Gail Archer : Awards & Reviews

Grant Awards *Harriman Institute, Columbia University and Vassar College* Press release published May 2024
NPR (VPM Music) *Mike Goldberg* Interview published September 2023
The Rheinische Post *Von Heide Oehmen* Article published July 2023
The American Organist *Anne Laver* Article published March 2023
New York Music Daily *delarue* Article published January 2023
New York Music Daily *delarue* Article published January 2023
The Whole Note *Matthew Whitfield* Article published December 2022
Choir and Organ *Michael Quinn* Article published September 2022
The Diapason *John L. Speller* Article published August 2022
*Gail Archer publishes a book review* July, 2021
*Gail Archer receives Harriman Institute Grant* May, 2021
Choir and Organ *Rupert Gough* Article published January/February 2021
CD Choice *Barry Forshaw* Article published September 23, 2020
New York Music Daily *delarue* Article published September 21, 2020
New York Music Daily *delarue* Article published September 12, 2020
New York Music Daily *delarue* Article published October 2018
Music Web International *Steve Arloff* Article published April 2018
Classical Modern Music *Grego Applegate Edwards* Article published February 13, 2018
Gramophone *Jed Distler* Article published December 2017
Maine Classic Beat *Christopher Hyde* Article published October 2017
Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) *Lori Ardovino* Article published Fall 2015 "Gail Archer deftly navigates the various stylistic and technical requirements of this monumental work.
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Osnabruücker Zeitung *Konzert für Orgel und Viola Hochkarätige Besetzung zum Auftakt der Orgeltage Haren* Article published June 11, 2014 (English Translation provided by Google Translate) "...excellent interaction and a harmonious sound of the two instruments, wonderfully supported by the sacred acoustics in the church Harener."
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WNYC *One NY Artist: Concert Organist and Choir Conductor Gail Archer* Interview broadcast September 14, 2013 "I was fascinated by the colors in the organ, because there are so many different sounds," she said. Archer is one of the few female organists in a male-dominated field. She is in a mission to promote women composers with her performances...
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Examiner.com *Gail Archer delivers on Casavant organ in CoC Temple in Independence* Review published June 4, 2013 "... played so sublimely that the ornaments did not even rise from the melodic lines, they just called attention to the highlighted landing note..."
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KC Metropolis.org *Reaping the rewards of varied repertoire* Review published June 5, 2013 "The gracious Gail Archer gave a commanding performance on the Community of Christ Temple organ on Sunday afternoon. Her program touched the baroque and then jumped to the late romantic and modern eras with ease."
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The Diapason *New Recordings: Franz Liszt—A Hungarian Rhapsody: Organ Works and Transcriptions.* Article published August 2012 "This is a highly recommended recording for the serious lover of the organ works of Franz Liszt... enjoy this recording with many repeated listenings for the ultimate effect of embracing this music."
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Echo Online *Extreme Höhen* Article published August 3, 2012 Orgelsommer – Die New Yorkerin Gail Archer bewährte sich im Freiklettern Download the English translation here.
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Märkische Allgemeine *Frauenpower in der Erlöserkirche* Article published July 20, 2012 Meisterhaftes Orgelkonzert mit Gail Arche Download the English translation here.
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*The Spokesman-Review* Organist Archer headlines recital She also serves as adjudicator at Musicfest Concert preview published May 18, 2012 "Archer is in town as the organ adjudicator for the 67th annual Musicfest Northwest in Spokane. This year nearly 1,200 participants in ballet, brass, flute, guitar, organ, piano, reed, string and voice performed for judges during the week."
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*Daily Courier-Observer* Renowned organist to perform with Potsdam chorus Concert preview and interview published April 5, 2012 "An internationally-renowned concert organist will join the Potsdam Community Chorus for its annual spring concert at SUNY Potsdam’s Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall."
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Time Out New York *Critic's Picks: Gail Archer Celebrates Liszt* Concert listing published February 2, 2011 "In honor of the composer's 200th birthday, organist Gail Archer kicks off a trio of Liszt-centric concerts with this program, featuring the immense Fantasie und Fuge über den Choral Ad nos, ad salutarem undam." *** * * ***

