Göteborg Youth Organ Camp

(9–15 years old)

Kersten Cottyn, Stephen Craig, Camille Bloche, Gustaf Johansson, teachers

(In collaboration with the Church of Sweden in Varnhem)

12:00–12:50

Mariestad Cathedral

(Admission free)

(Regional concert)

Regional Opening Concert of the Göteborg International Organ Festival 2025

Ludger Lohmann, organ

Paul Hindemith (1895–1963)

Sonate II

(Lebhaft – Ruhig bewegt – Fuge)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Triosonate G major BWV 530

(Vivace – Lente – Allegro)

Julius Reubke (1834-1858)

Sonata in C-minor over the 94. Psalm (1857)

Introduction:

Herr Gott, dess die Rache ist, erscheine

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show Thyself

Larghetto:

Erhebe Dich, Du Richter der Welt;

vergilt den Hoffärtigen, was sie verdienen.

Lift up Thyself, Thou Judge of the world;

reward the proud after their deserving.

Allegro con fuoco:

Herr, wie lange sollen die Gottlosen prahlen?

Witwen und Fremdlinge erwürgen sie

und tödten die Waisen und sagen:

der Herr sieht es nicht und der Gott Jacobs achtet es nicht.

Lord, how long shall the ungodly triumph?

They slay the widow and the stranger,

and murder the fatherless;

and they say, “The Lord shall not see,

neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.”

Adagio:

Wo der Herr nicht hülfe, so läge meine Seele schier in der Stille.

Ich hatte viel Bekümmernisse in meinem Herzen,

aber deine Tröstungen ergötzen meine Seele.

Unless the Lord had been my help,

my soul had well-nigh dwelt in silence.

When my heart was sore troubled within me,

Thy comforts refreshed my soul.

Fuge:

Aber der Herr ist mein Hort und meine Zuversicht
Er wird ihnen ihr Unrecht vergelten und sie um ihre Bosheit vertilgen.
But the Lord is my stronghold,
and my God is the Rock of my trust.

He shall recompense them their iniquity,

and cut them off for their own wickedness.

19:00–20:00

Morlanda Church

(Admission free)

(Regional concert)

La visione di E.

Massimiliano Guido, on Sweden's oldest playable organ

(Brebus 1604; Wittig 1715; GOArt 2001)

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)

Toccata in D

Variations on Mein junges Leben hat ein End

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)

Toccata IX, II Libro

Capriccio di durezze

Capriccio in La sol fa mi re ut

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

Variations on Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan

Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710)

Variations on il Paggio Tedesco

Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Toccata in G, BuxWV 164

Canzonetta in G, BuxWV 171

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223

12:00–12:30

Gothenburg Cathedral

(Admission free)

Organ Visions

Organ students from the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg

(Programme to be announced)

16:00–16.50

Vasa Church

(Admission free)

Opening concert of the Göteborg International Organ Festival 2025

Welcome notes by Grith Fjeldmose, vice-chair of the Cultural Committee of the City of Gothenburg, and Jesper Lundgren, Dean of the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg

Vocal ensemble from the Academy of Music and Drama under the direction of Per Högberg

Göteborg Symphonic Band / Hemvärnets Musikkår

Pierre Torwald, director

Isabelle Demers, organ

Jag vet en dejlig rosa (traditional Swedish folk song)

Jag vet en dejlig rosa (arranged for brass by David Glänneskog)

Elfrida Andrée (1841–1929)

Organ Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Major for organ and brass

– Allegro moderato

– Andantino cantabile

– Finale maestoso

Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968)

Te Deum pour Orgue, Op. 11 (1958)

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

Finale from Symphony No. 3

(arranged for organ and brass by Earl Slocum)

19:30–20:40

Gothenburg Cathedral

(Tickets KS Biljettservice)

Visions

Gala festival concert

Tenebrae Choir, director Nigel Short

Ludger Lohmann, organ

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)

The Beatitudes

Cecilia McDowall (b. 1951)

Standing as I do before God

William Byrd (c. 1540–1623)

Fantasy in a (organ)

Caroline Shaw (b. 1982)

and the swallow

Richard Rodney Bennett (1936–2012)

A Good-Night

Joel Thompson (b. 1988)

A Prayer for Deliverance

(Intermission)

