The Samuel Maetz organ in Cincșor (Kleinschenk) is one of the most sonorous instruments in any Transylvanian village, and was restored to its original state in 2014. It is presented here with a wide-ranging programme of baroque and classical music.
Meißner Kantorei 1961
Christfried Brödel, conductor
Ursula Philippi, organ
Supersonic Award from the magazine "pizzicato" (Luxembourg, May 2009 issue) for this recording
Complete Organ Sonatas
Ursula Philippi, Sibiu
The four organ sonatas are all single-movement works. Unlike the six sonatas op. 65 written slightly earlier by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, not one of Ritter's sonatas quotes a chorale. Where Mendelssohn, in his F minor organ sonata, had set out to adapt sonata form to the organ - taking the chorale "Was mein Gott will, gescheh allzeit" as his second subject, setting it against a fugal main theme and finally uniting the two in an apotheosis - Ritter instead wrote free "fantasy sonatas", which are not built on sonata form at all.
Ursula Philippi
Eckart Schlandt
A survey of the Transylvanian organ landscape. Transylvania, today part of Romania, presents a richly layered and colourful picture of organ building. The surviving instruments - in Roman Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran and Unitarian churches - span the 17th to the 20th century, from a two-stop positive to an organ of 6000 pipes...
The double album received the German Record Critics' Award (quarterly list) in 1992.