“a fine account of some organ repertoire which deserves to be heard”
– Choir & Organ Magazine

“Eastern European minor and chromatic Modern sensibilities dominate with a richness of imagination and dramatic flourish that mark the program out as notable and fascinating to hear in depth. Gail Archer casts a steady artistic light on the music in winning fashion.” – Classical Modern Music

What: Organist Gail Archer Performs Free Concert

When: Sunday, January 16, 2022, at 4:00 p.m.

Where: Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, 111 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA, 94109

Tickets + Info: Free. For more information, please contact the church at 415.567.2020 or visit SMCSF.org.

Internationally acclaimed organist and recording artist Gail Archer rekindles her nationwide tour (halted by COVID last year) of Ukrainian organ music off of her latest album: Chernivtsi: Contemporary Ukrainian Organ Music (Released 2020, Meyer Media). Known for enthralling listeners with her musicality, sensitivity, and visceral quality, Archer introduces listeners to rarely performed works by six 19th-21st century Ukrainian composers.

The organ literature of Eastern Europe is little known in the West, both in Western Europe and the United States. Archer is dedicated to drawing attention to Ukrainian modern composers through ongoing research and performances. “The richness and variety of the Ukrainian organ literature deserves international attention, as the beauty and vital creative spirit in this music inspires and rewards the performer as well as the listener,” says Gail Archer. “It is my sincere hope that many people will take the journey to Chernivtsi, and come away refreshed, renewed and ever more curious about the musical arts in Eastern Europe today.”

Archer has had a long-time interest in the vibrant organ culture of Ukraine. Since 2011, Archer has performed each year in Eastern Europe resulting in her election as a faculty member at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute. The new CD was recorded in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, on a fine Riegger-Kloss organ in the city’s Armenian Catholic Church.

Archer's recordings span the 17th-21st centuries, a festive discography that highlights her musical mastery on grand Romantic instruments as well as Baroque tracker organs. This latest album is the second in a trilogy of recordings of contemporary organ literature from Eastern Europe. The third will feature Polish works and the first was A Russian Journey (2017), that included music from the 19th-21st centuries by Russian composers Glasunow, Cui, Ljapunow, Slonimski, Shaversashvili and Mussorgsky. “The superb musicianship, masterly technique and programming savvy informing the American organist Gail Archer’s previous Meyer Media releases prevail throughout ‘A Russian Journey’.” (Gramophone)

About Gail Archer

Gail Archer is an international concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor and lecturer who draws attention to composer anniversaries or musical themes with her annual recital series including Max Reger, The Muse's Voice, An American Idyll, Liszt, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Messiaen. Ms. Archer was the first American woman to play the complete works of Olivier Messiaen. Time Out New York recognized the Messiaen cycle as "Best of 2008" in classical music and opera. Her recordings include A Russian Journey, The Muse's Voice, Franz Lizst: A Hungarian Rhapsody, Bach: The Transcendent Genius, An American Idyll, A Mystic in the Making (Meyer Media), and The Orpheus of Amsterdam: Sweelinck and his Pupils (CALA Records). Ms. Archer's 2019 European tour took her to the British Isles, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Poland, Russian and Malta. Highlights include the St. Giles Cathedral Edinburgh, Scotland, the Basilica of Loyola, San Sebastian, Spain, St. Mary’s Church, Cracow, Poland, Holy Cross Church, Lublin, Poland, the Philharmonic of Lviv, Ukraine, and the Lutheran Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Moscow, Russia. She is the founder of Musforum, www.musforum.org, an international network for women organists to promote and affirm their work.

Ms. Archer is a college organist at Vassar College, a faculty member of Harriman Institute of Columbia University, and director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus and Chamber Singers. www.gailarcher.com