Organists (l to r) Beth Zucchino, Angela Kraft Cross and Harold Julander March 18

ORGAN VIRTUOSITY IN CROSS' CREATIVE ARTS SERIES RECITAL

Bay area virtuoso organist Angela Kraft Cross favored Sonoma County organ fans with a bounteous floribunda of favorite organ classics in a March 18 recital at Santa Rosa's Resurrection Parish, produced by the Creative Arts Series.

Ms. Cross’s robustly athletic program featured Bach’s Fantasie and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542, and the chorale Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam; Mendelssohn’s Allegro, Chorale and Fugue in D; Schumann’s Canons in A flat and B minor, Opus 56; Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on B*A*C*H*; and the popular Symphonie VI in G minor by Widor.

However, for a welcoming introduction, Ms. Cross played her own composition from 2009, A Joyous Celebration. This work is an exuberantly happy arrangement of canons dancing in perfect counterpoint. Although composed for the solemnity of a friend’s wedding, one could imagine, when listening to this lovely invention, that the entire Bay Area morning commute had become suddenly giddy with springtime. We should hear it every morning on the radio. I recommend it.

This entire program was performed with unrelenting artistry, unhesitating tempo, and delicately articulated touch appropriate to each composer. The familiar standards of the organ literature were played note perfect and heart felt as if they could be immediate inventions of the performer.

The artist employed the organ sensitively and correctly underpowered for the instrument’s space. The Allen Renaissance Quantum digital organ has four separate and complete tonal resources for use: English Cathedral, French Romantic, American Classic, and Neo-Baroque.

Angela Kraft Cross is well known as a performing artist and promoter of organ performance in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to her music career, Ms. Cross is an ophthalmologist.