Description

The major work on this recording is Symphony in g minor, Op. 35, by Edwin Lemare a four-movement work dating from 1899. Here, amid academic excellence and virtuoso proportions, an opening allegro and final fugue cloak a most eloquent adagio and rambunctious scherzo with power and intensity. Technically taut, cyclically linked, the symphony offers a timely reminder of Edwin Lemare’s rich legacy to the organ repertoire. Roger Fisher is a concert organist and lives in Flintshire, England. He was organist at Chester Cathedral and in 1996 took early retirement to play recitals, teach and act as an advisor on pipe organ construction. The pipe organ built at Saint Peter’€™s Church in Morristown, New Jersey by the Skinner Organ Company was completed in 1930 and was designed and finished by G. Donald Harrison. This large and complete four-manual pipe organ evinces several subtle differences in design and voicing from the practices of Ernest M. Skinner. The St. Peter’€™s pipe organ is characterized by a comprehensive tonal palette of gentle, beguiling and varied foundation tones, powerful and harmonically rich reeds, and a clean bright diapason chorus. This pipe organ was fully restored by the A. Thompson-Allen Company. This recording comes with extensive documentation: an essay about the pipe organ, notes on the music, stoplist and numerous photos.