O Mensch, Bewein' dein' Sünde Gross,        BWV 622
In dir ist Freude, BWV 615

Ballo del Granduca: Sweelinck came from a family of organists, and himself became a famous organist of his own time as well as one of the most sought–after teachers and composers. Organist of the prestigious Oude Kirk in Amsterdam, Sweelinck wrote music that reflects the rich cultural climate of the Dutch Golden Age – a period of enormous expansion and prosperity, the period of such great artists as Rembrandt and Frans Hals. Ballo del Graduca is a set of variations based on a dance tune (“O che nuovo miracolo”) from Cavalieri’s intermezzo La Pellegrina, which was performed at the 1589 wedding in Florence of the Grand Duke Ferdinando of Tuscany – hence Sweelinck’s title. The tune’s harmonic pattern was a common one, and many composers, including the great Italian composer Frescobaldi, made use of it.

Uppon la mi re: Attributed to the Tudor composer Thomas Preston, this work’s true author is unknown. It begins with the “ground” of bass notes a, e and d (la, mi and re respectively), with a canon in the tenor voice shortly after. Over this unchanging foundation, a freely evolving melody floats. The boldness of this melody makes you forget that you are listening to a work written five hundred years ago.

From Quatorze Gaillardes: In the spring of 1531, Pierre Attaignant published in his Quatorze Gaillardes, neuf Pavanes, sept Branles et deux Basses Dances, le tout reduict de musique en la tabulature du jeu d’Orges, Espinettes, Manicordions et telz semblables instruments musicaulxs a collection of compositions for keyboard instruments, especially mentioning the organ, most probably the chamber organ. The chamber organ used in performing this music likely contained no more than three or four stops. The composer of these delightful dances is unknown.

Introduction and Pastorale: Bernardo Pasquini was renowned in his day as a virtuoso keyboard player, and was the most important composer of keyboard music between Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. In fact, after his death medallions bearing his portrait were struck. He held positions in various churches in Rome throughout his life, and also enjoyed the patronage of various nobility including Queen Christina of Sweden. In his charming Pastorale, Pasquini was inspired by the traditional and popular pastorales played by Italian shepherds on schalmeys and bagpipes.

O Mensch, bewein’; In dir ist Freude: The title of Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (“Little Organ Book”) indicates that the pieces were written so that “a Beginner at the Organ is given instruction in Developing a Chorale in many diverse ways.” The two ways represented here are the short ornamented chorale and the short chorale fantasia. O Mensch, bewein’ is an example of the former, in which the heavily ornamented chorale melody is presented without interludes. The work’s depth of feeling and searing emotion prompted the French composer Charles-Marie Widor to remark that it is the most beautiful instrumental work ever written. In dir ist Freude is an example of the chorale fantasia and is built, as are the other chorales of the Orgelbüchlein, around the through–composition of the chorale tune in the soprano. It is the only short prelude in which the counterpoint thoroughly penetrates the chorale melody itself, giving the impression of a fantasia.

Hamburger Totentanz: Swiss organist and composer Guy Bovet was inspired to compose this work, based on a four–handed improvisation in which the composer took part, after a visit to Hamburg. The music is a blend, of sorts, of Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre amd Czech composer Petr Ebem’s Moto Ostinato from Sunday Music. Enjoy identifying the thematic fragments that Bovet humorously weaves into the fabric of the work, including appearances of Offenbach’s famous Barcarole from The Tales of Hoffman, Beethoven’s Für Elise, and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.

Toccata: Max Reger was one of the few musicians of the post–romantic era for whom counterpoint was a natural means of expression. His writing is characterized by chromaticism and restless modulation. Born in Bavaria in 1873, he was a pupil of the important theorist Hugo Riemann, and taught at the University of Leipzig before his appointment as conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra in 1911. It was during his tumultuous years in Munich, to which he moved in 1901, that he composed the Toccata. Though occasionally called “The Second Bach,” Reger was a romantic through and through. Nevertheless, his works reflect his grasp of Renaissance and Bachian counterpoint, and the Toccata resembles a 16^th century piece in its free virtuoso style, and in the alternation of full chords with fast, running passages.