Herbert Howells (1892–1983)

Requiem

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (organ)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

Lord, thou hast been our refuge

11:00–12:00

Gothenburg Cathedral

(Admission free)

Organ, Choir and Liturgy

Solemn High Mass

Choral music by Arvo Pärt will be performed in the liturgy of the Solemn High Mass

Michael Sager, choral director

Mikael Fridén, organ

Maria Bergius, vicar (celebrant and sermon)

11:00–12:15

Örgryte New Church

(Admission free)

Organ, Choir and Liturgy

Solemn High Mass

Organ music by Arvo Pärt will be performed in the liturgy of the Solemn High Mass

Erland Hildén, organ

Jonathan Anderson, vicar (celebrant and sermon)

15:00–16:00

Sjöbo Church, Borås

(Admission free)

(Regional concert)

Kimberly Marshall, organ

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Prelude in E-flat Major, BWV 552i

Hans Kotter (c. 1480–1541)

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir

Kochersburger Spanieler

Margaret Vardell Sandresky (b. 1921)

Organ Mass: L’homme armé

• Introit
• Kyrie
• Gloria
• Sanctus
• Agnus dei

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621)

Mein junges Leben hat ein End

J. S. Bach

Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552ii

15:00–16:10

Örgryte New Church

(Tickets 200/100 SEK)

American and Swedish organ music

Stephen Price, organ

PART ONE

Performed at the North German baroque organ

(Arvidsson-van Eeken-Yokota, 2000)

Erland Hildén (b. 1963)

Symphony No. 2 for Organ (2024/25)

PART TWO

Performed at the English organ ("Father" Henry Willis, 1871)

Calvin Hampton (1938–1984)

America the Beautiful

(Tune: Materna)

Florence Price (1887–1953)

Retrospection (An Elf on a Moonbeam)

Leo Sowerby (1895–1968)

Arioso (1942)

George Shearing (1919–2011)

Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound

(Tune: New Britain; arranged in 1977)

Charles Ives (1874–1954)

Variations on America for Organ (1891)

18:00–20:00

Gothenburg Concert Hall

(Tickets GSO)

Visionary Symphonic Organ Music

Nathan Laube, organ

Alfred Hollins (1865-1942)

Concert Overture No. 1 in C minor

Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)

Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain, Op. 7 (1942)

Healey Willan (1880-1968)

Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, Op. 149 (1916)

(Intermission)

Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968)

Te Deum pour Orgue, Op. 11 (1958)

Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)

Cortège et Litanie, Op. 19, No. 2 (1922)

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Les Préludes, Poème Symphonique No. 3, S. 97 (1845-1854)

D’après Lamartine: Méditations Poétiques

Transcription by Nathan Laube (b. 1988)

What is life but a series of preludes to that unknown hymn, the first and solemn note of which is intoned by Death? Love is the enchanted dawn of all existence; but what fate is there whose first delights of happiness are not interrupted by some storm, whose fine illusions are not dissipated by some mortal blast, consuming its altar as though by a stroke of lightning?

And what cruelly wounded soul, issuing from one of these tempests, does not endeavor to solace its memories in the calm serenity of rural life?

Nevertheless, man does not resign himself for long to the enjoyment of that beneficent warmth which he first enjoyed in Nature’s bosom, and when ‘the trumpet sounds the alarm’ he takes up his perilous post, no matter what struggle calls him to its ranks, that he may recover in combat the full consciousness of himself and the entire possession of his powers.

(In collaboration with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra)

18:00–19:30

St. Nicholas Church, Halmstad

(Admission free)

Ludger Lohmann, organ

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Fantasie G-Dur (“Pièce d’orgue“), BWV 572

César Franck (1822–1890)

Fantaisie en la

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Fantasie und Fuge über den Choral "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam"

21:30–22:30

St. Mary's Church

(Admission free)

Night Visions I

Go Bach to Sleep

Andreas Edlund, organ & harpsichord

Jon Liinason, presenter

Step into the hush of night. The church is dark, shimmering with the glow of hundreds of candles. Soft woolen socks, a blanket, and a pillow await you, in this invitation to let go.

Stretch out on a pew, close your eyes, and let yourself be surrounded by the music leading you gently through three passages of the night:

• Falling asleep

• Dreaming

• Gently waking up

You may doze, you may dream, or simply rest awake in the presence of Bach.

