Alan Hovhaness - Complete Works for Solo Organ (Tom Winpenny)

Information

Composer: Alan Hovhaness

• Dawn Hymn, Op. 138
• Organ Sonata No. 1, Op. 352
• Prayer of St. Gregory, Op. 62b (Version for Trumpet & Organ)
• Organ Sonata No. 2, Op. 386 "Invisible Sun"
• Organ Sonatina, Op. 382
• Organ Sonata No. 3, Op. 424 "Hermit Thrush"
• Habakkuk, Op. 434
• Sanahin, Op. 69

Tom Winpenny, organ

Date: 2025

Label: Toccata Classics

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Although Alan Hovhaness (1911–2000) was born in Massachusetts and ended his days in Seattle, his music was profoundly coloured by his Armenian heritage, in particular through his fondness for the modal melos of the ancient Armenian church. His combination of modality and melisma, of hymn and dance, can often make him sound like an eastern cousin of Vaughan Williams. The organ is an ideal medium for his musical language, allowing it to range from timeless, questing prayer to gloriously full-bodied statements to stir the soul.

Tom Winpenny is Assistant Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral, where he accompanies daily choral services and directs the Abbey Girls Choir. Formerly Sub-Organist at St Paul’s Cathedral, he performed at major events, including with the LSO under Valery Gergiev and broadcasts on BBC Radio and American Public Media. A former chorister at York Minster, he studied at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge. He has premiered works by notable composers and won the 2008 Miami International Organ Competition. His recordings include works by Judith Bingham, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Mendelssohn, and he performs regularly in the UK, Europe, and the USA.