David Schrader – Frank Ferko & Leo Sowerby: Organ Music (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Versatile keyboard virtuoso David Schrader, heard on more than two dozen Cedille Records albums, performs attractive 20th- and 21st-century solo organ works by Frank Ferko (b. 1950) and Leo Sowerby (1895-1968), prolific composers known for their organ mastery and closely associated with the city of Chicago.

Ferko’s works, all world-premiere recordings, are heard on three different mechanical-action organs at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minnesota. The intimate Music for Elizabeth Chapel is performed on the organ it was written for: the 19-rank Jaeckel, Opus 41. Variations on a Hungarian Folk Theme, also written for the textures and colors of a small instrument, is heard on an authentic Romantic-era French organ, with 13 ranks, built by Joseph Merklin in 1878 for a church in southern France.

Ferko compositions performed on the 97-rank C.B. Fisk Opus 78 (1979) include Variations on “Veni Creator Spiritus,” based on a ninth-century plainsong hymn; Angels – Chaconne for Organ, Missa O Ecclesia: Communion, and Mass for Dedication, all based on chants by 12th-century abbess, composer, and Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen; Symphonie br`eve, dedicated to Schrader; and Tired Old Nun, a novelty piece scored for pedals alone, with waltz, slow blues, and boogie variations.

Schrader offers his Sowerby program on the 68-rank Wicks Opus 2918 organ at St. Ita’s Catholic Church, Chicago, renovated in 2003 by H.A. Howell. Like the great Skinner organs that Sowerby knew well, it includes a Solo division with stops that are essential to performing the composer’s large-scale works. Repertoire includes some of Sowerby’s best-known organ music: the brilliant program overture Comes Autumn Time; the virtuosic Pageant, championed by Virgil Fox; Toccata, a recital staple for generations of American organists; and the monumental Symphony in G Major, first recorded in 1942 by British organist E. Power Biggs for RCA Victor. Schrader also includes a Sowerby rarity, the March from Suite for Organ.

Tracklist:
01. David Schrader – Music for Elizabeth Chapel: I. Variations on “Leoni” (06:37)
02. David Schrader – Music for Elizabeth Chapel: II. Variations on “St. Elizabeth” (Crusader’s Hymn) (07:30)
03. David Schrader – Music for Elizabeth Chapel: III. Toccata & Fugue on “St. Anne” (06:34)
04. David Schrader – Variations on “Veni Creator Spiritus” (11:16)
05. David Schrader – Angels (08:48)
06. David Schrader – Symphonie brève: I. Andante (03:19)
07. David Schrader – Symphonie brève: II. Very Fast, Lightly (06:07)
08. David Schrader – Symphonie brève: III. Chorale (03:15)
09. David Schrader – Missa “O Ecclesia”: Communion (After Hildegard von Bingen) (02:37)
10. David Schrader – Variations on a Hungarian Folk Tune (03:32)
11. David Schrader – Tired Old Nun (06:14)
12. David Schrader – Mass for Dedication: I. Entrance (02:48)
13. David Schrader – Mass for Dedication: II. Offertory (01:35)
14. David Schrader – Mass for Dedication: III. Consecration (01:56)
15. David Schrader – Mass for Dedication: IV. Communion (03:13)
16. David Schrader – Mass for Dedication: V. Finale (03:51)
17. David Schrader – Comes Autumn Time (Version for Organ) (06:45)
18. David Schrader – Pageant (12:26)
19. David Schrader – Toccata (08:04)
20. David Schrader – Organ Suite: IV. March (09:36)
21. David Schrader – Sowerby: Organ Symphony in G Major: I. Very Broadly (20:24)
22. David Schrader – Organ Symphony in G Major: II. Fast and Sinister (08:37)
23. David Schrader – Organ Symphony in G Major: III. Passacaglia (13:08)
24. David Schrader – 2 Sketches: No. 1, Nostalgic (04:27)
25. David Schrader – 2 Sketches: No. 2, Fancy-Free (03:53)