8.30/9:00–11:30

Morning workshops

8:45–9:45

City library, auditorium

(Admission free)

Organ-building workshops for school classes aged 6–12

Info & reservation: kersten.cottyn@organacademy.se

10:00–11:00

City library, auditorium

(Admission free)

Organ-building workshops for school classes aged 6–12

Info & reservation: kersten.cottyn@organacademy.se

12:00–12.50

Vasa Church

(Admission free)

Lunch concert

French and Swedish Organ Music

Joris Verdin and Sverker Jullander, organ

(Registered participants: join us for a warm bowl of organ soup, served in the parish hall immediately following the event)

The grand voice of the organ must have the calm of the definitive (Charles-Marie Widor)

PART ONE

Sverker Jullander, organ

Otto Olsson (1879–1964):

From Gregorianska melodier, Op. 30 (1910)

– Creator alme siderum

– Angelus autem Domini

From Six pieces on Old Church Songs, Op. 47 (1912)

– Hæc dies

– Magnificat

From Organ Symphony No. 2, Credo symphoniacum, Op. 50 (1918)

III. Finale: Veni creator spiritus

In his second organ symphony, Credo Symphoniacum, composed in 1918, Otto Olsson returned to Gregorian melodic material, which he had previously used in his Gregorianska melodier (1910) and Six Pieces on Old Church Songs (1912), but now on a totally different scale and with a different purpose.

The work has three movements, corresponding to the three articles of the Christian faith, and thereby also the three persons of the Trinity. The first article (the Father) is represented by the Gregorian “Credo in unum Deum,” the second (the Son) by the late-medieval hymn “Jesus Christus nostra salus” and the third (The Holy Spirit) by the universally known Pentecost hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus,” whose melody is thought to go back even to the 4th century. These three melodies form the main themes of each of the three movements.

In the third movement, “Veni Creator Spiritus” appears in two guises, first as a lively, syncopated first theme – one can think of the characterization of the Holy Spirit as vivificantem (life-giver) in the Nicene Creed – then as a second theme in a chorale-like setting. Although the first theme returns from time to time in the course of the movement, lending it a rondo-like character, the movement as a whole defies conventional categorizing in terms of established form types. Its unusual shape is due to its dual symbolic function: on the one hand it represents the third person of the Deity, the Holy Spirit; on the other hand, it summarizes the idea of the work, representing the Trinity as a whole through musical means. This duality is also reflected in a stylistic and formal diversity, which approaches, or even stretches, the limit for what can be contained within a single movement.

The “trinitarian” aspect is introduced by a Trinity motif, “O adoranda Trinitas, o veneranda Unitas” [O adorable Trinity, o venerable Unity], in a high treble flute. After that, the main themes of the previous movements are introduced successively. Several strettos on “Veni Creator” follow, after which the three main themes are combined in triple counterpoint, a sublime representation of the Trinity in austere vocal-style polyphony. Perhaps this was what Olsson had in mind when he wrote to Archbishop Nathan Söderblom: “This composition will never become popular, since it contains too much of mystique and counterpoint.” Finally, however, the movement’s first theme returns and there is a build-up towards a grandiose culmination. But from the “final” massive chord a lingering single note heralds a more quiet conclusion, with a final statement of “Credo in unum Deum.”

PART TWO

Joris Verdin, organ

Charles-Marie Widor (1845–1937)

From Organ Symphony No. 1, Op. 13:1 (1872)

I. Prélude

Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911)

From L’Organiste pratique, 4ème livraison, Op. 47 (1876):

– Canzona en fa mineur

Jacques Nicolas Lemmens (1823–1881)

From Sonata No. 1 Sonate Pontificale (1874)

I. Allegro moderato

Alexandre Guilmant

From 18 nouvelles pièces, Op. 90 (1896)

– Impression grégorienne

Charles-Marie Widor

From Suite latine, Op. 86 (1927)

I. Praeludium

14:15–14:30

(Admission free)

Vasa Church

A short introduction will be given in Swedish to the topic of the afternoon seminar

14:30–16:45

Vasa Church

(Admission free)

