Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist at Philadelphia's Wanamaker Organ (the world's largest fully functioning pipe organ), and Andrew Ennis, organist, flugelhornist, and trumpeter, play lush and lyrical transcriptions and arrangements of symphonic and operatic music with the unparalleled resources of Philadelphia;s monumental Wanamaker Organ.

SELECTIONS

Giacomo Puccini:Quando m’en vo from La Boheme, arr. Andrew Ennis, flugelhorn & organ

Richard Strauss:September from Four Last Songs, adapted Peter Richard Conte, flugelhorn & organ

Franz Lehar:Vilja Lied from The Merry Widow, arr. Andrew Ennis, flugelhorn & organ

Georg Frederic Handel:Lascia ch’io pianga from Rinaldo, arr. Andrew Ennis & Peter Richard Conte, flugelhorn & organ

Léo Delibes: Flower Duet from Lakmé, arr. Andrew Ennis, flugelhorn & organ

Felix Mendelssohn:A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61, No. 7 Nocturne, arr. Andrew Ennis, flugelhorn & organ

Rimsky-Korsakov:Scheherazade, Op. 35, Mvt. 1 The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship, arr. Andrew Ennis, organ 4 hands

Giacomo Puccini:O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi, arr. Peter R, Conte & A. Ennis, flugelhorn & organ

Ennio Morricone: Gabriel’s Oboe, theme music for the film, The Mission, adapted for flugelhorn & organ by Peter Richard Conte from arr. by Mark McGurty & Wilma Jensen

Pietro Mascagni:Regina Coeli from Cavalleria Rusticana, arr. Peter Richard Conte, flugelhorn & organ

Ottorino Respighi:Pines of Rome, Mvt. 2: Pines Near a Catacomb, arr. A. Ennis, off-stage trumpet & organ 4 hands

Ottorino Respighi:Pines of Rome, Mvt. 4: Pines of the Appian Way, arr. Andrew Ennis, organ 4 hands

Camille Saint-Saëns:Carnival of the Animals, mvt. 13,The Swan, arr. Andrew Ennis, flugelhorn & organ

The Duo of Conte and Ennis released their first CD, My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice, on the Gothic label, the first-­ever commercial album exclusively devoted to music for flugelhorn and organ, also available on this website.

Spectacular, rarely heard or never-before-heard works for organ and orchestra are played by Peter Richard Conte at the Wanamaker Organ and the New Jersey orchestra Symphony in C directed by Stilian Kirov in this DVD+CD set produced in  cooperation with the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ. Recorded in a live concert in the Grand Court of Macy’s, Philadelphia. On the DVD video presentation of the program, Thomas Murray introduces the music and the features.

LISZT/DUPRÉ: Fantasia & Fugue on Ad nos ad salutarem undam, arranged for organ & orchestra by Dupré in 1930, and lost until discovered in 1997

GIGOUT: Grand Choeur Dialogué arranged for organ & orchestra by Guy Ropartz ca. 1900

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, arr. organ & orch. by Peter Richard Conte

GUILMANT: Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 42, for organ and orchestra

  I.  Introduction (Largo e maestoso) et Allegro
  II. Pastorale. Andante quasi allegretto
  III. Final. Allegro assai

Includes a lavisly illustrated booklet and complete Specification

NEW DVD and CD! See and hear the Wanamaker Organ in all its majesty in this CD / DVD set featuring Peter Richard Conte and Maestro Rossen Milanov with Symphony in C! Includes Saint-Saens’ towering “Organ” Symphony No. 3, Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture and Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4, and the spine-tingling Poulenc Concerto in G Minor for Organ Strings and Tympani!

Thomas Murray narrates the DVD, which also includes behind-the-scenes glimpses of the concert a segment on gilding the Wanamaker Organ display pipes; a rare recording of the voice of John Wanamaker; a Bob Krist tribute to the Wanamaker Organ called “The Voice of Philadelphia,” a film showing the spontaneous eruption of the Hallelujah Chorus by the Opera Company of Philadelphia during a daily concert; the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Story; and several bonus video extras.

Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 in C Major “Organ”

Elgar: Cockaigne Overture and Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 (Organ/Orchestra)

Poulenc: Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings & Tympani

Popular Carols in Rich, Lush Arrangements plus a Bonus Concert!

