Recording projects brings Chorales and Organ Preludes together on a new CD

Dear friend of music at First Lutheran,

We are fundraising for a new recording project of the Clavier-übung III by J. S. Bach with the vocal settings of the Chorales, to be published by Hungaroton, distributed by Naxos in the United States. The CD will be available both as a high quality hard copy, including a booklet with program notes, the German texts and English translations of the chorales, and a digital version available online at the Naxos Library, iTunes, Spotify, CD Baby and more. All future CD sales and royalties from online sales support the music program at First Lutheran Church of Boston. My goal is to release the CDs by February 16, 2014 to coincide with the 175^th anniversary of First Lutheran Church of Boston.

Sometimes referred to as the “Lutheran Organ Mass,” the Clavier-übung III is considered J. S. Bach’s single most important corpus of solo organ music including the great Eb Major Prelude and Fugue and some of the most elaborate and artistically challenging chorale preludes in the entire organ repertoire. My motivation to record this monumental organ collection with the vocal settings of chorales stems from my desire to present the organ preludes in the liturgical context Bach might have experienced as a student. Also, this release will be the only recording on the market that features both the organ preludes and the sung chorales on which they are based.

This CD recording will have special relevance for Boston music lovers because 1) it is recorded on the Richards & Fowkes Opus X instrument in Boston, one of the most authentic organs for Bach in the USA, 2) the recording will be a first featuring the a cappella versions of the chorales by the composers whose choral settings most influenced the young Bach: Michael Praetorius, Samuel Scheidt, and Johann Hermann Schein and 3) it will commemorate the 175^th anniversary of Boston’s oldest continuous German Lutheran congregation.

I have already started recording the organ chorales on the Richards & Fowkes instrument in Boston this August and FLC’s own Artist-in-Residence choral group Canto Armonico  has recorded the chorales on September 7th and 8^th under the direction of Ulf Wellner, Kantor of the St. Jakobi church in Lübeck.

Wir Glauben-with chorale

I thank you for any contribution you are able to give us. In addition to tax credit, you will receive the following rewards:

For a contribution of $250 and up you will receive 5 hard copies of the double CDs ($150 worth of retail value).

For a contribution of $500 and up you will receive 10 hard copies of the double CDs ($300 worth of retail value).

For a contribution of $1000 and up you will receive  20 hard copies of the double CDs ($600 worth of retail value) and be listed as a contributor on the CD with an invitation to the CD release party.

For a contribution of $2000 and up you will receive 40 hard copies of the double CDs ($1200 worth of retail value), be listed as a contributor on the CD with an invitation to the CD release party.

Where your money is going:

To a $3,000 flat fee for mixing and editing the final master (to recording engineer Jamie Tag).

To a $475  fee for the September recording session (to Christopher Greenleaf).

To a $ 1,000 budget for artwork and booklet design including program notes (TBA)

To cover the $ 2,000 publication, post-production and marketing costs (to Hungaroton).

To support the music program at First Lutheran Church of Boston, who will collect royalties from all future CD sales. My total fundraising goal by October 1, 2013 is $6,500

Please make checks payable to First Lutheran Church of Boston returning this form: CD sales sheet

I thank you for your support of great music at First Lutheran Church of Boston and beyond.

Sincerely,

Bálint Karosi