Afternoon seminar

Visions from Paris 1875 and Stockholm 1925

Joris Verdin and Sverker Jullander, presenters

16:45–17:00

Vasa Church

(Admission free)

A Glance into SONORA

Eleanor Smith-Guido, Fredrik Tobin-Dodd, Paul Peeters, presenters

The later decades of the 19th century and the early 20th century was a time of reform in Catholic Church music. A vision of an ideal music for and of the church, profoundly different from secular music, took shape, involving the restoration of Gregorian chant as well as 16th-century sacred vocal polyphony by Palestrina and others. Important manifestations of these tendencies include the Caecilian movement, the Solesmes liturgical reform, the Paris Schola Cantorum (founded in 1894), and Pope Pius X’s famous motu proprio of 1903 on church music, “Tra le sollecitudini” (Among the concerns…).

This seminar will look at how the church music reforms influenced organ playing and organ composition, especially within the Franco-Belgian tradition, in the period 1870–1925. The works and performance practice of organist-composers such as Alexandre Guilmant, Charles-Marie Widor and Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens will be discussed. Attention will also be given to the repercussions of the church music reforms on organ music outside the Catholic Church, exemplified by the Swedish composer Otto Olsson, whose major organ work “Credo Symphoniacum”, based on Gregorian melodies, inaugurated the ecumenical World Conference of Life and Work, held in Stockholm in August 1925, a result of Archbishop Nathan Söderblom’s vision of unity among Christian churches as a model for peace in the wake of World War I.

19:30–21:00

German Church

(Tickets 250/125 SEK)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080

(Transcribed by Ludger Lohmann)

Ludger Lohmann, organ

Since its publication in print more than a year after Johann Sebastian Bach’s death, the “Art of Fugue” has been a source of mystery. Bach was unable to complete it, he died during the completion phase but was still partially involved in the printing process. When he exactly started composition is unclear. The first eight fugues in the surviving autograph are dated to 1740-42 on the basis of the manuscript (as this is a fair copy, however, the composition could have taken place earlier); further pieces were added up to 1746.

However, this autograph version contains only 14 pieces: 12 fugues and 2 canons (14 is Bach’s name number: B + A + C + H = 2 + 1 + 3 + 8). In the course of preparing the print in 1749, Bach expanded the collection to 18 movements (14 fugues and 4 canons). It is conceivable that it (like the Musical Offering) was intended for the Potsdam court, with which Bach had been in close contact since his son Carl Philipp Emanuel was employed there as harpsichordist. This assumption also provides a hypothetical explanation for the French stylistic elements, which are somewhat surprising in a collection of fugues: Frederick the Great was a great lover of the French style. Even the breaking off of the last fugue could be explained as intentional, because in Berlin at this time, the fragment gained relevance as an aesthetic category in the course of the study of ancient art and architecture, for example in constructing ruins in the creation of parks.

In the form of numerous BACH motives, which are easily realised in the home key of D minor, Bach has created intensive personal references.

The work was certainly not intended by Bach to be played on the organ; the required keyboard range was not available on the organs of his time, and the demands on pedal technique of the version heard today far exceed anything written before 1900. But the organ is the only instrument on which a single player can perform the entire work, and most of the fugues are idiomatic for the organ.

Contrapunctus 1 à 4

Four-part simple fugue on the subject in its basic form (recto, Ar).

Contrapunctus 2 à 4

Simple fugue on the subject recto. The dotted rhythm results in a stylistic approximation to the ‘French’ fugue (Contrapunctus 6).

Contrapunctus 3 à 4

Simple fugue on the subject in inversion (inverso, Ai: where the original melody moves up, its inverted form moves down). The character is decidedly painful due to the abundant use of chromaticism, especially in the form of a retained counterpoint also containing the notes BA-HC.

Contrapunctus 4 à 4

Simple fugue on the subject inverso. A frequently used motive of descending thirds results in a much more relaxed atmosphere compared to No. 3, which also gives rise to the first striking BACH motive in the tenor voice at the end, but which above all leads to daring modulations leading up to B major!

Contrapunctus 5 à 4

Counter-fugue on the subject recto and inverso (A1). The subject is extended from the original 12 to 14 notes. Numerous melodic parallels in thirds and sixths create a relaxed, almost joyful atmosphere.

