Description

The pipe organ built by the Skinner Organ, Opus 232 (1915), for First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit, replete with dark-toned reeds and copious solo colors, finds a particularly agreeable partner for Lemare’s transcription of Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” with its generous capacity for orchestral nuance and expressive effects. Serving the demand of the time for orchestral transcriptions, the tonal pallet of this Skinner pipe organ is representative of the pattern Ernest Skinner had established by 1915: a small Great division of refined foundation stops enlivened by large, colorful Swell, Solo and Echo divisions. This recording comes with extensive documentation: an essay about the pipe organ, notes on the music, stoplist and numerous photos.