Nordic Journey, Volume XVI—Germanic Connections
The interaction of Teutonic and Nordic musical styles has always been a source of fascination for Jim and so in May 2024, he traveled to the Pauluskirche in Ulm, Germany to record the double-disc set Nordic Journey Volume XVI-Germanic Connections. This project features organ music from Germany, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Iceland, Finland, and the Czech Republic, all of which have experienced influence from the German Romantic School . This program demonstrates the pervasive influence of the German school in a widely varied way, ranging from the conservative corner of the culture in the manner of Rheinberger to the more progressive and nationalistic school of Wagner, finally culminating in the impressionistic influence of Sigfrid Karg-Elert.
One commissioned work occupies a central place in Volume XVI, Seven Paintings On German Monuments by contemporary Hamburg-based composer Andres Willscher. This is an opus that takes its point of departure from Karg-Elert's Seven Pastels from the Lake of Constance, and envisions a contemporary interpretation of this impressionistic musical language.
The Link/Gaida organ which is located in the Pauluskirche is ideally positioned to interpret the varied tonal demands of this repertoire, much of which appears here in a first recording.
Nordic Journey, Volume XVI is available from Pro Organo.
Nordic Journey, Volume XV—Baltic Sojourn
For the first time, Jim left the Nordic lands to record Volume XV in Ulm, Germany in a single disc program devoted to the music of the Baltic states. The four manual Link/Gaida organ proved to be the perfect vehicle for this multifaceted repertoire and the church's space provided the perfect acoustical ambience. Recording sessions for this project occurred during the first week of September 2023.
Jim contrasted largescale works from the Romantic Era including Alfred Karindi's Orgelsonate Nr. (f-moll) with more contemporary offerings. There are two commissioned pieces on this recording: Lithuanian Folk Suite by Vidas Pinkevicius and Three Pieces for Organ and Estonian Kannel by Malle Maltis. The latter also included the contribution of Estonian kannel expert Hedi Viisma. These three pieces paired the intimate sounds of the poetic kannel with the chamber-like sounds of the organ.
Baltic Sojourn saw its release in December 2023 in the physical form and entered the digital sphere in the first week of January 2024. Nordic Journey, Volume XV is available from Pro Organo, and you can learn more about this Baltic Sojourn here.
Nordic Journey, Volume XIV—The Organs of Kallio Church, Helsinki, Finland
Jim continued his research of Nordic music and culture with a visit to Helsinki, Finland in March 2023, a trip that included several days of recording sessions at Kallio Church. The resulting single-disc Nordic Journey Volume XIV is subtitled The Organs of Kallio Church and employs the two contrasting instruments located in that historic sacred space.
The first half of Jim's program highlights the choir organ of the church, dating from 1987 and built by the Finnish Kangasala firm. Neo-classic in its tonal orientation, this organ was intended to play the masterworks of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As such, Jim chose a set of twentieth and twenty-first century compositions that were influenced by the forms and styles of the past. This includes chorale-based works by Fridthjov Anderssen, Fin. Viderø, and Lasse Toft Eriksen. Compositions based upon Nordic folk melodies also appear in this first section with settings by Mats Backman, a composer from Åland, and a lovely interpretation of a Finnish folk theme by Jukka Kankainen, scored for flute and organ. The Helsinki-based musician, Katja Ceder, expertly provided the flute part. The set concludes with an extended suite by the twentieth-century German composer Hans Friedrich Micheelsen, Das Holsteinische Orgelbüchlein. This engaging collection of seven movements develops thematic ideas from the composer's native Holstein, one of the most northerly provinces of Germany, and for many centuries was a part of Denmark.
The second half of Nordic Journey Volume XIV employs the considerable aural resources of the church's organ located in the rear gallery. Installed in 1995 by the Åkerman & Lund firm, this instrument takes it inspiration from the late nineteenth-century French builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. This organ, therefore, is dramatically symphonic in nature and was intended to authentically interpret the musical expressions of the romantic French school. Given the scope of this organ, Jim concludes this recording with Nordic compositions that exemplify this milieu, a set that includes a unique work for Kantele, Finland's native folk instrument, and organ by Toivo Elovaara. For this composition, Jim was joined by Hedi Viisma, an Estonian exponent of the Kantele. This final grouping also includes two works from the pen of Norwegian composer Kjell Mørk Karlsen, including his Toccata over Te Deum, and a newly commissioned work, A Finnish Pastorale. Karlsen bases the latter on a Christmas Carol written by Finland's national composer, Jean Sibelius. The recording concludes with a final commissioned piece by contemporary Finnish composer Olli Saari. Entitled Dance Dyptych, this virtuosic two-movement essay is a remarkable tour de force, and Jim premiered the piece during this visit as a part of the Helsinki Organ Festival. The point of departure for this music is an aural interpretation of the dance form, with the first section being comprised of scintillating, impressionistic roulades and the second movement featuring a perpetually moving, blazing toccata that brings the opus and the recording to an emphatic denouement.