Contrapunctus 6 à 4 in stylo francese

Counter-fugue on subject A1 recto and inverso. The subject also appears in diminution (halving the note values), with astonishing combinations of up to three simultaneous entries in different forms. Tirata figures lead to the clearly pronounced character of a French overture.

Contrapunctus 7 à 4 per augment. Et diminut.

Counter-fugue on the subject A1 recto and inverso, but now not only in diminution but also in augmentation (doubling of the note values), i.e. on three different levels of note values.

Contrapunctus 9 à 4 alla duodecima

Double fugue on a new subject (B) and the main subject. Both subjects only appear recto, the main subject only in augmentation and in its original rhythmic form. The resulting long note values give it the effect of a cantus firmus, which lends the entire fugue the character of a chorale prelude.

Contrapunctus 10 à 4 alla decima

Double fugue with a new subject I, which has certain motivic references to the main subject, and the latter, which appears in the dotted form A1. The multiple parallel entries of the subject in thirds and sixths are the reason for the indication “alla decima”.

Contrapunctus 8 à 3

Three-part triple fugue on two new subjects (Dr and Er) and the main subject, which appears only inverso in the A2 form, interspersed with rests. The subject E, realised as painful by restless repeated quavers and chromatically coloured suspensions, contains BACH motives (here still in inversion).

Contrapunctus 11 à 4

Four-part triple fugue with the same subjects as No. 8, which now all appear recto and inverso. In terms of its length, the rhythmic intensity of the incessantly beating subject E and the sometimes incredibly painful chromatic harmony, this is the emotional climax of the cycle.

(Intermission)

Contrapuctus inversus 12 à 4

The principle of melodic inversion plays a special role in this so-called mirror fugue. The piece has two versions, which can be perceived in parallel when the score is read, but can of course only be heard one after the other in performance. In the second version not only are all the parts played in inversion, but the entire movement is also mirrored, i.e. the highest voice changes places with the lowest, as do the two middle voices.

Contrapunctus inversus 13 à 3

The reduction of the number of voices compared to Contrapunctus 12 signifies a transition to the two-part canons. The increased compositional demands, an essential principle within the fugue pairs or groups of the cycle, are also realised by the fact that the arrangement of the voices is not simply mirrored: in the first version, which begins with the recto form of the theme, the order of entries is soprano-alto-bass, in the second alto-bass-soprano.

Canon alla ottava

In the Art of Fugue, Bach ingeniously combines canon technique with the formal principle of fugues. This means that there is one subject in each case, which in the manner of a fugue has several entries. Naturally, due to the canonic principle, one entry automatically determines a second. Bach nevertheless achieves great variety due to the different canon intervals.

Canon alla decima contrapunto alla terza

The main subject (A6), altered by rhythmic transformation, occurs only inverso. The “Contrapunto alla Terza” mentioned in the title (in addition to the canon interval of the tenth) refers to the fact that the counterpoint, originally at the interval of an octave, is elsewhere also used at the interval of a third, i.e. it must ‘function’ in two interval constellations.

Canon alla duodecima contrapunto alla quinta

In the middle of the movement, the upper voice replaces the lower as the leading voice by jumping into a canonically unprepared subject entry (A7). At the end of the piece, the lower voice takes over the lead again in the same way, opening up the possibility of returning to the beginning – a canon ad infinitum, which potentially is possible in all four canons.

Canon per augmentationem in contrario motu

The initially leading upper voice is answered canonically after a few bars by the lower voice, which plays the preceding material not only in rhythmic augmentation but also in inversion.

Fuga a 3 soggetti

The unfinished fugue introduces three new subjects; presumably the main subject was to be added at the end, thus creating a quadruple fugue. The subjects are initially developed individually in separate sections; after some time, the first subject (F) joins the development of the second (G), while all three subjects are combined after the separate treatment of the third (H), BACH subject.

Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 668a

“Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein und wissen nicht, wo aus noch ein, und finden weder Hilf noch Rat, ob wir gleich sorgen früh und spat”.

