The New Goll-Organ: Portrait of a Queen

The Marktkirche at Hanover has a new organ. The church’s organist Ulfert Smidt with this CD presents the first recording at the instrument. The disc’s title Portrait einer Königin puts the disc’s concept in a nutshell: in compositions ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Olivier Messiaen, Smidt demonstrates with highest prowess the wealth of the new Goll-Organ’s possible sounds and their combinations. His performance of Max Reger’s choral fantasia Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme in particular uses the most varied of nuances, from a true pianissimo to the impressive tutti. The enormous variety of sounds and the high artistry are reflected equally in compositions from the French repertoire, in Louis-Claude Daquin’s Noël Suisse, and César Franck’s L’Organiste.

The sound-rich instrument was built by the Swiss company Orgelbau Goll between 2007 and 2009. It completes the organ building project at the Marktkirche which had been on-going since 2002 and included three instruments. In addition to the great Goll-Organ in the old casing in the south transept, the church has been home to the Italian-Organ since 2007, built by Fabrizio Cimino on a moveable wagon in the nave, and the new Choir-Ensemble-Organ by the Orgelbauwerkstatt Hermann Eule in the tower’s choir gallery since 2008.

Ulfert Smidt

Musik & Kirche – CD Review ( July/August 2010, Ludolf Baucke):

„Mit einem „Benedictus“ und der Choralfantasie „Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme“ von Max Reger rundet der inspiriert musizierende und präzis gestaltende Ulfert Smidt sein imponierendes, auch aufnahmetechnisch gelungenes Panorama der hannoverschen Goll-Orgel ab. Der Titel „Portrait einer Königin“ trifft exakt.“