Heavy Pedal Vol. 2
Deon Nielsen Price composer
John Rommereim composer
Christopher J. Hoh composer
Richard E Brown composer
Karel Martínek organ
The aptly-titled HEAVY PEDAL VOL. 2 from Navona Records is the second installment of an organ-centric series of albums. Featuring the music of composers Christopher Hoh, Deon Price, Richard E Brown, and John Rommereim, the collection lives up to its name; these organ works are some of the most powerful that classical music has to offer. From Hoh’s Concertino Corona, inspired by the hardships and seeds of hope from COVID-19, to Brown’s Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes, which were composed using Brown’s encyclopedic understanding of historical hymns, HEAVY PEDAL VOL. 2 brings the organ down from the choir loft to allow all listeners a greater appreciation of this incredibly dynamic instrument.
Track Listing & Credits
# | Title | Composer | Performer | |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | Chorales for Organ: Villanelle | Deon Nielsen Price | Karel Martínek, organ | 2:18 |
02 | Chorales for Organ: Psalm | Deon Nielsen Price | Karel Martínek, organ | 1:32 |
03 | Chorales for Organ: Persuasion | Deon Nielsen Price | Karel Martínek, organ | 1:23 |
04 | Chorales for Organ: How long, O Lord, Most Holy | Deon Nielsen Price | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:04 |
05 | Gesangvoll: Variations on a Theme by Beethoven | John Rommereim | Karel Martínek, organ; Jan Kučera, oboe | 9:03 |
06 | Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes: Ellacombe | Richard E Brown | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:18 |
07 | Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes: Leoni | Richard E Brown | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:05 |
08 | Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes: Wondrous Love | Richard E Brown | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:26 |
09 | Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes: Hyfrydol | Richard E Brown | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:05 |
10 | Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes: Picardy | Richard E Brown | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:08 |
11 | Six Chorale Preludes on Favorite Hymn Tunes: Regent Square | Richard E Brown | Karel Martínek, organ | 3:00 |
12 | Concertino Corona: I. To the Heroes | Christopher Hoh | The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor; Karel Martínek, organ | 4:14 |
13 | Concertino Corona: II. Remembrance | Christopher Hoh | The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor; Karel Martínek, organ | 7:28 |
14 | Concertino Corona: III. Chorale & Dance of Life | Christopher Hoh | The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor; Karel Martínek, organ | 7:01 |
Chorales for Organ, Six Chorale Preludes for Organ
Recorded October 20-21, 2022 at Concert Hall in Uničov, Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Gesangvoll
Recorded May 13, 2022 at Concert Hall in Uničov, Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Pavel Kunčar
Concertino Corona
Recorded November 22, 2022 at House of Music in Pardubice (Dům hudby v Pardubicích), Czech Republic
Session Producer Jan Košulič
Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Executive Producer Bob Lord
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Danielle Sullivan, Chris Robinson
VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Production Director Levi Brown
Production Manager Martina Watzková
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Aidan Curran
Artist Information

Deon Nielsen Price
Dr. Deon Nielsen Price, D.M.A. (B.A. Brigham Young University, M.M. University of Michigan, D.M.A. University of Southern California) is an award-winning composer, pianist, conductor, author, and advocate for new music. With principal mentors in composition, Leslie Bassett and Samuel Adler, her music is known for the deep humanitarian concern that permeates much of it. Her large works featuring string instruments are Angel Trio (violin/cello/piano), Crossroads Alley Trio (viola, clarinet, piano), Interruptions II (two pianos, violin), Quickening (quartet), States of Mind (string orchestra), Stile Antico (unaccompanied solo), Three Faces of Kim, the Napalm Girl (violin/piano), Two Songs for Voice and Viola (Walt Whitman), and Violin Concerto for Oneness.

John Rommereim
John Rommereim is a musician who has pursued a varied career as a composer, conductor, keyboardist, and professor. He has written works for choir, solo voice, orchestra, string quartet, saxophone quartet, flute ensemble, guitar, organ, piano, and electronic media, as well as a chamber opera, and music for theater and film. The New York Times praised the “richly expressive” character of his work for voice and piano, Into the Still Hollow.

Christopher J. Hoh
“Full of charm and shapely allure” (Opera News) and “a tapestry of immense grace” (Textura) are some of the praises for the music of Christopher J. Hoh. He composes for voices and instruments, separately and combined, in a modern classical vein. In the mid-Atlantic region, his work has enhanced many worship services and choral concerts, but audiences across the United States and in several countries of Europe and the Americas have also heard his compositions. The GRAMMY-winning ensemble The Crossing, as well as Vox Futura and others, have recorded his work on six albums so far, with more in the pipeline.

Richard E Brown
Dr. Richard E. Brown, a native of New York State, has been active as a composer-arranger and music educator for many years. His training includes M.M. and D.M. degrees in Composition from Florida State University, as well as a B.A. in Music Education from Central College, which named him a Distinguished Alumnus in 1983. His principal composition studies were with Carlisle Floyd, John Boda, and Charles Carter. He is a member of ASCAP and is represented in the catalogs of several trade publishers, as well as his personal imprint Dacker Music.

Karel Martínek
Karel Martínek was born in Olomouc. He first studied mathematics and physics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Palacký University and later musicology at the Faculty of Philosophy. From 2004 to 2009 he studied organ at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno under the leadership of Professor Kamila Klugarová and organ improvisation under Professor Karel Pokora. In 2014 he started his studies of improvisation under Philippe Lefebvre, titular organist of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Besides the interpretation of a wide spectrum of organ literature, Martínek also dedicates himself to improvisation.
The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice
The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, founded in 1969, is one of the Czech Republic’s top orchestras. The repertoire of this chamber orchestra includes a large number of compositions from the baroque era to contemporary music, including many cross-over and multigenre projects.