*Examiner.com* *Organist Gail Archer to perform at the Central Synagogue* Concert preview & interview published May 11, 2010 "World-renowned organist Gail Archer will perform at the Central Synagogue Wednesday at 7:30. This stop is part of her tour celebrating the 325th Birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. Ms. Archer will perform Bach?s incomplete masterpiece, The Art of Fugue. She took a few minutes to answer questions for NY Culture Examiner about response from audiences, and the perfect organ."
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*Miss Music Nerd* *The Transcedent Organist: A Conversation With Gail Archer* Profile article published March 8, 2010 Gail Archer discusses Mendelssohn, Bach, her new CD, and being a woman in the organ world.
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Crain's New York Business *Gotham Gigs: Music to Her Ears* Profile article published January 19, 2009 "Concert organist Gail Archer has worked long and hard to master her technique, with gratifying results. "You can feel the passion in the room when you play," she says."
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*The Bach Concert Series* *JS Bach's 325th Birthday* January-April 2010, New York City Gail Archer, Organ Read the following articles! (click to download full article) Concert Review: "She turned the Adagio of the Concerto in C Major (BWV 594) into a dizzyingly mesmerizing exercise in natural reverb, playing at exactly the right tempo where the counterpoint echoing off the walls became part of the performance, playing along as its own metronome... By the time she got to the big showstopper... there was nothing to do but to blaze through, her tightly glistening, festively romping cascades earning her a roaring ovation at the end." -Lucid Culture , March 14, 2010
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*The Mendelssohn Concert Series* *Mendelssohn Bicentennial* January-May 2009, New York City Gail Archer, Organ Read the following articles! (click to download full article) Podcast Interview: "Gail tells us all about her concerts in celebrating famous composer’s birthdays one still going on with the bi-centennial of composer Felix Mendelssohn at synagogues in NYC." -Jay Grayce Show, March 17, 2009 Review: "The first of these recitals at Central Synagogue last month saw Archer pulling out a rare, all-too-brief piece by Mendelssohn’s sister Fanny. Last night [Archer] ran through a strikingly different program of mostly happy, upbeat material. Mendelssohn’s Sonata #3 was aptly ebullient, ending on a quieter yet equally warm note with the adagio; Sonata #2 was a methodically confident stroll through somewhat darker territory... Archer continues the series on March 11 at 7:30 PM at Central Synagogue in midtown: classical music fans would be crazy to miss it." -Lucid Culture, February 18, 2009 Interview & Preview: " 'I'm thrilled to be casting a spotlight on not only his [Mendelssohn's] music, but also the century-long vilification of his music and his tragically short life.'" -The Jewish Week, February 13, 2009
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*The Messaen Concert Series* *Olivier Messiaen* January-May 2008, New York City Gail Archer, Organ In honor of one of the greatest organist composers of all time, Archer presents a Messiaen musical journey exploring all six of his complete organ works, while showcasing six of Manhattan’s superior church organs. Read the following articles! (click to download full article) Review: One of the "Best Classical Moments of 2008" -Time Out New York, December 18, 2008 Interview: "I wanted young people, older people, people who never had a reason to walk into St. Patrick's Cathedral, I deliberately wanted to bring them into the great spaces to listen to the music." -National Catholic Register, December 7,2008 Review: "Within Ms. Archer's vivid, muscular performance, in fact, were moments of striking simplicity, most notably the declarative single-line melodies, based on plainchant, that open several movements and seem like straight forward professions of faith before the inevitable grappling with the terrors of the sublime... In the more expansively dense sections Ms. Archer played with an unflagging power and assertiveness." -The New York Times, May 31, 2008 Review: "A riveting, marathon performance... Archer treated the audience to a limousine ride through a minefield: fireworks were going off everywhere, but she glided along with an agility that seemed effortless." -Lucid Culture Blog, May 30, 2008 Review: "Ms. Archer gave a solid performance, emphasizing the dramatic to great effect. In the section titled 'The Father Unbegotten,' she expertly struck the balance between the frightening and the gentle, the fortissimo tone clusters and the delicate fingerings of lyrically melodic snatches." -The New York Sun,April 22, 2008 Review: "Ms. Archer’s well-paced interpretation had a compelling authority. She played with a bracing physicality in the work’s more driven passages and endowed humbler ruminations with a sense of vulnerability and awe." -The New York Times, January 15, 2008 Interview/preview: "A unique concert series starts this Sunday at an Upper East Side church, featuring a passionate musician who is helping to change the image of the church organ." -NY1, January 11, 2008 Interview: "'Messiaen's music, she suggested, is just what New Yorkers need to refresh their minds and spirits in the new year. 'It's very peaceful and meditative,' she said. 'It allows you space to think and breathe and just be at peace with your own thoughts.'" -The New York Sun, January 8, 2008	Photographer: Jennifer Taylor for The New York Times.
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CD: A Mystic In the Making Olivier Messiaen Gail Archer, Organ (2007 Release from Meyer Media) A Mystic In The Making was nominated for a Grammy in the 'instrumentalist without an orchestra' category. Read the following glowing reviews! (click to download full article) December 2007 "Dr. Archer plays these formidable works with authority, assertiveness, and rhythmic exactitude...Dr. Archer's [interpretaions] are compelling." -The American Organist Article and images Copyright 2007, by the American Guild of Organists.Reproduced by permission of The American Organist Magazine. October 2007 "Archer plays with just the right combination of precision and rhythmic fluidity that the music needs to dance and soar." *- All Music Guide* September 2007 "...[A Mystic In the Making] will rattle all the glassware in your house" � American Record Guide May 2007 "Gail Archer has become one of the world's few star concert organists....Archer balances power, clarity and colour beautifully throughout L'Ascension and Les corps glorieux." � John Terauds, Toronto Star

