An Organic Journey

Although Wagner himself did not compose organ music, it is not difficult to imagine his colorful orchestrations in transcriptions for organ. To enrich the all too ecclesiastical organ repertoire, 19th-century composers such as the legendary organist Edwin Lemare, Sigfrid Karg-Elert and Franz Liszt created organ transcriptions of popular Wagner operas such as Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan und Isolde and Tannhäuser. With their intricate superpositions and dramatic counterpoints, these operas were perfectly suited to the splendor of the Romantic organ. The resulting works allowed the public not only to experience Wagner's music in the contemplative spaces of the church, but also emphasized the expressive power and grandeur of the organ. Each piece on this new album by the winner of the Dutch Music Prize, Laurens de Man, demonstrates the organ's ability to convey Wagner's rich, polyphonic textures and deep emotional depth. This album is available in a limited, hand-numbered edition of 600 copies.