Felix Mendelssohn's six organ sonatas don't really need an introduction anymore; they are considered the absolute pinnacle of the organ repertoire between Bach and Liszt. Mendelssohn, himself an excellent organist, composed them at the request of the English publishing house Conventry & Hollier. Initially it would be six voluntaries for organ, but the project soon turned into six sonatas, each
… with its own character. What is remarkable about this new recording by the young organist William Whitehead is that it places it in a completely English context. As an instrument he chose the Lincoln organ (1818) in the Buckingham Palace ballroom: one of the few organs with a large pedal at that time and whose tuning (Thomas Young) gives the instrument a special timbre. In the CD booklet, Whitehead goes into depth about Mendelssohn's relationship with England and explains his interpretation. All in all, this recording offers a fresh take on Mendelssohn's organ sonatas that sound on the Lincoln organ as if they were written for it. (JWvR)more
