Lawrence Phelps, Organbuilder
Burton Tidwell's book is now available for purchase from the Organ Historical Society! Click here to link to the OHS web page to order the book.

King of Instruments - The Art of Gillian Weir is a set of 5 CDs featuring a wide variety of music on several instruments including Hexham Abbey, demonstrating the capacity of this organ to handle music from many centuries and countries. Click here for detailed track listings and disc numbers (all discs feature works performed on the Hexham instrument except disc 2).

On this two-CD set, Dame Gillian Weir plays Organ Master Series Volume 3 was recorded on the Phelps/Casavant organ of Deer Park United Church, Toronto, and the Lawrence Phelps & Associates Organ of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Ft. Collins, Colorado. This third volume focuses on the contrapuntal genius of Bach's organ music and draws upon the superb polyphonic clarity present in Phelps' work. The discs are accompanied by an extensive program booklet with 30 pages of information. Click here for track information on the gillianweir.com site.

Dame Gillian Weir plays the Phelps Organ at Hexham Abbey. Priory CD 752 is the Organ Master Series Volume 2, featuring organs built by her late husband Lawrence Phelps. Playing works by Attaignant, J.S. Bach, Schnizer, Mozart, Hindemith and Françaix, Gillian Weir takes you on a musical time-machine adventure through the centuries using the Hexham instrument as the vehicle. The music spans a period of over 400 years, ranging from the simple delights of Attaignant to the sophisticated colors and rythms of Françaix. This CD is an accomplishment on so many levels, revealing Dame Gillian Weir's precise, sensitive, musical performances and refreshing repertoire; Lawrence Phelps' instrument of color, refinement, power and beauty; Priory's fine sound recording, all on the Abbey's fortunate choice of project for its 1300th anniversary in 1974!

Dame Gillian Weir plays at The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. Priory CD 751 is the Organ Master Series Volume 1. Playing works by Jongen, Willan, Hindemith and Reubke, this virtuoso performance on one of America's largest organs displays the full range of color and dynamic this instrument is capable of. Several articles below refer to the tonal design of this instrument as originally implemented. The program notes that accompany this spectacular CD describe the changes made to the instrument when it was reconditioned from 1995-1999 under Phelps' supervision.

John Stanley, Six Organ Concertos, Gerald Gifford with the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra recorded in Hexham Abbey. CRD 3365. A delightful recording where the singing, lyrical quality of this responsive mechanical action instrument comes to life.

Organ Music from Hexham Abbey - Recording by Gerald Gifford. Includes works by Bach, Krebs, Albinoni, Daquin, Couperin, Gerber, Bruhns, Walther, Pachelbel, Stanley, and Wesley.

The Phelps Organ at Hexham - Recording by John Green, the Abbey's Director of Music from 1985-2000. Includes works by JS Bach, Böhm, de Grigny, CPE Bach, and Mendelssohn.

Organ Classics - Recording by Hugh Morris, assistant organist at Hexham Abbey from 2001-2009. Includes works by Karg-Elert, Bach, Franck, Boëllmann, Bridge, Fletcher, Jongen, Andriessen, Mulet, Elgar and Widor.