Anne Laver's Reflections of Light is a compelling recital of organ music, inspired by the concept of "celestial light," a religious idea that found expression in Philipp Nicolai's chorale, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, and many other sacred pieces. Laver has structured her program around this idea, in part as a study of contrasts between light and darkness, as well as a unifying theme for some of her favorite works. The feeling of ecstasy that's inherent in much of this album's music can be regarded as an aspect of a ...
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Anne Laver's Reflections of Light is a compelling recital of organ music, inspired by the concept of "celestial light," a religious idea that found expression in Philipp Nicolai's chorale, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, and many other sacred pieces. Laver has structured her program around this idea, in part as a study of contrasts between light and darkness, as well as a unifying theme for some of her favorite works. The feeling of ecstasy that's inherent in much of this album's music can be regarded as an aspect of a visionary experience of divine light, though it's somewhat easier to perceive the organ's capacity for bright sonorities, particularly in Laver's playing of Bach's Toccata in C major, which seems to throw off sparks. Not all of the pieces suggest musical effects of light because the nature of chorales and chorale preludes requires a reverent approach that is less conducive to tone painting. Exceptional offerings are Eunyoung Kim's Prelude on "Veni Creator Spiritus," which fairly...
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