Renée Anne Louprette joins the 25th anniversary celebration of the mighty N.P. Mander Organ for the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (980 Park Avenue) with a retrospective performance tracing her relationship to this New York cultural landmark on Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 3 p.m.
The performance coincides with the release of her latest recording, Une voix française | A French voice, a collection of 20th-century French organ masterworks recorded on the N. P. Mander Organ; a reception celebrating the album release will be held immediately following Louprette’s recital. The performance is a homecoming for Louprette, who served as Associate Director of Music and curator of the N.P. Mander Organ recital series at St. Ignatius Loyola from 2005 to 2011. Tickets are $25; purchase at smssconcerts.org or call 212-288-2520.
Louprette’s recital is part of a season-long celebration of the N.P. Mander Organ’s silver anniversary, featuring a slate of distinguished organists. Past performances have included Kent Tritle and Simon Johnson; the series concludes with David Higgs, who christened the instrument during its inaugural recital in 1993. The organ weighs in at 30 tons and 45 feet high, and comprises four manuals, 68 stops, and 5,000 pipes.
The recital opens with two Bach works from the Clavier-Übung, Part III. Louprette recently recorded the complete pedal settings from Clavier-Übung III on the Craighead-Saunders organ of Christ Church in Rochester, NY, to be released on the Acis productions label later in 2018.
The program then moves on to works by Nicolas de Grigny and Ad Wammes, and features the debut of Louprette’s new collaboration with traditional Irish musician Ivan Goff in an exploration of ancient airs and dances from Ireland and Scandinavia.
Pieces by Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Duruflé conclude the recital and represent the repertoire featured on her new solo recording Une voix française | A French voice on the Acis Productions label.
For information: smssconcerts.org
