Counterlight

Description

On her new album, Angela Metzger presents a program that places the metaphor of light and darkness at its very center. Works by Louis Vierne, Philipp Maintz, Herbert Howells, and Max Reger unfold a panorama of colors and expressions - from shimmering virtuosity and vivid chorale settings to monumental power. The recording was made on the three-part Eule organ with free-hanging towers in Trier's Konstantin Basilica, an instrument whose design harmonizes with the monumental space while offering orchestral richness. Vierne celebrates light in his Hymne au soleil and the sparkling Feux follets. Philipp Maintz opens new perspectives with two chorale preludes - both presented here as world premiere recordings. Howells, in his Psalm Preludes, moves through the "dark valley" towards consolation, while Reger transforms Protestant chorales into large-scale symphonic statements leading "through night to light." Angela Metzger is among the leading organists of her generation. She has appeared as a soloist with renowned orchestras and at major festivals, won prizes at international competitions, was a laureate of the ARD International Music Competition, and received both the Bavarian State Award for the Advancement of the Arts and the Cultural Award of Bayernwerk AG. Since 2023 she has been teaching organ at the University of Protestant Church Music in Bayreuth. This album unites space, instrument, and repertoire into a listening experience that makes the ancient metaphor "through night to light" vividly audible.