In his short life (1839–72) Eduard Adolf Tod garnered a reputation as one of the finest organists of the day: Liszt praised his playing, and he gave a recital in the Royal Albert Hall in the very year of its opening. Most of Tod’s handful of works for the organ – solo and as a duo partner – have not been recorded before; here they are joined by three other little-known German organ sonatas to give an overview of the genre as it evolved from its well-behaved Mendelssohnian origins into late-Romantic grandeur.

Jan Lehtola, organ of St John’s Church, Helsinki
Tuulia Ylönen, clarinet (Track 7)
Petri Komulainen, horn (Track 13)

Ludwig Thuille: Sonata in A minor, Op. 2 (1889)
Carl Reinecke: Sonata in G minor, Op. 284 (1909)
Eduard Adolf Tod: Fantasie: Wie schön leucht’t uns der Morgenstern for clarinet and organ, Op. 4
Eduard Adolf Tod: Introduction und Fuge über das Benedicamus Domino (1867)
Eduard Adolf Tod: Sonata in B flat major, Op. 3 (1865)
Eduard Adolf Tod: Andante religioso for horn and organ, Op. 10
August Ritter: Sonata in A minor, Op. 23 (1855)