Currently $9 - $12US depending
whether new or used, at Amazon.
(click on cover image for tracklist)
I
had heard of neither Hartmann nor Spang-Hanssen, and I’ll wager a silver coin
to a doubtful sixpence, that many readers haven’t either.
Hartmann
was celebrated in his native Denmark during his long lifetime,
and although the accompanying notes to the disc provide adequate
detail, a fuller and interesting picture is obtained on the internet.
The music itself
is quite idiosyncratic, firmly reminiscent of the Mendelssohn
sonatas, studded here and there with flashes of Reger and the
individualistic, splendidly named Louis-Alfred-James Lefébure-Wély.
The Aarhus Brass combine with the organ on some tracks to create
an excellent sound.
So good, in fact,
that I once used it after words had failed, to persuade some
local teens to take their highly obtrusive boom-de-boom box cars
elsewhere. It worked. All you have to do, my fellow organ buffs,
is to open all the windows, reposition your 300W speakers, put
on some muffs, and let fly! We can play their game.
I find it sad that
Hartmann is not widely known outside of Scandinavia, as it seems
to me that any of the works on this disc for organ alone would
do great credit to the repertoire of any concert organist seeking
variety.
It
would be a treat if Ulrik Spang-Hanssen was ever able to come
to New Zealand. From the personality radiating from his pictures,
I’d say that
he would be much the same as Carlo Curley in concert.
