Bruce Stevens plays the Taylor & Boody organ completed in 1980 as Op. 3 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, Virginia, where Stevens was Director of Music, at the time. He recorded the first six pieces listed below in 1981 as the first Raven LP phonograph record, which was released the same year.

Georg Böhm 1661–1733: Prelude and Fugue in D Minor
Dieterich Buxtehude 1637–1707:  Chorale Prelude Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist, BuxWV 209
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685–1750: Trio Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr’, BWV 664
Johann Kaspar Kerll 1627–1693: Passacaglia in D Minor
J. S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 566
Johann Pachelbel 1653–1706: Chorale Partita Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan

From the live Inaugural Concert played by Bruce Stevens, October 25, 1980:

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck 1562–1621: Variations Unter der Linden grüne
J. S. Bach: Chorale Prelude Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654
Jehan Alain 1911-1940: Deux danses à Agni Yavishta
Felix Mendelssohn 1809-1847: Sonata I in F Minor, op. 65, no. 1

Program Notes

Georg Böhm 1661–1733:
Prelude and Fugue in D Minor
Böhm held the important position of organist at the Johanniskirche in Lüneburg in northern Germany. Though central German by birth, his musical stye embraced northern German and, at times, French elements. This piece is a multi-sectional north German Praeludium. It includes a short opening with a bravura pedal solo, a fugue, a free section with fast, descending scales, a gigue-like second fugue based on a variant of the first fugue's subject, and a brief coda with a brilliant keyboard flourish.

Dieterich Buxtehude 1637–1707:
Chorale Prelude Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist
Following early positions as organist in Denmark and in what is now Sweden, Buxtehude was appointed in 1668 to the prestigious Marienkirche in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck near Hamburg and Lüneburg. His position was that of organist and church bookkeeper. To the established chorale prelude style, Buxtehude added his personal stamp of subjective expression. The elaborately ornamented solo line is highly charged with emotion suggested by the text of the chorale “Now we pray to the Holy Ghost.” This setting of the Pentecost chorale has the decorated melody in the soprano voice.

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750:
Trio Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr'
If the ten surviving organ settings of Allein Gott by Bach are any indication, this chorale was a favorite of his: there are twice as many settings by Bach of this chorale melody for the Gloria in excelsis (Glory be to God on high) metrical text as his next most frequently set chorale. This trio comes from the collection called the Eighteen Chorales, which Bach assembled from his earlier years and copied/revised in Leipzig during his last year. Here, the chorale melody is not stated in full, but rather, the opening phrase forms the basis for a lively movement in the style of an Italian sonata for two violins and basso continuo. Only near the end of the piece are the first two phrases of the chorale stated unadorned in the bass voice, played on the organ pedals.

Johann Kaspar Kerll 1627–1693:
Passacaglia in D Minor
Kerll, born in Adorf in southern Saxony, traveled south for his study and employment. He served in Vienna under the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and then journeyed to Italy for a period of study with Carissimi. While there, it is likely that he came in contact with the Italian virtuoso organist and harpsichordist Frescobaldi. A court appointment in Munich followed, then a short time as Imperial Chapel organist in Vienna, and finally a return to Munich in 1683 upon the siege of Vienna by the Turks. The Passacaglia is built on a standard four-note descending bass line, which is at times colored by chromatic passing tones and ornamental figures. Sometimes it is moved to an upper voice, or it is merely suggested by the harmonies used.

J. S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Major
This work also exists in the key of E major and also has the title Toccata and Fugue. German Baroque composers often used titles rather loosely and were known to transpose pieces frequently due to the many different pitch levels and systems of tuning that organs of that day employed. The work is played here in C major, a purer key in unequal temperament than E major. Like Böhm's Prelude and Fugue, it actually consists of multiple sections, in the north German manner — a prelude, a fugue, a rhapsodic section, and a second fugue in three-four meter based on a variant of the first fugue's subject.

Johann Pachelbel 1653–1706:
Chorale Partita Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
Through his many travels, Pachelbel made contact with Kerll, studying with him in Vienna, and later with the Bach family, teaching Johann Sebastian's older brother, Johann Christoph, in Eisenach. Pachelbel provides a link between southern and central German compositional styles since his employment involved positions in both Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches. He began and ended life in Nuremberg. The chorale partitas may have been intended for clavier rather than organ, but they are equally suited to the organ and are heard most frequently today on that instrument. The chorale Whate'er God ordains is right is still in use today in German and American hymnals. Various types of musical figures are employed in different variations, at times placed against the undecorated melody, at other times embellishing the melody itself. This work displays the many tone-color possibilities of the organ especially well.
– Notes by Grant Hellmers


Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck 1562–1621:
Variations on Unter der Linden grüne
Known as the Deutscher Organistenmacher (Maker of German Organists), the Amsterdam organist and teacher Sweelinck was sought out by numerous foreign, later-to-be-famous organists for instruction in both organ playing and composition. Needless to say, his own compositions are masterworks in the various organ styles of the day. His variations on secular songs such as Under the green linden trees are probably intended first and foremost for the harpsichord. Nevertheless, the custom at this early date was to play much keyboard music equally successfully on a variety of keyboard instruments. The tone colors available in the organ seem well suited to portraying the wide range of expression suggested by this alle­mande dance theme. Following the assertive statement of the stately theme, three variations elaborate on the theme in richly creative ways.

J. S. Bach: 
Chorale Prelude Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele
Another of the eighteen chorales that Bach assembled and copied during his last year, this setting of “Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness” is one of Bach's most beautiful ornamented chorales. Above a serenely flowing accompaniment loosely based on the contours of the melody, each phrase of the melody receives lovingly decorated treatment in the soprano voice. The extensive accompanimental material carrying on between appearances of the melodic phrases holds as much interest and beauty as the solo itself as it flows ever forward.

