Yun Kyong Kim - Of Another Time: 1920 Austin Organ, Opus 890 (2011)

The 1920 Austin organ in St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dayton, Ohio, is a Romantic instrument in conception, so Yun Kyong Kim presents a program of works that are best suited to its character and its layout. Organs of the period typically offered an array of imitative stops, including a variety flutes, reeds, and strings, and the organist's ability to produce a nearly orchestral sound was enhanced by the swell boxes and couplers that permitted impressive crescendos and other dynamic effects so dear to Romantic composers. Kim has a strong sympathy for this music, as can be guessed from her frequent use of rubato and tendency to take slow tempos for sentimental or religious moods. But her period-style program is diverse, including pieces by Camille Saint-Saëns, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, Albert Ketèlbey, Percy Grainger, Alexandre Guilmant, Marcel Paponaud, Joseph Bonnet, Guy Weitz, and two works by Cyril Jenkins that serve as bookends for the album. This recording was made without using compression or limiting, so the sound is as close as possible to the organ's actual timbres and physical qualities; the sound of air entering the pipes was not removed from the recording for fear of altering the natural reproduction.