Nordic Journey, Volume XIV is available from Pro Organo. See the production of this recording here.
Nordic Journey, Volume XIII—Romanticism in Finnish Organ Music
Jim spent a week in Turku, Finland in October 2022 recording Volume XIII of his Nordic Journey project. Subtitled Romanticism in Finnish Organ Music, the program of this single disc concerns itself with Finnish repertoire from the early decades of the twentieth-century conceived in the Romantic style. Volume XIII concludes with two contemporary works written in a neo-Romantic idiom. Many of these compositions were unpublished until recently. Jim collaborated with Finnish publisher Johann Tilli of Edition TIlli in creating premiere modern editions of this repertoire — and a number of the performances are premieres as well. The featured instrument is the 1936 Kangasala organ at St. Martin's Church, Turku, Finland, a perfect vehicle for the interpretation of these compositions and centrally positioned within an acoustically live space.
See more about Nordic Journey, Volume XIII here. Nordic Journey, Volume XIII is available from Pro Organo.
Fantasia ja koraali (Fantasia and Chorale)
Oskar Merikanto (1868–1924)
Nordic Journey, Volume XII—Nordic Music from Norway
Recorded in March 2022 at Uranienborg kirke, Oslo, Nordic Journey Volume XII was released in August of the same year on the Pro Organo label. The organ music of Norway is the focus of this double-disc set, with particular emphasis given to the works of Kjell Mørk Karlsen who celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday while Jim made this recording. Volume XII is very much a collaborative effort as Jim welcomed a number of skilled Norwegian artists including recorder virtuoso Caroline Eidsten Dahl, the percussion trio Sisu, a quartet of brass players from the Oslo Philharmonic led by Jonas Haltia, and a quartet of violinists led by Maria Eikefet. The multi-faceted world of Norwegian repertoire is represented here in a wide variety of styles: romanticism, neo-classicism, folk idioms, jazz, and contemporary expression. In addition to the works by Karlsen, Jim included contrasting selections by Egil Hovland, Gottfred Pedersen, Fridthjov Anderssen, Rolf Karlsen, Mons Leidvin Takle, Arild Sandvold, Bjarne Slogedal, and Per Steenberg. Everyone involved with this endeavor extends a warm note of gratitude to the church’s organist, Inger-Lise Ulsrud, whose hospitality made this production possible.
Learn more about the making of Nordic Journey Volume XII here.
Nordic Journey, Volume XII is available from Pro Organo.
Suite for organ and 4 folkviolins, movement one
Kjell Mørk Karlsen (b.1947)
Triptycon for organ and percussion, movement one, "In the Beginning was..."
Kjell Mørk Karlsen (b.1947)
Festpreludium over "Fra himlen høyt" (From Heaven High)
Fridthjov Anderssen (1876–1937)
Lo in the Wilderness A Voice
Mons Leidvin Takle (b.1942)
Nordic Journey, Volume XI—Nordic Anthology
During the many months of the COVID-19 lockdown, Jim used the enforced solitude to assemble the most ambitious volume of his Nordic Journey series, Nordic Journey XI/Nordic Anthology. This triple-disc collection of twentieth-century and contemporary repertoire from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland clocks in at over 234 minutes, including 13 commissioned works and numerous compositions from previous eras that appear here in premiere recordings. Nordic Journey Volume XI/Nordic Anthology, as with its 10 preceding volumes, is available on the American Pro Organo (#7297) label and will be further distributed by Naxos, appearing on the usual digital platforms.
Recorded in November 2021, Nordic Anthology highlights the dynamic 2007 Paschen Kiel organ located at Central Pori Church, Pori, Finland. Conceived in the tonal tradition of the French Symphonic School, this unique example of the organ builder's art performs Gallic-influenced repertoire with absolute authenticity, but as Nordic Journey Volume XI demonstrates, also presents contrasting repertoire with similar success.
