Mendelssohn: Organ Sonatas Nos. 1-6, Op. 65

Felix Mendelssohn was the first major composer after Bach to show real interest in the organ, and his two published sets of organ pieces are milestones in the development of romantic organ music. For this recording Hans Fagius plays on an ideal organ, newly built in the Classical and Romantic style which prevailed around the early decades of the 19th Century.

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.

Felix Mendelssohn’s six organ sonatas were published in London, Leipzig and Milan on 15 September 1845, and represent a milestone in organ literature. In these sonatas, Mendelssohn makes use of Lutheran chorales, which were also used in the compositions by Bach. Yet Mendelssohn’s approach to existing chorales is anything but traditional, in that what seems to be homophonic music is allowed to develop into a fugue, a characteristic element in the works of Mendelssohn.

The German organbuilder Christian Müller and the Amsterdam sculptor Jan van Logteren built the organ at Grote of St.Bavokerk, Haarlem in Holland in the years 1735-1738. For many years it was the largest organ in the world, with sixty stops and imposing 32-foot pedal towers. Many famous musicians and composers, including Handel, Mozart, Liszt and Mendelssohn are known to have played this instrument.

Jos van der Kooy is the resident organist of the Müller organ at St Bavo’s and of the Cavaillé-Coll organ at the Haarlem Philharmonia. Since 2007, has been organist in residence of the Gothic Hall at the Netherlands Council of State in The Hague. Van der Kooy studied organ and improvisation with Piet Kee at the Amsterdam Conservatory, and received the Prix d’ Excellence.when he graduated in 1981. Since then he has received many awards including the Tournemire Prize, and First Prize at the National Organ Improvisation Competition.