Karg-Elert's 'Cathedral Windows' were first published in London in 1923 by Elkin & Co, under the title 'Cathedral Windows / Vitraux polychromes d'anciennes cathédrales' and the subtitle 'Six Pieces on Gregorian Tunes'.
Instruments
The E.F. Walcker Organ (Op. 2150) used for this recording was originally built in 1927 for the Hans-Sachs-Haus, the Gelsenkirchen town hall, as a modern concert hall organ.
Critical Reception
Despite Karg-Elert's new 'style' in 'Cathedral Windows', his publisher Novello rejected the manuscripts, stating, 'This style does not meet English taste'.
Composer Biography
Sigfrid Karg-Elert, the composer, had numerous admirers and supporters of his music, particularly in England.
Performer Biography
Elke Völker, the organist on this recording, has won several international competitions, including the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the 'Internationaler Orgelwettbewerb Dom zu Speyer' in 1995.
Instruments
The Walcker organ, with 92 stops across four manuals and pedal, was designed to be 'unobtrusive' and was installed invisibly above and to both sides of the concert podium in Gelsenkirchen.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Karg-Elert considered his 'Cathedral Windows' to be a 're-entry into the genuine organ style and a renunciation of the pictorial, descriptive element'.
You might also enjoy...
Psychogramme
Tournemire: L'orgue mystique (Aux grandes orgues de la cathédrale d'Orléans)
Dupre: Works for Organ, Vol. 4
Sowerby, L.: Symphony for Organ in G Major / Requiescat in Pace / Fantasy for Flute Stops
Messiaen: Complete Organ Works, Vol. 2
Bennett, R.: Organ Sonata in G Major / Bingham, S.: Baroques / Crandell, R.: Carnival (Organo Deco)
The Bruckner Symphonies, Vol. 4 – Organ Transcriptions