Jehan Alain 1911-1940:
Deux danses à Agni Yavishta
French organist, composer, and soldier Jehan Alain did not leave many works when he died at the age of 29 in World War II, but those that he left are significant. These “two dances of the very young god Agni” were inspired by the exotic music Alain experienced at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Paris. The unusual Eastern rhythms, bizarre modal scales, and strange instruments he heard fascinated the young composer. The sprightly antics of Agni, the god of fire and god of home hearth, are depicted in both dances, but is that a herd of lumbering elephants at the beginning of the second dance? Perhaps.

Felix Mendelssohn 1809-1847:
Sonata I in F Minor, op. 65, no. 1
Felix Mendelssohn's six organ sonatas, opus 65, were published in 1845 by the English publisher Coventry and Hollier, who had commissioned the composer to write a “set of volun­taries.” Mendelssohn began by composing seven individual voluntaries but then decided to change course and expand the commission by grouping these pieces and those to come into six sonatas. Thus, he created not works in classical sonata form, but suites consisting of varying numbers of movements in a variety of forms. The first sonata was supplied with four movements, three of which are quite dramatic. In the first movement, phrases of the chorale Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit (What my God wants always happens) are heard quietly interrupting the fortissimo excitement. The peace­ful second movement in A-flat major is one of Mendelssohn's lovely “songs without words,“ with its flowing melody and beautiful harmonies.  

Taylor & Boody Op. 3, 1980
The organ at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, was designed and constructed in 1980 by Taylor & Boody Organbuilders in Staunton, Virginia. It is a two-manual tracker (mechanical action) instrument with 18 registers and is designated Opus 3 on our work list. Although it is modeled after classical North German and Dutch instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries, it is not a copy of any particular historic instrument. Rather, in designing it we sought to incorporate many of the characteristics of the historic instruments that we feel are as relevant to church organs today as they were 300 years ago.

The Westminster organ is encased in a free-standing, resonant cabinet of solid poplar and oak painted to complement the interior of the church. The architectural design of the organ case is integrated with the space requirements of the pipework and the mechanical key and stop actions. The case stands upright very much like a person with arms upraised. The windchests for the Hauptwerk and Pedal divisions are housed in the upper case, while the Brustwerk division sits below behind paneled doors. The casework is embellished with moldings and hand-carved mahogany pipe shades. The arrangement of the front pipes, the Principal 8', dictates both the layout of the pipes inside the case and the size of the windchests. The playing action is simple and durable: the robust parts of wood and metal provide a light and responsive control of the pipes' speech. The organ is winded by a small electric blower that fills a cuneiform bellows. Wind is carried to the windchests through narrow wooden canals, which give the music a singing, buoyant quality.

The tonal character and volume of the organ's pipes are adjusted after the organ is installed in the church. Each pipe must be made to blend with its neighbors in its own stop or register. In turn, each stop needs to work well not only as a solo sound, but also in combination with other stops to form cohesive combinations. This fitting of an organ to the acoustics of the room makes it unique among musical instruments, for the sound of the pipes is inseparable from their acoustical environment. Westminster Church is neither large nor overly reverberant, but it provides a clear and flattering acoustical setting for this organ, which has more then 1,000 pipes hand-made out of wood or an alloy of lead and tin.

The instrument is moderate in size. It does not offer the great variety of registers that would be found in a large church or concert organ. Rather, the design is focused on the essentials of a well-developed principal chorus for accompanying the liturgy and leading the singing of hymns. Fortunately, this modest two-­manual instrument provides a most suitable medium for the performance of organ literature of the 17th and 18th centuries. One concession to contemporary usage is the inclusion of swell shutters on the back of the Brustwerk enclosure, which can be utilized when the doors on the front are closed.

We feel that the economy of design and durable simplicity of the playing mechanism has much to offer in an age of excess and conspicuous waste. We have confidence that instruments such as the Westminster organ can stand for many generations as testimony to the positive creative ability and artistic achievement of which people of our time are capable.
 – Taylor & Boody Organbuilders,
John H. Boody, 7 May 1981

Taylor & Boody, Op. 3, 1980
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, Virginia

Hauptwerk 56 notes
Bourdon 16'
Principal 8'
Rohrflöte 8'
Octave 4'
Quinte 2-2/3'
Superoctave 2'
Gemshorn 2' (prepared)
Tertia 1-3/5'
Mixture IV
Brustwerk to Hauptwerk (shove)

Brustwerk 56 notes (expressive)
Gedackt 8' (oak)
Rohrflöte 4'
Octave 2'
Quinte 1-1/3'
Zimbel II
Regal 8'

Pedal 30 notes
Subbass 16' (poplar)
Octave 8'
Trompet 8'
Hauptwerk to Pedal
Brustwerk to Pedal

Tremulant (entire organ)
Zimbelstern
Balanced Swell Pedal

Bruce Stevens was Organist and Choir Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, from 1978 through 1982. He oversaw the installation of the Taylor & Boody organ, played the inaugural recitals, and established the Westminster Concert Series. After receiving music degrees from the University of Richmond and the University of Illinois, Stevens moved to Europe for three years of organ study, first in Copenhagen with Finn Viderø and Grethe Krogh and then in Vienna with Anton Heiller. He was a finalist in the AGO organ performance competition as well as in other competitions held in Los Angeles and Fort Wayne. He has recorded seven discs for Raven Recordings, including a series of CDs devoted to Josef Rheinberger's organ sonatas played on various historic American organs. In 2025, he is Instructor of Organ at the University of Richmond, Organist of Richmond's First Pres­by­terian Church, and director of Historic Organ Study Tours (HOST), which he founded in 1994 to further the study of historic organs throughout Europe.