Axel Ruoff: Complete Works for Organ, Volume Two

The organ works of Axel Ruoff, born in Stuttgart in 1957, constitute one of the most important contributions to the literature for the instrument by any composer since Messiaen. Stylistically, his music unites the French cathedral tradition of composers like Langlais, Dupré and Guillou with the concern with counterpoint and logic heard in Reger and later German figures. Like Messiaen, Ruoff often finds stimulus in religious sources; unlike him, it is biblical narrative that inspires many of Ruoff’s works, and he uses the unparalleled resources of the modern symphonic organ in his responses to some of the most dramatic scenes in both Testaments, writing music of freewheeling energy and uncompromising power.

Jan Lehtola organ of St Michael’s Church, Turku, Finland