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Pachelbel, His Canon and Much More

Douglas Lawrence plays the Ronald Sharp Organ at Ormond College, Melbourne. An excellent disc of favourite organ works by Pachelbel, Buxtehude, Schiedt, Camidge and Greene.

Features works by Pachelbel including the popular 'Canon in D major', music by Buxtehude including the 'Ciacona in E minor' and the 'Passacaglia in D minor', in addition to works by Greene, Camidge, and Schiedt.

These are the only recordings of the organ in the Ormond College Chapel built by Sydney organ builder Ronald Sharp, before it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1993.

Francis Alan Jackson, CBE, a British organist and composer was the organist and director of music at York Minster for 36 years. He visited Australia some time between 1974 and 1993 and had the opportunity to play the Ormond College organ, describing it as "the most beautiful sound I have heard in music" during an interview on ABC radio by Glen Menzies.

Artist

Douglas Lawrence

Melbourne organist Douglas Lawrence is Director of Music at The Scots' Church and Teacher of the Organ at the University of Melbourne and was the founding director of Choir of Ormond College, a position he held from 1982 to 2006.


Press quotes

“... Pachelbel and Buxtehude (two LPs) have been digitally remastered and released on one splendid CD – with the Canon recorded this year on the organ rebuilt and enlarged by Kurt Smenge, allowing a fascinating comparison.”

— Barney Zwartz, The Age

“This record is in every respect a treasure”

— The Herald

“This is a great collection and the sound is as Ron Sharp left it.”

— Bruce Steele, Organo Pleno

“The acoustics are a joy; warm, flattering and intimate ... the Canon in D recorded here after the instrument's restoration, comes up so well as to suggest this is a more positive arrangement than the one for strings.”

— The Melburnian

“The playing and articulation cannot be faulted. The sound of the organ is heard close up: delightful for softer pieces and you could listen to those endlessly.”

— Victorian Organ Journal

Audio preview

Track Listing

  1. Ormond College bell :29
  2. Toccata in E minor, P.462 Johann Pachelbel 1:38
  3. Fantasia in G minor, P.128 Johann Pachelbel 3:15
  4. Toccata in C major, P.456 Johann Pachelbel 1:58
  5. Chorale Prelude, P.255 Komm Heiliger Geist Johann Pachelbel 1:17
  6. Ricercar in C minor, P.419 Johann Pachelbel 4:46
  7. Ciacona in F minor, P.43 Johann Pachelbel 7:30
  8. Chorale Prelude, P.166 Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ Johann Pachelbel 1:41
  9. Chorale Prelude, P.70 Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund Johann Pachelbel 2:43
  10. Chorale Prelude, P.478 Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (a) Johann Pachelbel 1:33
  11. Chorale Prelude, P.479 Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (b) Johann Pachelbel 3:04
  12. Diapason Maurice Greene 1:53
  13. Gavotte Matthew Camidge 1:59
  14. Echo: ad manuale duplex, forte e piano, SSWV 128 Samuel Scheidt 1:49
  15. Air and 4 variations on the old Dutch song "Ah, you fine young horseman", SSWV 111 Samuel Scheidt 5:55
  16. Ciacona in E minor, BuxWV 160 Dietrich Buxtehude 5:26
  17. Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BuxWV 178 Dietrich Buxtehude 2:53
  18. Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist, BuxWV 208 Dietrich Buxtehude 2:13
  19. Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BuxWV 140 Dietrich Buxtehude 5:24
  20. Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ, BuxWV 188 Dietrich Buxtehude 1:49
  21. Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, BuxWV 221 Dietrich Buxtehude 1:50
  22. Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV 161 Dietrich Buxtehude 5:49
  23. Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BuxWV 177 Dietrich Buxtehude 1:53
  24. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, BuxWV 198 Dietrich Buxtehude 1:56
  25. Canon in D major, PWC 37 Johann Pachelbel 5:33

Performers

Composers

Johann Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era.

Dietrich Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude was a German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period. His organ works represent a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and in church services.


Contributors

Organ builder

Ronald Sharp

Ronald Sharp (1929-2021) was a self-taught Australian organ builder whose most notable instruments were the organ at the Sydney Opera House (1979), the chapel at Ormond College, Melbourne (1974) and Perth Concert Hall (1976) as well as a number of others. He specialised in mechanical, tracker action instruments in the baroque tradition, but using modern materials.


Where to buy

Pachelbel, His Canon and Much More is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music.

Pachelbel, His Canon and Much More is available as as CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer secure online ordering.

Move CDs can be ordered through music retailers across Australia including Readings.

Product details

List price
$25.00 AUD
Total playing time
76 minutes 16 seconds
Contributor
Ronald Sharp
Mastering
Martin Wright
Venue
Ormond College Chapel
Release date
1995
Copyright
© 1976, 1980, 1995 Move Records
Phonogram
℗ 1995 Move Records
Categories
Baroque, Classical, Organ
Catalogue number
MD 3013
Alternate catalogue number
MD3013
Barcode
EAN 9314574301328