Canadian Organ Music

In the 1990s we can look back to the Sixties and Seventies as a period when many of this country’s finest organs were unceremoniously removed and replaced with electronic substitutes. As is so often the case, the pendulum is now swinging back, and there is a renewed interest in our architectural and musical heritage. Although a relatively isolated and not overly wealthy province, Prince Edward Island has a fine representation of early mechanical action organs which have stood the test of one hundred years without being altered and, in some cases, even restored. Indeed, three of these organs can still be hand pumped, as demonstrated in the recording of Arthur Bernier’s Méditiation.

As far as was possible, every effort was made to match the instrument with the composition both in terms of the decade and the character of the instrument. No attempt has been made to suppress the mechanical noises of the organs, or the noises often associated with country churches. One must remember that these organs formed the centre for public music-making in the small communities in which they were used.

FRÉDÉRIC GLACKEMEYER

1. Marche

BENOÎT POIRIER

2. Pièce de Concert sur L’Hymne National Acadian

ARTHUR LETONDAL

3. Toccata

CONRAD LETENDRE

4. Stabat Mater

GEORGES EMIL TANGUAY

5. Prière

WILLIAM REED

6. Grand Choeur

JOHN EDMUND PAUL ALDOUS

7. Prelude and Fugue

ALPHONSE LAVALLÉE-SMITH

8. Scherzo pour Orgue

ARTHUR BERNIER

9. Méditation, Op. 6

CLARENCE LUCAS

10. Toccata, Op. 27 No. 1

ARTHUR WARD

11. Consolation

ARTHUR WARD

12. Pleading Saviour

RICHARD JOHNSTON

13. Chorale for Organ