Nordic Journey Volume XI presents three differing aspects of the Nordic school with each disc, the first devoted to little-known examples of Nordic Romanticism, the second being comprised of Contemporary works, while the third demonstrates French influence in Nordic repertoire. Jim was joined by Helsinki-based oboist Seidi Palonen for a composition by Norwegian composer Kjell Mørk Karlsen, and the collection is notable for the inclusion of four creations from the pen of Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten. Jim collaborated with the Finnish publisher Johann Tilli of Edition Tilli in the preparation of several unique scores, and, in addition, commissioned New York City composer/organist Walter Hilse to complete an unfinished early twentieth-century work, Preludi ja Fuga, g-moll by John Granlund (1888-1962) in the style of that Finnish composer.
Nordic Journey, Volume XI is available from Pro Organo. Learn more about Nordic Journey, Voume XI here.
Preludi ja Fuga, g-molli
John Granlund (1888-1962)
Lento expressivo, con sordino
Emil Sjögren (1853-1918)
Toccata Dess-dur
Jacob Ekström (1893-1950))
Cavatina e vivace
Jack Mattsson (1954-2007)
arranged for organ by Lars Karlsson (b. 1953)
Fanfare & Chaconne
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Hymn "The Son"
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Toccata "The Holy Spirit"
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Nordic Journey, Volume X—Danish Perspectives
After recording Nordic Journey Volume IX in Örebro, Sweden during February 2020, Jim continued his travels into Denmark, recording two CDs of music from the Danish repertoire of compositions inspired by Danish culture. Disc One highlights the historic 1879 Olsen/1986 Marcussen organ at Helligåndskirken, a church located in center-city Copenhagen. The music on this opening cd concerns itself with the nineteenth and early twentieth-century Danish Romantic repertoire, leading up to the time of Denmark's national composer, Carl Nielsen (including this musician's valedictory masterwork, Commotio). Disc two answers the question "what happened next?" with twentieth-century neo-classic selections and contemporary offerings, the last including three commissioned works: Sinfonia Danica by Kjell Mørk Karlsen, and two compositions, Fantasia on the bridal dance from Sønderho, and Variations on the Danish folk tune "A Lovely and Joyous Summer" by Christian Præstholm. The performances on Disc Two present the 1994 Andersen Organ located in St. Morten's Church, Randers.
Find Nordic Journey, Volume X at Pro Organo. And see more of the production of Nordic Journey, Volume X here.
Fantasi, f-moll
J.P.E. Hartmann (1805–1900)
Fantasi för orgel à 4 mains, with George Chittenden, Organ
Gustav Adolf Mankel (1812–1880)
Allegro moderato (Concert, Opus. 15)
Gottfred Matthison-Hansen (1832–1909)
Concluding Movements from Variations on a Danish folk tune (A lovely and joyous summer)
Christian Præstholm (b. 1972)
Nordic Journey, Volume IX—Music from Sweden
Jim traveled to Örebro, Sweden in February 2020 where he recorded Nordic Journey Volume IX at Olaus Petri Church. The church contains a vintage 1913 Setterquist organ, restored in 2013 by Åkerman & Lund, and is an authentic vehicle for this all-Swedish program. Nordic Journey Volume IX features newly commissioned works by Anders Börjesson, Gunnar Idenstam, Nils Lindberg, and Fredrik Sixten, as well as rarities from earlier years, including Passacagalia in F-sharp minor by Herman Åkerberg, and a concerto for two organs by Gunnar Thyrestam. Jim is joined by Swedish soprano Helena Ek in a song cycle of Swedish folk melodies by Nils LIndberg, while Mats Bertilsson, organist at Olaus Petri Church, performs the Thyrestam double organ concerto on the church's choir organ while Jim plays the gallery instrument.
For more about the making of Nordic Journey, Volume IX, look here. Nordic journey, Volume IX is available from Pro Organo.
Gangar Fanfares
Gunnar Idenstam (b. 1961),
The Blessed Day/Thoughts on Four Folksongs, IV - Och inga rikedomar har jag haft, featuring Helena Ek, Soprano
Nils Lindberg (b. 1933)
Passacaglia in F-sharp minor
Herman Åkerberg (1875–1954)
Paraphrase for the organ on the Swedish Children's Song "Ekorren" (The Squirrel)
Anders Borjesson (b. 1975)
Nordic Journey, Volume VIII—Islands
Jim traveled to Reykjavík, Iceland in November 2018 to record this double CD, a project lasting over 155 minutes. Performing on the 1992 Klais organ in the iconic Hallgrímskirkja, the program is subtitled “Islands,” as the music from the outlying regions of the Nordic world, including Faroe Islands, Iceland, Gotland, Åland, and Härnön occupies a central point of departure for this endeavor. Volume VIII offers seven commissioned works including Nordic composers, Hildigunnur Rúnarsdóttir, Pauli í Sandagerði, Sigurður Sævarsson, Fredrik Sixten, Lars Karlsson, Nils Lindberg, and Kristian Blak, as well as other compositions from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many of these latter performances appear here in premiere recordings. The spirit of the country's Norse past may be found in “The Vikings,” a work by English composer Arthur Wills, and a collection of “Icelandic Dances” composed by Jón Leifs, and arranged for organ by Hallgrímskirkja organist Björn Steinar Sólbergsson.
