Among the MSR label’s releases devoted to music by the American choral conductor, organist and composer Hampson Sisler (b1932), the present disc is the first to feature solo organ music, specifically premiere recordings of two large multi-movement suites. Like many organ composers, Sisler is not averse to interweaving traditional hymns and folk songs within his original works. He manages to do this without sounding forced, partly due to the fluency and textural discretion of his organ-writing.

The Family Days Suite’s opening movement, ‘Mother’s Day’, for example, opens with about 54 seconds’ worth of gentle chromatic exploration, followed by a hymn tune accompanied at first by simple drones in fifths. The harmony grows more complex yet never cluttered, as chorale prelude-like passages alternate with contemplative contrapuntal movement. Concerning the second movement, ‘Father’s Day’, Sisler’s description of a ‘playful and light’ style in melody and metre belies the music’s introspective chorale prelude character. The final movement, ‘A Salute to Grandparents’, appeals with its relative rhythmic variety, Impressionist-inspired harmonic ideas and mysteriously trailing-off ending.

Similarly, the subject of holidays inspires Sisler’s five-movement Popular Monastics Suite. I like the searching quality of the first movement’s sparsely scored sections but I perceive no correlation between manifestations of winter’s end as described by the composer’s annotations and what the music actually sounds like. Sisler’s skilful combination of three themes over the course of the final movement holds interest until the coda’s stretto, where the textures turn muddy and indistinct. Because of the overall sameness of mood from work to work, I wouldn’t recommend hearing both suites in one sitting. It’s not clear if Michael Koenig’s performances were recorded in consultation with or in the presence of the composer but his excellent articulation and assiduous registrations help to make the best case for this repertoire.