Divine Art Records

Genre: Organ

  • Carson Cooman organ music – volumes 1-14 (discount set)

    Carson Cooman organ music – volumes 1-14 (discount set)

    From quiet liturgical pieces and hymns to awe-inspiring symphonies, the varied and inspired compositions of Carson Cooman make him the foremost American composer of today specializing in music for the grand organ. Each of the albums has been recorded using the Hauptwerk system to bring to life the sound of a number of sublime instruments in true clarity without the excessive resonance and echo often a part of organ recordings. The performer in each case is Erik Simmons, who over several years has become extremely familiar with Cooman’s work and is the ideal interpreter.

    For track information and reviews on each volume check the links on the catalog numbers below. The entire set of fourteen albums, if purchased here, offers a 25% saving on the individual titles. You can also find Carson Cooman’s orchestral vocal and chamber music and his recordings of works by other composers (just use the composer and artist index to find his pages).

    Digital downloads include all booklets in PDF format.

    Volume 1: ‘Litany’ – DDA 25116
    Volume 2: ‘Masque’ – DDA 25127
    Volume 3: ‘Preludio’ – DDA 21229 (double album)
    Volume 4: ‘Hymnus’ – DDA 25147
    Volume 5: ‘Exordium’ – DDA 25154
    Volume 6: ‘The Cloak with the Stars’ – DDA 25159
    Volume 7: ‘Owl Night’ – DDA 25163
    Volume 8: ‘Zephyr’ – DDA 25177
    Volume 9: ‘Sea Dream’ – DDA 25181
    Volume 10: ‘Jubilee’ – DDA 25185
    Volume 11: ‘Portals’ – DDA 25195
    Volume 12: ‘How Great our Joy!’ – DDA 25196
    Volume 13: ‘Eternal City’ – DDA 25200
    Volume 14: ‘Antiphonies’ – DDA 25218

  • “Jubilee” – Carson Cooman organ music vol. 10

    “Jubilee” – Carson Cooman organ music vol. 10

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. This album contains a mix of liturgical and secular works of great variety and individuality.

    Erik Simmons is a superb organist, making his tenth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the wonderful ‘Sun Organ’ of St. Peter & Paul, Görlitz, recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

    This is volume 10 of this highly praised series, which now extends to vol. 12 (vol. 13 to be released in June 2020). Click composer name above or in the composer index to access all volumes and the discounted complete set (1-12)

  • Sea Dream – Carson Cooman Organ Music volume 9

    Sea Dream – Carson Cooman Organ Music volume 9

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. This album includes several works written to honor fellow musicians and the fine Organ Symphony No. 2, a work of restraint and mainly pastoral mood.

    Erik Simmons is a superb organist, making his ninth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the main and transept organs of Laurenskerk,  Rotterdam, recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

    This is volume 9 of this highly praised series. Volumes 10 and 11 have been recorded and are scheduled for release in 2019.

  • Women of History – organ music by Carlotta Ferrari

    Women of History – organ music by Carlotta Ferrari

    The five compositions on this album are inspired by the lives and works of five women from history. Carlotta Ferrari has composed numerous pieces inspired by historical figures as well as pieces inspired by literature and works of art. Several of these directions are brought together in the five compositions on this album, which celebrate three religious figures, an artist, and a writer. In Ferrari’s distinctive modal style, she creates expressive musical portraits of these women.

    Beautifully performed by Carson Cooman, this album features the exquisite sounds of the Main Organ (Marcussen & Son, 1973) of the Laurenskerk, Rotterdam, captured through the Hauptwerk system.

  • Zephyr (Carson Cooman Organ Music vol. 8)

    Zephyr (Carson Cooman Organ Music vol. 8)

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. The music in this program, most of which was composed in 2016 and 2017, is varied and consists of a delightful mix of secular concert works and liturgically based pieces.

    Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his eighth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is presenting the fine sounds of the Rosales organ of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

    This is volume 8 of this highly praised series, which now extends to 13 volumes in all.

  • Schächer & Willscher – Organ works

    Schächer & Willscher – Organ works

    This recording features music by two German composers: Raimund Schächer (b.1960) and Andreas Willscher (b.1955). Each composer is represented by three varied, yet characteristic, pieces. Raimund Schächer’s years of work as an editor of late medieval and early Renaissance keyboard music show in the free modality and early-influenced forms of his compositions. Andreas Willscher’s deep interest in French romanticism and eclectic musical interests (drawing on both classical and non-classical sources) are displayed in his pieces.

