The album features two organs from the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, Netherlands: the large Hoofdorgel, a neo-baroque instrument with 85 speaking stops, and the smaller Transeptorgel, praised as the greatest work of Sybrand Zachariassen.
Recording & Production
This album uses the Hauptwerk system, which creates virtual models of real organs, allowing the performer to play the sounds of two different organs from the Laurenskerk of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Instruments
The Hoofdorgel (Main Organ) of Laurenskerk, Rotterdam, is the largest entirely mechanical action instrument in Europe, featuring an unusual design with multi-rank principal stops.
Composer Biography
Carson Cooman is also an active concert organist, specializing in contemporary music, and over 300 new compositions by more than 100 international composers have been written for him.
Performer Biography
Erik Simmons, the organist on this album, has recorded many CDs, including an ongoing critically-acclaimed series of CDs of Carson Cooman's music on the Divine Art label.
Historical Context
The Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, where the organs used for this recording are located, had its entire interior destroyed by fire during a German bombardment in May 1940.
Composer Biography
Carson Cooman, the composer, has a catalog of hundreds of works ranging from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and his music has been performed on all six inhabited continents.
