sweelinck Variations, Op. 96

If there were any old and dusty cobwebs, before this recording session took place, inside any of the over 6,000 pipes of the Symphony Hall Organ, well now they're gone.

This magnificent 2001 mechanical action pipe organ was designed and built by hand by the German firm of Johannes Klais Orgelbau. It boasts over 80 stops spread over four manuals, which range from a 1' Sifflet to not one, not two, but three 32' stops in the pedals, and even includes horizontal Trompette en chamade pipes within the organ's facade. So when you combine everything using the plein-jeux piston, it generates a sound powerful enough to blow your hair back. But glass-shattering sonics aren't everything. You need an accomplished and creative organist to tame the beast and invoke its full musical potential.

Former Organ Scholar at King's College, Thomas Trotter was appointed Birmingham City Organist back in 1983, and has released many fine recordings on reputable labels such as Chandos, Hyperion, Decca, Regent and King's College. As exemplified in this new recording, his choice of registration, not only for any given piece but for individual passages within these pieces to bring out their musical character, is impeccable. For example, within the not-so-serious tip of the hat to Mozart where Hungarian composer Zsolt Gárdonyi seamlessly turns well known lines by Mozart into bluesy riffs, how Trotter flawlessly shifts from dainty, flute only stops for straight Mozart, to a combination of more "woody" stops for the blues is quite effective. Or how he ingeniously alternates between the right and left reed stop chambers during the first Dances from Danserye by Tielman Susato to convey the image of two dancers taking turns before eventually dancing together. He also very well brings out all of the subtle differences as well as the Renaissance splendour captured within the Sweelinck Variations by Canadian composer and organist Rachel Laurin. A work commissioned by Trotter himself.

But you haven't heard anything until you've heard Thomas Trotter apply his very own magical tricks within his superlative arrangement of the famous orchestral showstopper by Paul Dukas, the powerfully evocative The Sorcerer's Apprentice. From the mysteriously quiet opening to the final four devastating chords, and everything in between, the sonics that Trotter deploys to represent the apprentice, the broom, the rising rushing water, and the ever-increasing level of anxiety felt by the poor little apprentince, are quite remarkable. Not to mention the level of virtuosity needed to control and bring together all of these individual musical strands together into one unifying whole. It's quite a tour de force musically and technically speaking. And remember the part where the consternated apprentice breaks the broom in half, only to now have to deal with two brooms fetching even more water? Wait 'til you hear the highly appropriate sonic characteristics Trotter applies to each broom, not to mention the turmoil that ensues. One of those rare "Wow" moments. Highly recommended!