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The King of Instruments: A Voice Reborn

This new recording from King’s College Chapel celebrates a voice reborn: the first surround-sound recording of the famous Harrison & Harrison organ since its once-in-a-generation restoration in 2016. A varied programme of music from Bach to Franck and a newly recorded work by George Baker demonstrates the restored organ in all its glory played by Stephen Cleobury and recorded in high definition and 5.1 surround-sound. The accompanying booklet features some of the best images from the restoration project, a short history of the organ, and comprehensive music notes.

To celebrate the refurbishment of the Harrison & Harrison organ at King’s, Cambridge, the college’s musical director presents a captivating sequence centred on Bach. Six of his chorale preludes are highly absorbing, not least because Cleobury finds a different registration for each. Franck’s Pièce héroïque mines a deep shaft of basso sonority that contrasts with the prevailing textural delicacy, and indeed deliciousness, of the Bach and a Mendelssohn sonata. The effect is magnificent.

The Sunday Times

The Harrison & Harrison organ in King’s College Chapel is, like the College Choir, famous the world over. The organ case with gilded pipework, which surmounts the 16th century screen, is a striking feature of nearly every depiction of the interior of the Chapel, while the instantly recognisable sounds of the instrument have become inextricably associated with those of the Choir.

In January 2016, the instrument – including its 4,300 pipes – was removed from King’s College Chapel for the most significant restoration since the 1960s. Just nine months later, the project was completed, with the famous organ secured for future generations.

Recorded just a few months after the restored organ was heard in public once more, this album celebrates a voice reborn, with a varied programme of music that shows off this magnificent instrument at its very best.

Organ Works: Liszt, Reubke, Mendelssohn

This album brings together the first ever surround sound recordings of the great Harrison & Harrison organ set within the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. Performing three popular virtuosic works for the organ, Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music at King’s College, demonstrates the power and flexibility of this great instrument.

The recording begins with Liszt’s dark-hued Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam”, S.259, which is based on a theme from Act 1 of Meyerbeer’s grand opera Le Prophète. The piece lasts almost 30 minutes and is in three sections: the Fantasy, Adagio and Fugue.

Julius Reubke’s magnificent Organ Sonata on the 94th Psalm explores the theme of judgement. Considered one of the pinnacles of Romantic repertoire, and thought to have been inspired by Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue, this piece is a test of both the organ’s versatility and the player’s pedal technique. The album concludes with Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No. 6 in D minor. Based on Bach’s chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich, this piece demonstrates Mendelssohn’s consummate mastery of organ textures.

**** “A rousing and inspiring performance” – Audiophile Audition

“Outstanding performances by a great musician” – Gramophone Magazine