GEORGE DYSON (1883-1964): Complete Organ Works - Fantasia and Ground Bass, Variations on Old Psalm Tunes (Books 1-3), Prelude, Voluntary, Postlude.
Catalogue Number: 01R052
Label: Priory
Reference: PRCD 1136
Format: CD
Price: $19.98
Description: Except for a sonata from the late 1890s (now lost), all of Dyson’s organ music dates from 1956 to 1960. The biggest is the 15-minute Fantasia and Ground Bass which consists of a grand, melancholy Maestoso, an incisive Allegro moderato with quieter contrasting sections and then a pedal theme used for a set of expressive variations. The twelve Psalm Tune pieces are more voluntaries than variations, chosen from late 16th- and early 17th-century melodies, to be used before and after Anglican services and in the vein of similar collections by Parry, Stanford and Whitlock. Daniel Cook (organ of St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol).