With the return of warmer days, it is once again a pleasure to enjoy a musical moment in the Abbatiale of Payerne… We are delighted to welcome organist Freddie James, who has been active for several years in Lucerne. His program goes far beyond the borders of 17th-century Italy, much like his life journey…
Freddie James is a versatile organist and harpsichordist, equally at home with early music, the works of Romantic composers such as Franck and Reger, and contemporary repertoire. He is organist at the Franziskanerkirche in Lucerne and teaches organ at the Hochschule Luzern-Musik. Freddie has performed numerous solo recitals throughout Europe, including at Westminster Abbey, Southwark Cathedral, St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Coventry Cathedral, St John’s Smith Square, Huddersfield Town Hall, King’s College in Cambridge, the Grote Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, the Laurenskerk in Alkmaar, Zurich’s Grossmünster, the Stadtkirche in Winterthur, and the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart.
He is also in high demand as a continuo player on organ and harpsichord and has performed with many ensembles, including the London Mozart Players, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Corund, Il Gusto Barocco, Capricornus Consort Basel, Staatsorchester Kassel, and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Freddie’s career began as a chorister at Southwark Cathedral in London. He later became organist at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he worked daily with the college’s renowned choir, accompanying them in a busy schedule of services, tours, recordings, and broadcasts. With the choir, he has performed in many venues around the world, including in Japan, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. He studied musicology at the University of Cambridge, organ at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jacques van Oortmerssen, and organ and harpsichord at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Künste Stuttgart with Ludger Lohmann and Jörg Halubek, as well as at the Schola Cantorum in Basel with Francesco Corti, Tobias Lindner, and Andrea Marcon. He has won prizes at organ competitions in Innsbruck, Alkmaar, Wiesbaden, Boston, Sion, Béthune, Pistoia, and Treviso.
Marco Antonio Cavazzoni (c. 1490–c. 1560):
Recercare Primo
Salve Virgo
Claudio Veggio (early 16th century):
Recercada per b quadro del primo tono
Francesco Lombardi (c. 1587–1642):
Toccata
Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625):
Fantazia in foure parts
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643):
Toccata Quarta (Libro Secondo)
Toccata Sesta (Libro Secondo)
William Byrd (c. 1540–1623):
Fantasia in A minor
Free admission, collection
Duration: 1 hour
Concert organized by the Association for the Promotion of the Ahrend Organs in Payerne.