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CD: The Orpheus of Amsterdam Sweelinck and his Pupils Gail Archer, Organ (2005 Release from Cala Records) Read the following glowing reviews! (click to download full article) July, 2006 "Gail Archer�s ebullient enthusiasm for this music is clearly evident. She elicits the technical brilliance, humor, and earthly and spiritual qualities inherent in the music. Her program reflects the prominent compositional techniques of the era: toccata-fantasy, echo effects, variation, thematic transformation, chorale setting, and secular song and dance settings." � James Hildreth, The American Organist Article and images Copyright 2006, by the American Guild of Organists.Reproduced by permission of The American Organist Magazine.

“This disc is rather fun. When one listens to music of this period on a mean-tone tuned instrument, its beauty is magnified ten-fold and harmonies take on a fragile edge. The Fisk organ is crisp and easy on the ear - so too is Gail Archer’s articulation, and she finds humour and poignancy in Sweelinck, Scheidt and Scheidemann.” � *Choir & Organ*

"Breathtaking brevity...a brilliant performance " � Music and Vision

"an organist of exemplary taste...thoughtful phrasing and articulation and imaginative, resourceful registrations." � *American Record Guide*

"Archer is beyond criticism..." � Toronto Star

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Quotes and accolades from her fans!

March 1, 2005

"So very impressed was I by your glorious performance on our Randall Dyer masterwork here in our beloved Rollins College chapel � and Oh! How informative was your wonderfully interesting talk the next day! � that I don�t want the time to go by without expressing my gratitude in writing! Many, many thanks for honoring us here last month."

John Oliver Rich

Dean of Admissions, Emeritus, Rollins College

Winter Park, FL

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At the Organ, Shades of a Mystic in the Making
By ALLAN KOZINN

July 15, 2002

For concertgoers who are used to watching performers make music, organ recitals can be peculiar events. Typically, the player is hidden away in a church's organ loft, unseen by the audience except for bows at the start and the finish. Perhaps that is as it should be: the audience, bathed in a grand, variegated sound, can focus on the music or its spiritual associations, without the distraction of a performer.

Riverside Church lets listeners have it both ways in its annual summer series of Tuesday evening organ recitals. A video image of the organist is projected onto a screen at the front of the church, offering a static view (from above) of the player and the instruments. The screen is large enough to show the mechanics of the performance; but for listeners who prefer the organist's traditional invisibility, it is small enough — in the context of this enormous church — to ignore.

Gail Archer opened the series on Tuesday evening with a powerful rendering of "Les Corps Glorieux," the 1939 work that Messiaen subtitled "seven short visions of the life everlasting." The deeply personalized, mystical idiom that Messiaen created is not fully developed in this cycle. Yet, hearing the piece with the experience of his later scores, one can see that language clearly in formation.

The opening movement, "Subtilité des Corps Glorieux," evokes the resurrected bodies in the afterlife in a single, calmly winding line. From there, the imagery builds gradually, with heavenly fountains drawn in gently cloudy harmonies, smoking incense suggested in a poetically simple line in reedy coloration and, in the work's central movement, the battle of life and death offered in bright, brash colors and dense chromaticism, all of which resolve into graceful serenity (by way of flute timbres) as life prevails.

The bright-hued fifth and sixth movements celebrate the vitality inherent in salvation, and the finale, "Le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité," is contemplative, but with an undercurrent of chromaticism that gives it texture and keeps it surprising.

Ms. Archer offered a carefully considered tour of these painterly movements, and perhaps most important, she played with an agility that met the music's coloristic and rhythmic demands without calling attention to itself.