Mendelssohn: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1-6, Op. 65 (Complete) William Whitehead

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): Organ Sonata No. 1, Op. 65:
• 1 Organ Sonata in F Minor, Op. 65, No. 1, MWV W56: I. Allegro moderato e serioso 05:54
• 2 Organ Sonata in F Minor, Op. 65, No. 1, MWV W56: II. Adagio 02:55
• 3 Organ Sonata in F Minor, Op. 65, No. 1, MWV W56: III. Andante recitando - 03:18
• 4 Organ Sonata in F Minor, Op. 65, No. 1, MWV W56: IV. Allegro assai vivace 03:15
• Organ Sonata No. 2, Op. 65:
• 5 Organ Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65 No. 2, MWV W57: I. Grave - 01:27
• 6 Organ Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65 No. 2, MWV W57: II. Adagio 02:31
• 7 Organ Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65 No. 2, MWV W57: III. Allegro maestoso e vivace - 02:17
• 8 Organ Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65 No. 2, MWV W57: IV. Fuga. Allegro moderato 03:44
• Organ Sonata No. 3, Op. 65:
• 9 Organ Sonata in A Major, Op. 65, No.3, MWV W58: I. Con moto maestoso 07:02
• 10 Organ Sonata in A Major, Op. 65, No. 3, MWV W58: II. Andante tranquillo 02:18
• Organ Sonata No. 4, Op. 65:
• 11 Organ Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 65, No. 4, MWV W59: I. Allegro con brio 03:23
• 12 Organ Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 65, No. 4, MWV W59: II. Andante religioso 02:03
• 13 Organ Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 65, No. 4, MWV W59: III. Allegretto 03:41
• 14 Organ Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 65, No. 4, MWV W59: IV. Allegro maestoso e vivace 04:08
• Organ Sonata No. 5, Op. 65:
• 15 Organ Sonata in D Major, Op. 65, No. 5, MWV W60: I. Andante - 01:28
• 16 Organ Sonata in D Major, Op. 65, No. 5, MWV W60: II. Andante con moto - Tempo di valse 02:40
• 17 Organ Sonata in D Major, Op. 65, No. 5, MWV W60: III. Allegro maestoso 04:28
• Organ Sonata No. 6, Op. 65:
• 18 Organ Sonata in D Minor, Op. 65, No. 6, MWV W61: I. Chorale. Andante sostenuto - Allegro molto - 08:49
• 19 Organ Sonata in D Minor, Op. 65, No. 6, MWV W61: II. Fuga. Sostenuto e legato 02:32
• 20 Organ Sonata in D Minor, Op. 65, No. 6, MWV W61: III. Finale. Andante 02:50
• Total Runtime 01:10:43

Info for Mendelssohn: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1-6, Op. 65 (Complete)

Felix Mendelssohn, whose centenary we celebrate this year, was the ultimate cosmopolitan composer, but formed a special relationship with Britain, which he visited ten times.

A number of his works were written in response to English commissions, including Elijah, and the Six Sonatas for Organ which have become established repertoire for organists and are some of Mendelssohn’s last compositions.

Mendelssohn was the first composer of international renown after J.S. Bach to return to the organ, and performed publicly on English organs during all his visits, audiences coming in droves to hear him. The sound of the English organ of his day had some distinctive qualities, which have been captured on this recording by William Whitehead, who uses the 1818 Lincoln Organ now situated in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace.

It is not known whether Mendelssohn played this particular instrument but we know that he was a warmly welcomed guest of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at the Palace on numerous occasions. Recently restored, the organ gives an English perspective on this ebullient music which crosses international boundaries of style.

It is the first time an authentic instrument of this period has been used to record Mendelssohn’s Six Organ Sonatas.

Recorded in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace, where Mendelssohn himself enthralled Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on several occasions, these six organ sonatas combine piety, grandeur, charming melody and festive display. William Whitehead’s consummate performances on the palace’s restored early 19th-century Henry Lincoln instrument illuminate variety of sonority as much as the manner in which Mendelssohn, while acknowledging the example of Bach and respecting the Protestant tradition, forged music of sumptuous, romantic lustre.” (The Daily Telegraph)

Mendelssohn: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1-6, Op. 65
William Whitehead (organ in the Ballroom, Buckingham Palace)

Felix Mendelssohn: Organ Sonata in F major, Op. 65, No. 1
I. Allegro moderato e serioso
II. Adagio
III. Andante recitando
IV. Allegro assai vivace
Felix Mendelssohn: Organ Sonata in C minor, Op. 65, No. 2
I. Grave
II. Adagio
III. Allegro maestoso e vivace
IV. Fuga: Allegro moderato
Felix Mendelssohn: Organ Sonata in A major, Op. 65, No. 3
I. Con moto maestoso
II. Andante tranquillo
Felix Mendelssohn: Organ Sonata in B flat major, Op. 65, No. 4
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante religioso
III. Allegretto
IV. Allegro maestoso e vivace
Felix Mendelssohn: Organ Sonata in D major, Op. 65, No. 5
I. Andante
II. Andante con moto - Tempo di valse
III. Allegro maestoso
Felix Mendelssohn: Organ Sonata in D minor, Op. 65, No. 6
I. Chorale: Andante sostenuto - Allegro molto
II. Fuga: Sostenuto e legato
III. Finale: Andante

William Whitehead, BA, MMus, FRCO, ARAM
William's solo organ-playing career took off when he won First Prize at the Odense International Organ Competition in Denmark, 2004. Trained at Oxford University and the Royal Academy of Music, London, his teachers have included David Sanger, James O' Donnell and Dame Gillian Weir. Valuable inspiration was gained in his year as Organ Scholar of Westminster Abbey, where he played for services and occasionally conducted the choir. This led naturally on to a period as Assistant Organist at Rochester Cathedral, where he accompanied the Cathedral Choir and helped to found the new Girls' Choir. After four years in this post, he moved on to become a Lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music, and took up a position as Director of Music at St Mary’s Bourne Street, London.

William now travels around the world playing organ concerts and giving masterclasses. 2007 has seen him in Pretoria, South Africa, Vienna, Toulouse, Berlin and Denmark. He gave his Royal Albert Hall début playing the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony with the New Queens Hall Orchestra under Ivor Setterfield, and has made a disc of Edwardian organ music on the Herald label.

Other activities include teaching the organ at Trinity College of Music, using the historic instrument in the Old Royal Naval College Chapel amongst others. His teaching is thoroughly informed, though always led by the music. He also co-runs the London Organ Forum (www.londonorganforum.com), which puts on yearly study-days around organist-composers.

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Booklet for Mendelssohn: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1-6, Op. 65 (Complete)