Prélude: Henri-Constant-Gabriel-Pierné was a pupil and ardent disciple of César Franck at the Paris Conservatoire, where he also studied with Massenet, Duran and Lavignac. Pierné was organist at St. Clothilde from 1890 to 1898, immediately succeeding Franck. He later gained notoriety as a composer and as conductor of the Concerts Colonne. The Prélude is in typical 19^th century French toccata style with arpeggiated (style brisé) chords, beginning with foundation stops and gradually building to full organ.

Nazard: Langlais, blind from birth, succeeded Tournemire as organist at St. Clothilde, Paris, a position considered one of the most prestigious in France. The Suite Française is a work comprised of various movements, the names of which bring to mind the baroque suites of such composers as de Grigny, Dandrieu and Guilain, featuring ‘La voix humaine’, ‘Jeux de fonds’, ‘Jeux d’anche’ and ‘Grand Jeux.’ The name of the movement played this evening, Nazard, refers to a mutation stop on the organ, 2–2/3.

Boléro de Concert: Louis Alfred James Lefébure-Wely was among the most famous organists of his day. At eleven, he began substituting for his father, Isaac-François, organist at St. Roch, who had suffered a stroke; by age fourteen he succeeded him as titular organist. At the Paris Conservatoire, he studied organ with Benoist and composition with Halévy. In 1847, he became organist of La Madeleine in Paris, evenutally gaining, in 1863, with the support of the French organ builder Cavaillé-Coll, the position of organist at St. Sulpice, which then had the largest pipe organ in France. The Bolé de Concert was composed for the orgue expressif, and is written in the fashion of the Second Empire. The light character of this music and its audience appeal helped keep the organ alive during the lean years of the 19^th century.

Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major: This major work is the only triptych that Bach wrote for the organ, the ususal toccata and fugue being divided by an Adagio that sounds almost as though it were transcribed from a violin concerto. That Bach originally conceived this as a three–movement work is indicated by the stunning harmonies at the conclusion of the Adagio, written in seven (!) voices, which establishes the transition from A minor back to C Major for the start of the fugue. The entire work seems to be modeled after an Italian Baroque concerto, and even Bach’s first biographer, Philipp Spitta, thought the work should be entitled “Concerto.” The opening virtuoso manual passages are answered by virtuoso pedal work, which precede the development of two motives in the manner of a concertante dialogue. Finally, following the wrenching last harmonies of the Adagio, the fugue, with its long theme of marked rhythmic character, is irrestibile in its almost humorous gait.

The Washington Post has hailed organist Gregory D’Agostino as “brilliant” and “impeccable.” Internationally recognized as one of today”s most diverse yet stylistically informed performers, his concerts on three continents have received unanimous acclaim, from Kerll in Rötha, Germany to Bach’s Art of Fugue at San Antoine l’Abbaye, France; Tournemire’s Improvisations at St. Etienne du Mont, Paris, to Karg-Elert at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London; Ives’ Variations on America at Balboa Park, San Diego to Guillou’s Rhetoric of Fire at St. Ludmila, Prague; Babbitt at St. Mary the Virgin, New York to Locklair in Radio Hall, Bratislava, Slovakia; Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra to Handel’s Organ Concerto in D minor with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

At the Centennial National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, D’Agostino performed two different memorized programs for the 100^th anniversary of the Guild before overflowing crowds of 3,400 at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Church of St. Mary the Virgin. He has been a featured artist at South Carolina's Piccolo Spoleto Festival for three seasons, St. Petersburg International Festival of the Palaces (Russia), Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (Washington), San Diego’s Balboa Park International Organ Festival, London Incorporated Association of Organists, Prague Free Organ World Festival (Czech Republic), Schola Cantorum (Paris), European-American Festival Southampton, New York), and the Olomouc International Organ Festival (Czech Republic).

