James McVinnie - Dreamcatcher (2025) [Hi-Res]

Organist and pianist James McVinnie makes his PENTATONE debut with Dreamcatcher, an intimate sequence of contemporary classical music centred around the act of imagining. The recording features the organ of St Albans Cathedral—an epoch-making instrument closely associated with legendary organists Peter Hurford and Ralph Downes.

The piano segments of the album were recorded on a Steinway D of exceptional beauty at Studio Richter Mahr, co-founded by composer Max Richter and visual artist Yulia Mahr. A mesmerising sonic trip, Dreamcatcher reflects the unique artistic persona of McVinnie, whose mastery of core organ repertoire extends to an extensive body of work written for him by leading contemporary classical composers, as well as collaborations in the world of electronic and experimental music.

The album features works by Nico Muhly, Meredith Monk, Laurie Spiegel, John Adams, inti figgis-vizeuta, Gabriella Smith, Glies Swayne, Bryce Dessner & Marcos Balter. The album's title is taken from Marcos Balter’s work of the same name, written in response to the child separation crisis at the US-Mexico border in 2018— “dreamers” being the name given to children separated from their families by the Trump administration’s immigration policy. This record also presents the first ever recording of Giles Swayne's Riff-raff made on the St Albans organ for which the work was written in 1983— McVinnie’s rendition embodying a perfect synergy between the piece’s minimalist roots and the modernist tonal philosophy of this instrument.

Through his boundless approach to music making, innovative programming and captivating musicianship, James McVinnie has carved out a unique career as an organist and keyboard player.