Learn more about Nordic Journey, Volume VIII from this video. Purchase Nordic Journey, Volume VIII from Pro Organo.
The Vikings
Arthur Wills (b. 1926)
Icelandic Dances
Jón Leifs (b.1899-1968), arr. Björn Steinar Sólbergsson
Toccata (Symphony III)
Kjell Mørk Karlsen (b. 1947)
Himna smiður (Heaven's Maker)
Sigurður Sævarsson (b. 1963)
Prelude och fuga, a-moll
Emil Sjögren (1853-1918)
Who Can Sail Without A Wind
Lars Karlsson (b. 1953)
I Oster solen op (The Sun rises in the east)
Christian Præstholm (b. 1972)
Umiaq (Boat) (from Three Settings of Folk Themes from Greenland)
Kristian Blak (b. 1947)
Toccata (from Three Pieces)
Anders S Börjesson (b. 1975)
Nordic Journey, Volume VII—The Organs of Nidaros Cathedral
Recorded in Nidaros Cathedral, Norway, the spiritual heart of that country, Nordic Journey, Volume VII features the three organs located in the world's northernmost medieval Gothic cathedral. The 156-minute double-disc release includes repertoire from the time of Johann Sebastian Bach to 2017, and Jim was joined by Nordic musicians Caroline Eidsten Dahl (recorders), Helena Ek (soprano), Arnulf Johansen (oboe), and Ola Lindseth (violin) during these recording sessions.
Music performed on the 1741 Joachim Wagner organ included eighteenth-century works by Ferdinand Zellbell and Peter Askergren as well as twentieth and twenty-first-century compositions by John Sundberg, Patrik Vretbald, and Sven-Ingvart Mikkelsen. The new choir organ built by the Norwegian firm Torkildson was the ideal vehicle for the performance of two new ensemble works from Kjell Mørk Karlsen, while the newly restored Steinmeyer organ dating from 1930 was utilized for Romantic Era pieces by Arild Sandvold, Juhani Pohjanmies, Gottfred Pederson, and Fridthjov Anderssen. The featured composition on Volume VII was a commissioned work from the pen of Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten: Symphonia Aurora Borealis, an epic six-movement work of 46 minutes. This symphony is very much a programmatic work that is a pilgrimage all in itself, juxtaposing ancient themes and folk melodies within a complex modern sensibility.
This video highlights Nordic Journey, Volume VII, the next offering from the Nordic Journey Series, which is also available from Pro Organo.
Hymn for St. Olaf featuring Arnulf Johansen, Oboe and Ola Lindseth, Violin
Kjell Mørk Karlsen (b. 1947)
Partita brevis 6 featuring Caroline Eidsten Dahl, Recorders
Kjell Mørk Karlsen (b. 1947)
Symphonia Aurora Borealis/Dark
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Symphonia Aurora Borealis/Divinity featuring Helena Ek, Soprano
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Nordic Journey, Volume VI—Organ Music from Finland
The music of Finland is the subject of Nordic Journey, Volume VI, released in September 2016. This double-disc was recorded in June of the same year at two locations in Turku, the ancient capital of Finland. Disc One features the 1980 Virtanen organ of Turku Cathedral, the most historic location of the country. Two commissioned works by contemporary Finnish composers, Mauri Viitala and Santeri Siimes, plus several multi-movement, previously unknown works from the Romantic era form the basis of this part of the release. The colorful 2002 Gronlunds organ at St. Michael's, Turku was the perfect vehicle for a program of smaller works of contrasting styles, including the four organ compositions of Jack Mattsson, a transcription of a work by Jean Sibelius, and two pieces by St. Michael's organist Marko Hakanpää.
Jim promoted Nordic Journey, Volume VI in New Zealand, northern Europe and the United States throughout 2016.
See more about Nordic Journey, Volume VI here. Nordic Journey, Volume VI is available from Pro Organo.
