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DCD34021-CD
£14.99
Revered teacher, organ virtuoso, master of counterpoint, devotee of the chorale, enthusiast for the Italian forms, pathfinder and worthy predecessor of Bach: Johann Pachelbel is a composer ripe for re-evaluation, and Matthew Owens presents a selection of his works on the UK’s only Ahrend organ, an instrument of exceptional refinement. The voicing is direct and clear yet full of subtleties, and is heard to best effect in this completely satisfying union of instrument, repertoire and performer.
"The UK's only Ahrend proves itself an articulate advocate for Pachelbel … vivid recorded sound adds to the pleasure"
"This rigorously compiled tribute to Johann Pachelbel, featuring former Edinburgh cathedral organist Matthew Owens, opts sensibly for the German Baroque-style Ahrend organ in Edinburgh University’s Reid Concert Hall, where its relative isolation and direct acoustics provide an excellent recording environment. Owen’s dynamically articulated performances and sensibility of phrasing continually open the ears to the inventiveness of Pachelbel’s Italian-inspired music."
"The Ahrend organ comes across as a characterful and full-voiced instrument, while Matthew Owens, formerly Master of Music at St Mary¹s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, is a gifted and imaginative player, showing the wide range of the organ¹s timbres to full advantage. A final plaudit is due to the Delphian sound engineers for yet another crystal clear recording, not always the easiest thing to achieve in the case of the organ."
EARLY MUSIC FORUM OF SCOTLAND
"Owens also proves to be a very assured performer of this repertoire, with a thoughtful approach to touch, articulation, registration and interpretation."
EARLY MUSIC REVIEW
"It doesn’t get better than this! I do hope that this CD will stimulate more interest in Pachelbel’s organ music, more performances and more recordings. I recommend this disc most highly on all fronts. It should be on any organ music lover’s rack, both as a way of ensuring a comprehensive collection and as wonderful music, brilliantly performed, in its own right."
THE ORGAN
"There's plenty to feast upon here starting with the opening Toccata and Fugue in B minor, followed by ten Magnificatfugen, a host of toccatas, fugues, and the occasional chorale prelude, all adding up to seventy-six minutes of playing time...There's some tidy playing from Matthew Owens who has also had to get his feet around a straight pedal board. There are some clever registrations on this bright continental-sounding instrument at Edinburgh University which was built in 1977-8 by the north German Jurgen Ahrend, and is ideal for organ music of this period."
CHURCH MUSIC QUARTERLY
Release Date: 18 June 2007
Catalogue No: DCD34021
Total playing time: 1:16:42
Recorded on 16-17 November 2004 at the Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh
Producer: Paul Baxter
Engineer: David Strudwick
24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks
24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter
Design: Margareta Jönsson
Photography: Dr Raymond Parks
Category: Baroque, Matthew Owens, Organ