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There's a great little article in today's tomorrow's New York Times about a series of recitals at St. Thomas Church in New York. John Scott will perform the complete organ works of Dieterich Buxtehude over the next few Saturdays.

The reason? This year, as those of us who check up on anniversaries already know, marks the 300^th anniversary of the death of Dieterich Buxtehude.

The instrument at St. Thomas is a great one: a Taylor and Boody. A Taylor and Boody in the back of an Episcopal church? What an interesting idea! I wonder who did this first?

The article quotes organists James David Christie and John Scott (organist), who is best not to be confused with John Scott (cricketer).

Mr. Christie is also playing the Buxtehude cycle on a Taylor and Boody: his instrument at the College of the Holy Cross. But that's not enough for the fanatical JDC. He is simultaneously giving the cycle on an organ at Harvard.

It's great to see Buxtehude's organ music written up in the Times like this. It's great to see it performed, especially by wonderful musicians on wonderful musical instruments.

The conclusion of the article bodes particularly well for inhabitants of the largest city in the country:

New York has long had a good supply of fine organs. Now with the additions of recent decades and with a good supply of enterprising organists, it promises to become an organ capital worth a listener’s journey, if not necessarily on foot.

Oestreich, James R. "Organ Fanfare for Buxtehude. Who?" NY Times 18 January 2006.

Labels: Buxtehude, churches, James David Christie, John Scott, organ