LAMENTO on the tune 'Michael' - George Baker

David Macfarlane, organ, playing the Hauptwerk Virtual Organ of the St. Etienne Abbey in Caen. Cavaille-Coll (1882) Lamento on Herbert Howells' hymn tune 'Michael' (2013) Texas native George Baker (b. 1951) is one of the most accomplished Renaissance men today. After early organ studies in Texas, he went on to win the AGO National Organ Competition in 1970. Organ studies in France followed, with the leading organists of the day. In 1974 he won the Grand Prix de Chartres international organ competition. Returning to the United States to complete Masters and Doctoral degrees, he then won the international competition in organ improvisation in Lyon. After releasing several highly regarded recordings, he went to medical school and became a physician in 1991 with a specialty in Internal Medicine. In 1998 he earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Prior to his retirement in 2021 he served on the faculties of several universities. His many organ compositions are often technically demanding and exhibit a “French accent.”