The text, difficult to translate, describes the despair of a dying person not knowing whom to turn to for help or advice:

When we are in our deepest need,

and know not where the path may lead,

nor find we counsel, help, or light,

though we struggle both day and night.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach created the myth that his father died while composing the Art of Fugue. Although this chorale is not out of place in this context due to its contrapuntal density (the slightly coloured cantus firmus lines of the soprano are predominantly accompanied with material from the first c. f. line, also in inversion), its basic key of G major after well over an hour in D minor makes it a decidedly foreign element. However, since the notes of the tenor part ending the fragment of the preceding fugue can easily be interpreted in G major and can even be understood as a transition to the first note of the chorale prelude, this decision by the editors seems profoundly subtle.

21:30–22:30

Gothenburg Cathedral

(Admission free)

Night Visions II

A Luminous Carpet

Cypress Sounds

Music by Suzanne Vega, Kate Bush, and others

In this nocturnal programme inspired by Suzanne Vega’s song 'Night Vision', an unusual combination of organ, voice and other instruments meet the repertoire of songwriters like Suzanne Vega, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Sam Amidon and others. The tapetum lucidum (Latin for ‘a luminous carpet´) contributes to the superior night vision of many animals, which the human eye lacks.

Cypress Sounds, an artistic collective led by Kersten Cottyn, combines the sound of tactile instruments like organ, organetto and harpsichord with soundscapes and electronics.

8:30/9:00–11:30

Morning workshops

8:45–9:45

City library, auditorium

(Admission free)

Organ-building workshops for school classes aged 6–12

Info & booking: kersten.cottyn@organacademy.se

10:00–11:00

City library, auditorium

(Admission free)

Organ-building workshops for school classes aged 6–12

Info & booking: kersten.cottyn@organacademy.se

12:00–12:50

German Church

(Admission free)

Sound Visions for Pipes and Strings

Lunch concert

Music by Pachelbel, De Neufville and Kuhnau

Joel Speerstra, claviorgan

(Join us for a warm bowl of organ soup, served in the church immediately following the event)

Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706)

From Hexachordum Apollinis (1699)

– Aria sexta: Aria Sebaldina

Johann Jakob De Neufville (1684–1712)

From Sex meleas. Ariae cum variationibus. (1708)

– Ciaccona

Johan Kuhnau (1660–1722)

From Frische Clavier-Früchte (1696)

– Sonata quinta

– Sonata sesta: Ciaccona

14:15–14:30

Gothenburg Concert Hall

(Admission free)

A short introduction will be given in Swedish to the topic of the afternoon seminar

14:30–16:30

Gothenburg Concert Hall

Afternoon seminar

Visionary Organ Music by Frans Liszt and Julius Reubke

Ludger Lohmann, lecture demonstration

(This seminar is for registered participants only)

When Franz Liszt arrived as Capellmeister in Weimar in 1848 the local organists, notably Töpfer, raised his interest in the organ. With his first published organ composition, the utterly visionary Fantasy on “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam”, till then probably the longest organ piece ever composed, he revolutionized organ music both in a technical and a musical sense. Julius Reubke, then still a teenager, might have listened to the first performance of the piece in 1852. He became one of Liszt's most talented students, both as a pianist and as a composer, and emulated the example of his teacher in two sonatas, one of them for piano. His organ sonata takes clues not only from “Ad nos”, but also from Liszt's piano sonata, and adds the concept of program music by basing it on lines from Psalm 94. This icon of 19th century organ music shows what a loss the young genius' premature death has meant for the organ world. The seminar will explore the relation between the two masterworks, their musical content and performance implications.

(In collaboration with Göteborg Symphony Orchestra)

17:00–18:00

Gothenburg Concert Hall

(Tickets GSO)

Sjung med! (Sing Along!)

Mattias Wager, organ

Gary Graden, song leader

Participation is a core theme in the Wager/Graden duo’s collaboration. In active listening, you are of course always involved, but sometimes you also get to sing along. Singing helps to create community, where voice and good breathing open the door to the source of life. We create a concert together by singing and celebrating the autumn season with its richness of poetry and music. We encounter melodies and lyrics that bring joy and comfort. “Hurry up, my beloved, hurry up and love, the days are getting darker minute by minute,” we sing among other pieces with the cherished words of Tove Jansson.

