“If you love well recorded organs, recordings with all the resonance, air, and full frequency response that you hear when you’re listening to it live, you need to get this outstanding new recording made by Jake Purches for his Base2 Music label. Over recent years, Jake has released some stellar organ recordings, but this is perhaps his best yet. When I first listened to the opening track, all I could say in my head was WOW! It sounds so good, so realistic, so filled with the sonics of an excellent organ played in a marvellous natural acoustic space.”
– Rush Paul, Positive Feedback

A fantastic musical journey on the Seifert organ of the Marienbasilika, Kevelaer, home to one of Germany’s largest Romantic-style organs.

Exclusively Available in Stereo & 5.1 Channel Surround Sound DSD 256, DSD 128 and 32 Bit DXD as well as Stereo DSD 512 & DSD 1024 from the Edit Master Source at NativeDSD! 

This recording was originally planned as a gesture of gratitude to the Saint-Eustache Church in Paris for allowing me to serve as the substitute organist of the great organ from May 1971 to September 1993. It was scheduled to take place in July 2023 at Saint-Eustache with the agreement of the two organists and the clergy. However, due to the poor condition of the instrument, and other unforeseen circumstances, we had to select another venue.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to Elmar Lehnen organist of one of Europe’s most magnificent organs at the Marienbasilika, Kevelaer in Germany, for generously making his recently restored instrument available to us in August 2024. I am especially pleased to include him among the participants in this recording, as he is one of my former students. I am fortunate to have also brought together several of my former students for this project: Vera Zveginstseva from Russia, Alice Nardo and Gabriele Studer from Italy and Jean-Marie Fritz from Dijon, France.

From Bach to Wagner, this recording offers a selection of masterpieces, adapted for the organ, showcasing the great Seifert organ’s remarkable dexterity, versatility, subtlety and power.
– Jean-Paul Imbert, organist

People often ask me, “Why organ music? Isn’t that just for church?” Of course—but those who truly understand never ask. They know there’s more to it than that! For those discovering the world of organ music—perhaps through Anna Lapwood’s advocacy or Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar, I’m thrilled to present Organ Fantasy, a musical journey to engage, relax, and inspire. If you’re listening in 5.1 Channel Surround Sound, you’ll hear the grand organ from the front and the Fernwerk organ from behind.

We first recorded in Kevelaer in 2019 for Passacaglia, which garnered 13,000 YouTube views for Jean-Paul Imbert’s performance of Bach’s Komm, süßer Tod (Virgil Fox arr.). At that time, maybe only 60% of the organ was functional, despite the lush string sounds. Now, in 2024, it has been fully rebuilt by its maker, Seifert—transformed into greater magnificence with endless sound combinations. A veritable Grand Organ!
– Jacob Purches, Base2 Music

Jean-Paul Imbert
Jean-Marie Fritz
Elmar Lehnen
Alice Nardo
Gabriele Studer
Vera Zveguintseva