Starting out in the Verona workshop of Bartolomeo Formentelli, this episode travels through Italy, Spain and France to trace the origins, history and development of the organ. It encompasses the classical sobriety of the Italian style, the Golden Age of the organ in sixteenth-century Spain, and the French style of the eighteenth century. FEATURING MUSIC BY Pierre Attaignant, Antonio de Cabezón, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Francisco Correa de Arauxo, François Couperin, Nicolas de Grigny and Louis-Claude Daquin
Focusing on the influence of the great German school of organ builders in Northern Europe, this episode was filmed in The Netherlands and Germany. With the advent of the Lutheran reforms in the church, the organ became an increasingly widespread and important part of religious worship. The development of organ music from Sweelinck, the ‘maker of organists’, through Buxtehude to the golden age, in which the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach is highlighted, is shown. FEATURING MUSIC BY Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Dietrich Buxtehude, Matthias Weckmann and Johann Sebastian Bach ORGANISTS Gustav Leonhardt, Bernard Foccroulle, Hans Heintze
This episode focuses on the first half of the 18th Century - the Golden Age of organ music. The French and German school of organ production is presented and works by Marchand, Dandrieu and Johann Sebastian Bach will be played. FEATURING MUSIC BY Louis Marchand, Johann Sebastian Bach and Jean-Francois Dandrieu ORGANISTS Xavier Darasse, André Isoir and Gustav Leonhardt
Tracing the organ’s development, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day, this episode visits France and Switzerland. The impact of changes in society, tastes and musical styles, as well as technological advances, are examined and illustrated with music by Charles-Marie Widor, Max Reger, Olivier Messiaen and Jehan Alain. ORGANISTS Marie-Claire Alain, René Saorgin, Louis Robilliard and Xavier Darasse