(In collaboration with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra)

17:00–18:00

Gothenburg Cathedral

(Admission free)

Music and Health

Panel discussion

Maria Bergius, Kimberly Marshall, Benjamin Gerber, Pontus Nilsen

18:00–19:00

Gothenburg Cathedral

(Admission free)

Sound meditation

Kimberly Marshall & Mikael Fridén, organ

19.00–21.00

German Church

(Tickets Göteborg Baroque)

At Sea with Göteborg Baroque

Music by Heinrich Schütz, Andreas Kirchoff, Christoph Förster, and others

Join Göteborg Baroque on a journey around the Baltic Sea, as we visit the ports belonging to Sweden between 1611 and 1721–a time that has become known as the Great Power era. While multiple trading hubs surrounded the Baltic Sea, Stockholm was perhaps the most influential one. Göteborg Baroque invites you to an extravagant party, lush with the musical riches from the many lavish events of the region and time period–in this concert embellished with cornettos, trombones and timpani. Tonight’s most esteemed guest is the music professor Mattias Lundberg, known from Swedish Radio, who serves as our toastmaster and tour guide.

Göteborg Baroque under the direction of Magnus Kjellson

Mattias Lundberg, moderator

21:30–22:30

Bethlehem Church

Night Visions III

Amanda Mole, organ

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532

Jehan Alain (1911–1940)
Deuxième Fantaisie

Nico Muhly (b. 1981)
The Revd Mustard His Installation Prelude

Harold Arlen (1905–1986)
Over the Rainbow
Arrangement: Amanda Mole / Göte Widlund

Stephen Schwartz (b. 1948)
Popular
Arrangement: Amanda Mole

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Fantasia in F Minor, K. 608
Transcription: Martin Haselböck

10:00–10:30

Haga Church

(Admission free)

BIMBAM PÄRT

Organ fairy tale for babies and young children

BIMBAM PÄRT, a unique tribute concert to Arvo Pärt by the collective Klankennest–Sound Nest (BE), for the very youngest and their parents. His minimalist language, often echoing the sound of bells, captivates even the smallest music lovers. Together with a dancer, four musicians from Klankennest express their fascination with this music with babies, toddlers, and children up to 6 years old, along with their parents.

For babies (from 9 months) and children up to 6 years old, with a maximum of two adults per child.

Booking: ulrike.heider@organacademy.se

10:00–15:00

Jonsered Manor

Festival symposium (for invited guests only)

Organ Visions and Visionaries​:

Hamburg 1925, Hans Henny Jahnn and Ugrino

The Hamburg Orgeltagung in 1925, in which organists, musicologists and organ builders discussed their ideas and visions for the future of the organ was a groundbreaking manifestation of the young German organ reform, the Orgelbewegung. One of the key figures of the Hamburg meeting and the organ reform was the writer, music publisher and organ builder Hans Henny Jahnn, founder of Ugrino, a music publishing house which was also a community with utopian traits. At the end of World War I, Jahnn had rediscovered the monumental 1693 Arp Schnitger organ in the Hamburg St. Jacobi Church, a major source of inspiration for the organ reform movement and the main focus of the Hamburg meeting.

The symposium explores the significance of Jahnn’s work and ideas on historical organs as well as the Hamburg meeting, which triggered a development that was to dominate organ culture throughout the 20th and the early 21st century.

Harald Vogel (keynote), Joel Speerstra (moderator), William Porter, Kerala J. Snyder, Paul Peeters, Sverker Jullander, Kimberly Marshall and Bine Bryndorf, presenters

(In collaboration with Jonsered Manor, University of Gothenburg and the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg.)

11:30–12:00

Haga Church

(Admission free)

BIMBAM PÄRT

Organ fairy tale for babies and young children

BIMBAM PÄRT, a unique tribute concert to Arvo Pärt by the collective Klankennest – Sound Nest (BE), for the very youngest and their parents. His minimalist language, often echoing the sound of bells, captivates even the smallest music lovers. Together with a dancer, four musicians from Klankennest express their fascination with this music with babies, toddlers, and children up to 6 years old, along with their parents.

For babies (from 9 months) and children up to 6 years old, with a maximum of two adults per child.

