Modern, forward looking, avant garde 20th and 21st century pipe organ music.

[Mandryka]

So clearly there's lots of stuff by Messiaen and some music by Cage and Ligeti and Xenakis and Jehan Alain and Schoenberg. And there's a whole world of specialist French organ composers. But this is a new area for me so over to you to suggest things to listen to.

[torut]

Mary Jane Leach - Pipe Dreams (1989)

https://www.youtube.com/v/CLgSgn1TBZQ

Pipe Dreams (1989) was written for the organ in St. Peter's Köln, which has two sets of pipes at opposite ends of the church. Each rank has separate sounds and stops that can combine to create microtonal intervals. Pipe Dreams is a structured improvisation, exploring antiphony and the specific sounds of that organ, extra-musical as well as musical. The tempos and exact notation are left open. Ornamentation occurs when the sound warrants it: i.e., to not only obtain musical results, but to make extra-musical sounds occur. The weather affected the sound and action of this organ, changing every day, so realization changed daily. The melodic material is very simplistic, because that is what created the most interesting resultant sounds.

score: http://www.mjleach.com/scores/Pipe_Dreams.pdf

[amw]

Things that come to mind at the moment

Holliger - Fünf Stücke für Orgel und Tonband
Hölszky - ... und ich sah wie ein gläsernes meer, mit feuer gemischt ...
Ullmann - Solo III für Orgel (Fremde Zeit addendum 4)

There are undoubtedly more, but I don't listen to a lot of organ music.

[Rinaldo]

Petr Eben! Even though I wouldn't consider him "forward looking".

https://www.youtube.com/v/8usplahDVDM

https://www.youtube.com/v/f5SRjw15kLA

There's a set of his organ music available individually on Hyperion. And be warned, it's tough, dark stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/v/CLgSgn1TBZQ

Beautiful!

[snyprrr]

look for the disc with the Ferneyhough piece. There should be something else there...


but seriouslt- the organ just doesn't translate- the Xenakis piece is a monstrous noise-fest, - it's on about three recitals now, surely the discmates are just as uncompromising?

[torut]

This looks interesting.

Bernard Foccroulle: Works for Historic Organs
[asin]B00NGTRJ24[/asin]
(Will be released on November 18.)

Bernard Foccroulle - Toccata (2001) - Organ of the Katharinenkirche in Hamburg
https://www.youtube.com/v/8NYlKWQ7TdA

[Mandryka]

look for the disc with the Ferneyhough piece. There should be something else there...


but seriouslt- the organ just doesn't translate- the Xenakis piece is a monstrous noise-fest, - it's on about three recitals now, surely the discmates are just as uncompromising?

But Messiaen was writing some very powerful organ music right up to the middle of the 1980s, at least that's what I think.

I haven't had the time to really check the pieces mentioned here. Thanks everyone.

[Marc]

Jan Welmers (b. 1937), Sequens.

http://www.youtube.com/v/YIYty33UdrE

A.o. available on these discs:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000059ZP2/?tag=goodmusicguideco

http://www.amazon.com/Welmers-Organ-Works-J/dp/B00003O9I9/?tag=goodmusicguideco

[Fagotterdämmerung]

   The organ is my favorite keyboard instrument ( though, I was almost led astray by harpy chords, savaging me with tinkling Rococo ), and I must thank the contributors here for leading me to some charming music. Sadly my knowledge of 20th century organ basically ends Messiaen - an oversight that has now been corrected. Thanks all!

[Selig]

Bump. Lots of potential here. The Gubaidulina on this is a favourite:



I'm a sucker for these tone clusters, but I want them held longer!

[Selig]

Amen, Op. 88




From horatiuradulescu.com: "One of Radulescu's most exquisite and haunting works, the music develops three sorts of material in its twelve minute span: a majestic opening idea which recurs throughout, ritornello-style, with various registral and timbral filtering; high, quasi-improvised passages in the extremely high register of the organ; and a fragment of a plainchant-like melody which is elaborated in the middle of the piece into a five-voice mensural canon."

[Selig]

Modern pieces for meantone organ, 24-tone organ and "wind-dynamic" organs where it's possible to vary the air pressure depending (I think) on how far down you press the key

[relm1]

I really like Thierry Escaich (b. 1965) and Kjell Mork Karlsen's (b. 1947) organ music.  I find their organ music diverse, dramatic, epic, and lyrical and much of it is 21st century.

[ahinton]

Sorabji: three symphonies for organ solo - respective durations c. 1 hour 50 minutes, 8 hours 20 minutes and 8 hours. The first two have been performed and the first has been recorded.