Alexander Weimann – A Prayer for Peace

A Prayer for Peace: The Art of Improvisation, Volume 1
Alexander Weimann, organ

TRACKS:
1. A Prayer for Peace (40:15)

Organ – A Prayer for Peace
Gregorian Chants serve as the foundation for the piece, played on the wonderful organ at Holy Rosary Cathedral in downtown Vancouver. What’s captured here really happened “ex tempore”, in one complete take.

My improvisation re-imagines the so-called Organ Mass in which parts of the religious service alternate between singing the chant and playing/improvising on the organ. The sequence loosely reflects the Christian liturgy. For Plain Chant, I included parts of the “Missa Cunctipotens Genitor Deus” (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei), and added two free, unbound and fancier movements, one after the Gloria and one after the Sanctus. The first is a meditation on change or the conversion of thinking, perceiving and living (µετάνοια); the second was inspired by the “elevation toccata”, music that depicts the mystery of death and transfiguration.

The last line in the “Agnus Dei” serves as the cornerstone of the whole improvisation. Its words are “Give us peace”. For the conclusion of this musical prayer, I picked the Lutheran hymn “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan” (What God ordains is always good).
AW

A Prayer for Peace is available from:

Recorded at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver

Producer: Denise Ball
Recording/mix engineer: Brian Chan
Mastering: Will Howie

ALEXANDER WEIMANN
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music.

Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.)

He is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra.
Alex offers master classes at European and North American universities and is on faculty at the University of British Columbia.
More than anything, he loves to improvise – something, he says, humans do all the time, just by making conversation.

Alexander Weimann, musicien de renommée internationale, a passé sa vie enveloppé de la beauté et du pouvoir thérapeutique de la musique.
Alex a grandi à Munich. Dès l’âge de trois ans, il a été fasciné par la magie intense de l’orgue d’église. Il a commencé à apprendre le piano à six ans, l’orgue à 12 ans, et le clavecin durant ses études universitaires (parallèlement au latin médiéval, aux études théâtrales et au piano jazz).
Aujourd’hui, il est très recherché comme directeur musical, musicien soliste et chambriste, et il se produit aux quatre coins du monde avec les meilleurs ensembles de l’Amérique du Nord et de l’Europe. Il est directeur artistique du Pacific Baroque Orchestra à Vancouver et figure sur plus de 100 albums, dont Prima Donna — mettant en vedette Karina Gauvin et l’orchestre baroque Arion — qui a été récompensé par un prix Juno.
Alex, qui donne régulièrement des classes de maître dans des universités européennes et nord-américaines, fait partie du corps enseignant de l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique.
Plus que tout, il aime improviser — chose que, selon lui, les humains font tous les jours, par le simple fait de converser.