SIGFRID KARG-ELERT, Triptych (Legend–Gregorian Rhapsody–Marche pontificale), op. 141. Breitkopf & Härtel 8757. The later organ music of Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877–1933) is so masterful that one can understand why the composer did not enter into the experimental, atonal orb of some of his contemporaries. It is regrettable that, to many organists, he is known primarily by just a single and unrepresentative chorale movement. The "Legend" is a lush fantasy, rich in motivic invention and textural variety, with not a hint of formalism. The "Gregorian Fantasy" uses no actual chant, but takes for its trajectory a modal presto, a modal quasi chorale, and a modal fugue subject, all wonderfully assimilated into a hyper-Romantic, chromatic-tonal milieu. (The fugue, in particular, does not assert itself as such, but is almost a natural outgrowth of the prevailing contrapuntal texture.) The "Marche pontificale" is neither pontifical nor especially march-like, but is introspective and even dark at times, beginning with a quiet four-note basso ostinato that later gives way to a succession of other themes and episodes, reserving the fortissimo for the coda only.

SIGFRID KARG-ELERT, Cathedral Windows, Six Pieces on Gregorian Tunes, op. 106. Breitkopf & Härtel 8756. These are shorter, but substantial pieces in which the "Gregorian" tunes––some real, some imagined––are treated seriously but not slavishly. Karg-Elert's characteristic approach to harmony and tonality is here not as far-reaching as in some of his other works. This work is essentially a set of quiet slow movements culminating in a festive finale, but the first two movements also rise to effective fortissimos. The third movement is especially charming, with upper notes sustained throughout to illustrate Resonet in laudibus, while the fourth is a quiet allegretto on Adeste fidelis. All six movements offer plenty of opportunity to show-off the colors of a medium-large orchestral organ.