Giles Swayne: Stations of the Cross, Books 1 & 2 Simon Nieminski

• Book I
• 1No. 1. Jesus is sentenced to death04:50
• 2No. 2. Jesus takes up the cross02:13
• 3No. 3. The first fall02:20
• 4No. 4. Jesus and his mother05:10
• 5No. 5. Simon of Cyrene04:18
• 6No. 6. Veronica03:51
• 7No. 7. The second fall07:52
• Book 2
• 8No. 8. The women of Jerusalem05:00
• 9No. 9. The third fall03:13
• 10No. 10. Jesus is stripped of his clothes04:33
• 11No. 11. Jesus is nailed to the cross02:49
• 12No. 12. Jesus dies on the cross03:43
• 13No. 13. Jesus' body is laid in his mother's arms02:46
• 14No. 14. Jesus' body is laid in the tomb07:40
• Total Runtime01:00:18

Info for Giles Swayne: Stations of the Cross, Books 1 & 2

Resonus Classics is proud to release the world premiere recording of Giles Swayne's epic organ work Stations of the Cross. Making his Resonus debut with Stations is the Edinburgh-based organist Simon Niemiński.

Recorded on the 2007 Matthew Copley organ of St Mary's Metroplitan Cathedral in Edinburgh - where Simon is the resdent organist - this extensive solo work is at the pinnacle of virtuosic organ repertoire, with each of the fourteen movements representing an episode in the story of the Passion of Christ.

Composed during autumn 2004 and early 2005, and at one hour in length, Stations is one of the most significant and substantial organ works to have been commissioned in recent times. Focusing particularly on those human aspects of the Passion most important to Swayne, he has created an intensely powerful and descriptive work that surely ranks among the most important works of the organ repertoire.

'A superlative performance of the highest quality.' (The Organ) '[...] performed with taste and sensitivity. There is a lot of poetry here.' (American Record Guide)

Simon Niemiński, organ

The Organ of St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh

Simon Niemiński
was born in London and is descended from an unlikely mixture of Edwardian Japanese acrobats, Lancastrian Music Hall artistes and a Polish army veteran. He studied in London at the Royal College of Music, at Cambridge University and as Organ Scholar of York Minster. He is Organist of St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, and Director of Music at The Robin Chapel in Edinburgh, having previously been Organist and Master of the Music at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, where he directed the choir in daily choral services, concerts, recordings and broadcasts.

Over the airwaves he has featured in programmes including The Organist Entertains on BBC Radio 2, to Choral Evensong several times live on BBC Radio 3, and Pipedreams in the USA. As a recitalist, he has played at venues around the UK, Europe and the USA. His programmes include unusual but attractive repertoire and it is his aim to play programmes which appeal to organ aficionados and sceptics alike.

His recordings have helped to revive the music of unjustly neglected composers, including releases of the Promenades en Provence by Eugène Reuchsel and the symphonies of Edward Shippen Barnes – American pupil of Louis Vierne. Reviews have included: ‘This is a splendid release […] There is a lot of poetry here.’ (The American Record Guide) and ‘Simon Niemiński’s playing is utterly convincing and at one stroke establishes him as a recording artist of the first rank’ (Organists’ Review)

An interest in transcriptions has resulted in recordings of works inspired by Shakespeare, and another of Elgar, including the complete Enigma Variations (‘Romantic organ playing at its best’: The Organ). A recording by Simon on the 2007 organ of St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral was reviewed as a Star Recording in The Organ magazine (‘[…] a triumph for both organ and organist…’).

Other recent releases are of the new organ at First Baptist Church, Abilene, Texas, and the first recording of the restored 1913 Brindley & Foster organ in Freemasons’ Hall, Edinburgh. In October 2012 he made his first recordings for Resonus Classics, of Giles Swayne’s monumental Stations of the Cross for solo organ, and works by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (including some first recordings.)

Booklet for Giles Swayne: Stations of the Cross, Books 1 & 2