Glorious Yuletide favorites! Barron Smith pulls out all the stops for beloved Christmas carols—and a Ferde Grofé Christmas Suite—in this exciting new release of a rare high-fidelity vintage recording.

All the lush, rich sonority of the Wanamaker Organ in its full splendor, with generous and imaginative use of special registrations, chimes and percussions. This must-have collector's item truly captures the Grand Court holiday spirit that has enthralled generations.

Exciting details of music by Barron Smith, Charles M. Courboin and Paul Mickelson are below! Order now!

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"Deck the Hall" is a new Yuletide CD featuring 8 amazing organists playing both of the stunning pipe organs at Boardwalk Hall - including the largest pipe organ in the world!

With Boardwalk Hall closed to the public, an incredible opportunity presented itself: a quiet building, the ability to play the organs during regular work hours, and a spectacular acoustic with the moveable seating removed. Some of our phenomenal organists who have presented virtual recitals during the shutdown generously agreed to be a part of this exciting new recording and turned their attention to Christmas a little early this year.

This is the first professionally produced recording since the 1998 release of "The Auditorium Organ" and showcases the restoration work completed over the past decade. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will help continue the restoration efforts!

The diverse playlist is sure to thrill both organists and non-organists and explores the vast tonal resources of both the Midmer-Losh organ in the main arena and the W. W. Kimball organ in the Adrian Phillips Theatre.

1. Deck the Halls -Thomas Oliphant/Carmen Dragon - Organist Peter Richard Conte

2. Sleigh Ride - Leroy Anderson - Organist Joshua Stafford

3. O Holy Night* - Adolphe Adam/Jonathan Bowen - Organist Jonathan M. Bowen

4. Carol Rhapsody -Richard Purvis - Organist Phillip Lamb

5. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Meredith Willson - Organist Marc F. Cheban

6. Sortie sur “Adeste Fidelis” - John Francis Wade/Pierre Cochereau - Organist Joshua Stafford

7. In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Harold Edwin Darke/David Findlay - Organist Phillip Lamb

8. A Christmas Festival* - Leroy Anderson - Organist Brett Miller

9. Greensleeves - Richard Jones/Richard Purvis - Organist Scott J. Breiner

10. Grand Fantasia on Joy to the World - Marc F. Cheban - Organist Marc F. Cheban

11. The Christmas Waltz - Jule Styne - Organist Brett Miller

12. Fanfare on Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Felix Mendelssohn/Jonathan Bowen - Organist Jonathan M. Bowen

13. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella - Nicolas Saboly/Keith Chapman - Organist Peter Richard Conte

14. The Christmas Song - Mel Tormé - Organist Scott J. Breiner

15. Pastoral Symphony from Messiah - George Frideric Handel - Organist Monte Maxwell

16. Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah - George Frideric Handel - Organist Monte Maxwell

*Played on the Adrian Phillips Theater W. W. Kimball Organ

A Master Tape kept in the vaults of the Wanamaker Store is newly digitized, with a DVD featuring the same music content as the CD—in 5.1 surround sound—plus the Kaleidoplex Digital Light Organ and two bonus videos: CBS-TV's "La Belle Epoque" (30 min.), and a 1980 Fox Evening Magazine interview and mini-recital at the Wanamaker console.

Each unit contains two discs (a CD and a DVD) and a deluxe illustrated booklet. Hear the recording that was voted one of the 100 best records of the century by Stereo Review during the centennial year of Edison's phonograph.

Played on the Wanamaker Organ:

WAGNER: Fanfares from Parsifal
VIERNE: Carillon de Westminster
BACH / FOX: Come Sweet Death
MULET: Thou Art the Rock (Tu es Petra)
ELGAR: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
FAURé: Nocturne from Shylock
WAGNER: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

The CBS Camera Three program, which is titled La Belle Epoque, was performed in a TV studio on Fox's touring organ. Fox plays:

HARRY ROWE SHELLEY: Fanfare
GUILMANT: Marche Religieuse
IVES: Variations on America
ELGAR: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1

The 11-minute TV interview was shot at the Wanamaker Organ in 1980 by Group W's Evening Magazine syndicated TV series. Performance clips include Dr. Fox playing excerpts from Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and the Gigue Fugue. Russ Stanton is the host.