Marcello | PSALM 18 | Diane Bish at St. Bavo Church in Haarlem, Holland

From Program 8812 Diane plays this piece on the historic Christian Müller organ of St. Bavo Church of Haarlem, Holland. "I will praise Thee, O Lord, my strength" by Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) An Italian composer, poet and parliamentarian, born one year after Johann Sebastian Bach. Though he called himself a dilettante, he was thoroughly trained in music. Marcello's masterpiece is considered to be his collection of paraphrases on the first fifty Psalms. Arranged for organ, E. Power Biggs. This song is played during the opening scene of the movie "Gran Torino". An excerpt from "The Glory of the Organ" a CD of Diane playing this organ available on her website: "The church itself stands in the Grote Market of Haarlem and is a building of superlative acoustics, a sound die-away of about eight seconds. The organ, built by Christian Muller of Amsterdam, was begun in 1735 and took three years to complete. Its appearance is spectacular, the casework embroidered with intricate carvings and shining gold leaf. The case is 90 feet high and 50 feet broad. The playing action is, as originally, by direct trackers, and stop control is by hand. People have come from around the world to see and play this organ with its amazing appearance, its smooth, rich sonorities. Even Mozart made a special trip to play the instrument, one of the finest in Europe."