Canon, Partite & Fuga per organo sopra il chorale "Sen suven suloisuutta"
Mauri Viitala (b. 1948)
Fantasia-Sonaatti
Fredrik Isacsson (1883-1962)
Gigue fuuga urlee Jäätelöauton
Harri Viitanen (b. 1954)
Joy
Jack Mattsson (1954-2007)
In The Alps
Marko Hakanpää (b.1970)
Nordic Journey, Volume V—Many Landscapes
From the Faroe Islands to Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, Nordic Journey, Volume V explores the "Many Landscapes" of the northern world. This double CD was released in September 2015, being the premiere recording of the 2013 Tostareds organ at Kalmar Cathedral, Kalmar, Sweden. The sumptuous acoustics of this sacred space, combined with this organ's many tonal possibilities, provides the perfect vehicle for exploring many previously unrecorded compositions from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Several of the works found in this collection were composed specifically for this project: Nordic Fanfare—Fredrik Sixten (Sweden), Toccata Grande II—Kjell M. Karlsen (Norway), Summer Fantasy—Sven Ingvart Mikkelsen (Denmark), Dalecarlian Pictures—Nils Lindberg (Sweden), Toccata XIII—Thomas Åberg (Sweden), and Intermezzo—Pauli í Sandagerði (the Faroe Islands).
For more about the making of Nordic Journey Volume V, watch this video. Nordic Journey, Volume V is available for purchase from Pro Organo.
Marching Tune
Nils Lindberg (b. 1933)
Vivo
Erland von Koch (1910-2009)
Intermezzo
Pauli í Sandagerði (b. 1955)
Gaudete
Bo Grønbech (b. 1951)
Nordic Journey, Volume IV—Modern Masters
In this fourth CD in the Nordic Journey series, American organist James D. Hicks records a program of contemporary organ music from twentieth and twenty-first-century composers from the Nordic nations. The organ is the 1898 Åkerman and Lund organ, restored in 1898 by Harrison and Harrison, and most recently in 2009 by Åkerman and Lund, in the Cathedral of Våsteräs, Sweden.
Learn more about the making of Nordic Journey, Volume IV by watching this video. The Nordic Journey series is available from Pro Organo.
Toccata
Kurt Wiklander (1951)
Nordic Journey, Volume III—Swedish Folkways and Classic Traditions
In this third release in the Nordic Journey series, American organist James D. Hicks explores music inspired by Nordic folk melodies. This disc contains premiere recordings of several works by 20th-century Swedish composers, as well as new composers who are active today, including Fredrik Sixten and Mårten Jansson. Performed upon the neo-classic inspired 1964 Andersen organ.
For more about Nordic Journey, Volume III watch here. Visit Pro Organo to purchase Nordic Journey, Volume III.
Toccata Festival
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Toccata och Fuga, c-moll
Jacob Nyvall (1894-1961)
A Part of My Heritage
Mårten Jansson (b. 1965)
Invention (from Three Pieces)
Uno Sandén (1924-2013)
Nordic Journey, Volume II—The Nordic Symphonic Tradition
The musical exploration of northern climes continues with Nordic Journey, Volume II, The Nordic Symphonic Tradition. This disc continues the series by featuring the late-Romantic repertoire of the early twentieth century. Recorded on the historic organ of St. Johannes' Church, Malmö in August 2013, the church's Åkerman & Lund instrument, originally built in 1908 and restored in 2008, is an ideal vehicle for the performance of this repertoire.
Researched over the course of over two years, the disc includes several world premiere performances of unpublished music in a program that demonstrates the Nordic affinity for drama and lyric expression.
Watch more about Nordic Journey, Volume II, here. Nordic Journey Volume II is available from Pro Organo.
Introduction Og Passacaglia
Páll Ísólfsson (1893-1974)
Melodia
Fredrik Isacsson (1883-1962)
Symfoniskt Orgelstycke
Erik Alvin (1902-1992)
Nordic Journey, Volume I
On a two-disc set, organist James D. Hicks performs Romantic and Modern organ works of Nordic composers on the 1929 E.A. Setterquist and Son organ at Linköping Cathedral in Linköping, Sweden. The works performed will likely be unfamiliar to even the most seasoned listener; Several premiere recordings are included.
This video was produced to highlight the making of Nordic Journey. The original Nordic Journey is available from Pro Organo.
Pastorale
Tanelli Kuusisto (1905-1988)
Sonata in G minor/Allegro poco agitato
Oskar Lindberg (1887-1955)
Prelude et Fuga
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Variations for Organ/Aria
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)
Variations for Organ/Toccata
Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962)