    Carson Cooman (b.1982) is an American composer with a catalog of hundreds of works in many forms—ranging from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and from orchestral works to hymn tunes. His music has been performed on all six inhabited continents. As an active concert organist, Cooman specializes in the performance of contemporary music. Over 300 new works have been composed for him by composers from around the world, and his organ performances can be heard on a number of recordings of which this is his third for Divine Art.

    The recording was made on the Mathias Orgelbau instrument of 1997/2006 in the Pfarrkirche St. Peter-und-Paul, Görlitz, Germany, in a live performance using the Hauptwerk system.

  • Owl Night – Carson Cooman Organ Music vol. 7

    Owl Night – Carson Cooman Organ Music vol. 7

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. The music in this programme, all composed in 2016 and 2017, is varied and consists of concert pieces (though suitable for church use) as opposed to explicitly liturgical works.

    Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his seventh Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Abbey of Saint-Etienne, Caen, France in a live performance recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

    This is volume 7 of this highly praised series. Volumes 8-13 are now also available.

  • Willscher: Organ Symphonies 19 & 20

    Willscher: Organ Symphonies 19 & 20

    German composer Andreas Willscher has won many awards for his compositions, which range widely from symphonic forms and oratorio to cabaret jazz and rock. His organ works are especially fine and varied – involving often a mélange of post-tonal modernism, minimalism, and jazz and rock elements. Willscher is also an active writer of literary and scientific articles and as a collector and preserver of ‘lost’ and forgotten music of the past.

    Organ Symphony Nos 19 and 20 were both composed in 2017 so are truly contemporary. They are lively, thrilling works with great rhythmic vitality. The third work is a suite – The Beatitudes – composed in 1974 at the beginning of the composer’s career.

    Carson Cooman is organist of the Memorial Church at Harvard University and also a most prolific composer, writer and teacher.
    His works have appeared in many recordings and have been played in every inhabited continent. This is his second recording of Willscher’s music for Divine Art as performer (the first was of Symphony No. 5), and the label has already released thirteen CDs of Cooman compositions with many more planned.

    The recording was made on the Schulze organ (1868) in St. Bartholomew, Armley, Leeds in a live performance using the Hauptwerk system.

  • Cooman: The Cloak with the Stars

    Cooman: The Cloak with the Stars

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. Much of the music here, tonal and accessible though never lacking in complex chromaticism, was written for and dedicated to the German composer Andreas Willscher whose works Cooman is also recording for Divine Art.

    Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his sixth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Abbey of Saint-Etienne, Caen, France in a live performance recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

    This is volume 6 of this highly praised series. (Now up to volume 13)

  • Exordium: Organ Music by Carson Cooman

    Exordium: Organ Music by Carson Cooman

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from those inspired by the Renaissance, to liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. The music here, tonal and accessible though never lacking in complex chromaticism, was all written either as a commission, or dedicated to a person who has known, worked with, or inspired the composer. Some works are overtly liturgical and all are endowed with a deep spirituality.

    Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his fifth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the organ of the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer, France (built 1855) in a live performance recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

  • Andreas Willscher: Organ Symphony No. 5

    Andreas Willscher: Organ Symphony No. 5

    German composer Andreas Willscher has won many awards for his compositions, which range widely from symphonic forms and oratorio to cabaret jazz and rock. His organ works are especially fine and varied – involving often a mélange of post-tonal modernism, minimalism, and jazz and rock elements. Willscher is also an active writer of literary and scientific articles and as a collector and preserver of ‘lost’ and forgotten music of the past.

    Organ Symphony No. 5 is on a grand scale but is mostly quiet peaceful and meditative with only two fast and louder sections; the symphony is subtitled “Of Francis’ Preaching about Holy Poverty” and is a reflection on the life and teaching of St. Francis of Asissi.

    Carson Cooman is organist of the Memorial Church at Harvard University and also a most prolific composer, writer and teacher. His works have appeared in many recordings and have been played in every inhabited continent. This is his first recording for Divine Art as performer, but the label has already released thirteen CDs of Cooman compositions with more planned.

    Organ of Laurenskerk, Rotterdam (recorded via Hauptwerk)

    More Willscher here and here

  • Hymnus: Music for Organ by Carson Cooman

    Hymnus: Music for Organ by Carson Cooman

    Carson Cooman is many things musical – organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University; writer, critic and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song.

    His organ compositions come in many styles, from those inspired by the Renaissance, to liturgical models, to more gritty and substantial pieces such as his organ symphonies and preludes and fugues. The music on this album is very suitable for both concert and church performance and is at the ‘traditional, tonal’ end of the Cooman spectrum: works of intense beauty and wide appeal.

    Erik Simmons is a fine organist, making his fourth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the organ of the Church of St. Peter & Paul in Weissenau, Germany (built 1787) in a live performance recorded through the Hauptwerk system.