Organ Dimensions
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The congregation was mightily astonished when the organ suddenly roared during Gloria, demonstrating with jubilant fingerwork how Christians should be rejoicing at that day.
« Robert Schneider
from »Schlafes Bruder«
„Solemn, festive, magnificent,
thunderous, roaring, divine“ are likely adjectives to describe the pipe organ.
The Rheingau Musik Festival demonstrates with its programming theme
»Orgeldimensionen« (Dimensions of the
Organ) that the King of Instruments is by far no longer
limited exclusively to sacred spaces. Three organists will be presenting their
instrument in so different ways that a conventional churchgoer could hardly
believe it: The cantor of the Marktkirche (Market Church), Thomas J.
Frank, will start off the series at his familiar pipe organ with a program full
of unusual soundtrack transcriptions from musicals and films. The young glamour
organist Cameron Carpenter will reveal completely new dimensions with his
eccentric virtuoso playing – from Bach to Carpenter is the title of his
program, still leaving a lot of room for surprises. The finale will be left to
the organist of Stuttgart's Stiftskirche, Kay Johannsen, who will be leading the audience back to
the roots of the art of organ playing.
