DiscoGlassy

Gabriel Dessauer

Kontraste

1995

© GlassPages, 1998

Cover Picture

References

• Psallite 60151 (Germany).

Credits

• Music performed by Gabriel Dessauer on the organ in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden (Germany).
• Digital Recording: 5./6.9.1995.
• Recording and Edition: Michael Kusterer, Schoko-Musik / Wiesbaden.
• Pictures by Verlag Schnell & Steiner Regensburg / Kurt Gramer.
• © 1995 Psallite, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Tracks

1. Abe Holzmann (1874-1939) "Blaze Away" (2:38).
2. Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) "Choral-Improvisation" 'Victimae paschali laudes' (8:02).
   Nigel Ogden (1954-) "An Art Deco 'Three Piece' Suite":
3. "Ritzy" (3:01).
4. "Acacia Avenue" (4:35).
5. "To Clarice" (2:41).
6. Karl Höller (1907-1987) "Ciacona op. 54" (13:57).
7. Edwin H. Lemare (1895-1934) "Concertstück written in the form of a Polonaise, op. 80" (7:08).
8. Louis Vierne (1870-1937) "Final fis-Moll" from Symphony No. 3 op. 28 (5:39).
9. Philip Glass (1937-) "Dance No. 4" (21:58).

Total Time 1:10:22.

Notes

The CD CONTRASTS aims to document the wide range of 20th century organ music, with the exception of atonal and avant-garde music. The musical journey begins with symphonic music (Vierne, Lemare, Tournemire), travels over neobaroque polyphony (Hoeller) and "light" works of Holzmann and Ogden, and ends with a piece of "minimal music" (Glass).

Philip Glass studied in Chicago and Paris (with Nadia Boulanger, among others). Through his acquaintance with Ravi Shankar, Glass developed an interest in Indian music and rhythm. Besides Steve Reich, Philip Glass is one of the most popular composers of socalled "minimal music", a form characterised by constantly repeating melodic sequences, which change only gradually and slightly, thereby giving the music its meditative sound. Of the 5 dance pieces composed in the late 1970s, only numbers 2 and 4 are written for solo organ.

The recorded Dance No.4 has been regarded very positively by the critics: For example the Sonntag described the work as a "marathon of meditation", which presents itself as a "combination of metre in economical harmony, which accents are changing imperceptible". The listener is recommended not to duplicate consciously the "never-ending change of strain and relaxation" (Wiesbadener Kurier), but "to let himself be arched by the music like a bell" (Sonntag). Also the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung certifies the work as an "immense, harmonic soundrush", which spells the listener.

Gabriel Dessauer.
Translation: Teta Moehs, Mathias Sträßer.

The organ in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden was built by Hugo Mayer of Heusweiler, using pipe materials from the original Seifert organ of 1954. The long reverberation in the church (9 seconds) and the high proportion (25%) of reed stops render the instrument particularly well suited to French and English music. Due to space problems which prohibit installation of 32 foot pipes, the first European installation of electronic 32 foot stops was successfully undertaken in 1995 by the firm ICMI of Amelia, Ohio.

Pictures

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