His provocative programs draw from an unusually wide repertoire extending from the Renaissance forward.  In southern Germany, D’Agostino performed the major works of Bach on nearly one-half of the extent historic Silbermann organs; at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, following his first-prize in the Juilliard Organ Concerto Competition, he performed Handel Organ Concertos, which was also the subject of his doctoral thesis. As harpsichordist and artist-in-residence at Monmouth University (New Jersey) he directed an original instrument orchestra in a two-year concert series.

In the realm of 19^th century music, and specifically Liszt and the French romantics, D’Agostino’s interpretations have been called “the standard by which all others will be judged.” His sense of color, rubato, and drama achieve a mastery of this repertoire rarely heard, a “stunning, controlled delirium,” as reviewed following a recital at a national Organist’s Guild convention. In addition, his adaptations for organ establish him as a leading advocate for the art of transcription: Stravinsky’s Firebird, Barber’s Fugue, Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, Vaughan Williams’ A Vision of Aeroplanes, and works by Moszkowski, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Rameau, Couperin, d’Agincourt, and jazz legend Dave Brubeck.

His interest in new music has led to collaborations with renowned composers George Crumb, Ned Rorem, Milton Babbitt, David Diamond, Stephen Paulus, Pia Gilbert, Stephen Dembski, Robert Baksa, and Dan Locklair, many of whose works Mr. D’Agostino has premiered. In May 2004, he gave the first performance of the complete organ works of Ned Rorem in two concerts at The Riverside Church, New York, in the presence of the composer and in celebration of Rorem’s 80th birthday. Allan Kozinn of The New York Times wrote: Mr. D’Agostino gave deft, powerful performances that got to the heart of Mr. Rorem’s writing, the gentle and songlike as well as the robust and purely dexterous.

Among his seven commercially released CDs are Monuments of Germanic Music (Bach, Wagner, Liszt, Karg-Elert; Centaur Records), Islands & Vistas (Orcas Records), Locklair Organ Concerto (Slovak Radio Orchestra, Bratislava; Albany Records), Babbitt’s Manifold Music (Bridge Records), and Crumb’s Pastoral Drone (Grammy-winning series; Bridge Records). A versatile artist, he has recorded for film including Jonathan Bepler’s score for Cremaster 2 by film maker Matthew Barney, now part of the permanent collection of Minneapolis’ Walker Arts Center and San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art. In addition, his work has been supported by the prestigious Aaron Copland Fund, New York Foundation for the Arts, Cecil Walker Charitable Trust, and The New York Times Foundation.

Mr. D’Agostino’s playing has been broadcast on Radio Prague and Czech National Television, and in the U. S. on National Public Radio’s Pipedreams. Based in New York City, Mr. D’Agostino is also an active chamber musician, and has performed with Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Desmond Hoebig, Czech Philharmonic principal trumpeter Jaroslav Halir, pianist Jon Kimura Parker, oboist John Mack, Salt & Pepper Gospel Choir, flutist Ransom Wilson’s Solisti New York Orchestra, and the American Brass Quintet at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully all. His performances at the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival can be found on a two-volume recording including works by Bach, Albinoni, and Casals.

Mr. D’Agostino earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance from The Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Jon Gillock and Vernon deTar, Performing Artist with the Lincoln Center Institute, and Teaching Fellow in music theory. He received the M.M. and B.M. in organ performance from The Juilliard School, where he also studied harpsichord with Lionel Party. He further studied with Xavier Darasse, Bernard Lagacé, and Marie-Claire Alain at the Toulouse Organ Academy, France.

Mr. D’Agostino is an active member of the American Guild of Organists and serves on the national committee on Seminary and Denominational Relations. As a teacher, he has given masterclasses for the AGO and been guest lecturer at Juilliard, faculty of the Duquesne University Pipe Organ Encounter, and director of the first New York City Pipe Organ Encounter, held last year. Upcoming CD releases include an all-French disc as well as the complete organ works of Ned Rorem.