Program: 

Lepnurm, Dupré, Guilmant, Lemmens, Hesse, Rinck, Kittel, Bach 

This program traces an extraordinary lineage in sacred music, directly linking Estonian organist and composer Hugo Lepnurm back to Johann Sebastian Bach through an unbroken succession of master teachers. Lepnurm studied in Paris under Marcel Dupré, whose mentor Alexandre Guilmant was a student of Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens. Lemmens in turn learned from Adolf Friedrich Hesse, a pupil of Christian Heinrich Rinck, who had studied with Bach’s favorite student, Johann Christian Kittel. 

Through this seven-step lineage, refined interpretative techniques and foundational traditions were passed from one generation to the next—including the nuanced organ pedal work with which Lemmens captivated Parisian audiences in 1852. Represented here by Lepnurm’s own former student Piret Aidulo, this enduring heritage demonstrates how historical traditions remain vibrant and immediate in performance today.