Booking: ulrike.heider@organacademy.se

15:00–16:00

Jonsered Church

(Admission free)

(Regional concert)

Concert for four hands on the 1783 Schiörlin organ

Annette Richards & David Yearsley Richards

Remembered Visions of England and Scotland

Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656)

Duet: A Fancy for Two to Play

William Byrd (c. 1540–1623)

• Fortune my Foe
• The Bells

John Stanley (1712–1786)

Voluntary in G major, Op. 5 No. 3

• Adagio
• Allegro (Cornet)

Voluntary in D minor, Op. 6 No. 1

• Siciliano
• Andante (Vox Humana)

From Voluntary in D minor, Op. 6 No. 6

• Andante (Trumpet)
• Adagio
• Allegro Moderato (Flute)

Thomas Erskine, Earl of Kellie (1750–1823)

Overture from The Maid of the Mill

Francesco Geminiani (1687–1762)

Auld Bob Morrice from A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Music

Domenico Corri (1746–1825)

Variations on Loch Erroch Side

Benjamin Cooke (1734–1793)

Duet: Canon Two in One

15:00–16:00

Vasa Church

(Tickets 200/100 SEK)

Organ Visions

Johannes Skoog, winner of first prize in the 2024 Canadian International Organ Competition

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

La cathédrale engloutie

Transcription: Jean-Baptiste Robin

Sergej Rachmaninov (1873–1943)

Île des Morts

Transcription: Louis Robilliard

Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877–1933)

Harmonies du soir

Movement I from Trois Impressions, Op. 72

Thierry Escaich (b. 1965)

Eaux natales

Vers l’espérance

Movements I and III from Trois Poèmes

18:00–19:20

Gothenburg Concert Hall

(Tickets GSO)

From Darkness to Light

Organ, dance, coice and light

Maria Forsström, mezzo soprano

Natalie Ogonek and Gabriel Davidsson, dance

Hans Davidsson, organ

Ulrika Davidsson, stage director

Johan Alvebris, light design

A captivating and multifaceted performance where the symphonic organ displays its great versatility and where music, dance, and light design come together to form a unified concert experience. Hans Davidsson plays the rich, powerful, and sometimes poetic organ music by Bach, Mendelssohn, and the French symphonic masters Widor and Vierne. In contrast, we also hear songs by Mahler and Handel, beautifully embodied by the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Maria Forsström. Natalie Ogonek and Gabriel Davidsson, internationally established dance artists and members of the Davidsson Organ and Dance Collaborative, dramatize the concert with newly choreographed works. The concert is performed seamlessly from beginning to end with dazzling light designs by Johan Alvebris.

Carl Jonas Love Almqvist (1793–1866)

Du går icke ensam, from Songes (1849)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)

From Organ Sonata No. 3: Double fugue on the theme Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir

Johann Sebastian Bach

Preludium and fugue in D major, BWV 532

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)

Urlicht from Symphony No. 2

Mattias Eklund (b. 1972)

Passacaglia for mezzo soprano, dance and and organ

(Lotta Lotass, text)

Martin Herchenröder (b. 1961)

Northern Lights (2021)

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Alleluia from Saeviat tellus inter rigores

Charles–Marie Widor (1844–1937)

Andante sostenuto from Organ Symphony, No. 9, Symphonie gothique

Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

Final from Organ Symphony, No. 6

(In collaboration with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra)

21:30–22:30

Vasa Church

(Tickets 200/100 SEK)

Night Visions IV

Saint Bridget (Birgitta): prophet and saint

Stina Ekblad, recitation

Schola Gothia

Ulrike Heider, director

Lukas Arvidsson, organ

Ave maris stella

(Hail, star of the sea)

Hymn, Thursday Vespers

Gaude Birgitta

(Rejoice, Bridget)

Tribute Song, Sunday Lauds

Annuncietur

(It will be announced)

Antiphon, Friday Vespers

Rubens rosa

(The red rose)

Hymn, Friday Compline

Ave stella matutina

(Hail, morning star)

Antiphon, Thursday Compline

O gloriosa domina

(O Heaven's glorious Mistress)

Hymn, Saturday Matins

Nativitas tua

(Your nativity)

Antiphon, Wednesday Lauds

Solem iustitiae

(The sun of justice)

Responsory, Wednesday Matins

Angeli archangeli

(Archangels)

Antiphon, Monday Lauds

Quem terra, pontus, sidera

(He whom the earth, the sea and the stars)

Hymn, Thursday Matins