Christmas At Groton

While seemingly simple, the task of choosing the repertoire for a Christmas recording of organ music is not. From the outset, I wanted to show the instrument in it's best light by choosing compositions it would play well, but would also be attractive works to the listeners. The pieces should vary in length and complexity, offer a good balance between popular vs. Unknown compositions, symphonic vs. #crystalline textures, loud vs. #soft, etc. Additionally, I wanted to include works by Black composers and Women composers, elevating their historically marginalized voices. Finally, all these parameters were applied to music that was only chorale- (or carol!) based, for how else would the pieces be considered 'Christmas?' -Eric Plutz, July 2026The choice of the Groton School Organ is historic. Much like architecture, organ building vacillates between periods of exuberance and restraint. Also like architecture, some organs so fundamentally alter the tastes of a generation that they become prototypes, widely imitated. When any artwork is so seminal in impact, it can be hard to see it for the revolutionary example it once was. Sitting down to the Groton Aeolian-Skinner is just such an experience. Finished in late 1935, Groton instituted a new style for American organbuilding. In the first third of the 20th century, American builders were engrossed in suggesting the symphony, either through imitations of orchestral tonalities (Tubas, French and English horns) or in the broader sense of having the organ suggest the sweep and force of the modern symphony.