Bálint Karosi hails from Budapest, Hungary. He is a versatile musician performing on the organ, clarinet, historical clarinet and harpsichord. Bálint studied at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, at the Conservatoire Superieure de Genève and at the Oberlin Conservatory, earning two Master’s Degrees, two “Prix de Virtuosité” and both an Artist Diploma and a Master of Music in Historical Performance. He has won prizes at several prestigious international organ competitions, including 1st Prize at the XVI International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, 1st prize and the audience prize at the Dublin International Organ Competition, 1st prize at the Arthur Poister Organ Competition, and 1st prize and the audience prize of the Miami International Organ Competition. Currently, Bálint serves as Minister of Music at First Lutheran Church in Boston. Bálint‘s compositions have been well received in Europe and the United States. Notably, his “Consonances” Concerto for Organ and Symphony Orchestra was commissioned for the new organ at the National Concert Hall in Budapest. His compositions are published by Wayne Leupold Editions Ltd. For more details visit: www.karosi.org. J. S. Bach is one of the greatest of all composers. His works have been pivotal in the history of music and have been admired for their spiritual, intellectual, and emotional aspects. Many describe Bach as the “Fifth Evangelist” or the “Word of God in music.” Where did his genius come from? While there is no one answer, we know that the greatest composer of all time was a faithful Christian and a devoted Lutheran. Everything he did was to please God. During his tenure as Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Bach composed a cantata every week, each of them freshly inspired by his living faith and deeply rooted in his knowledge of the Bible. This CD represents some of Bach’s greatest organ works, each with Christian references either in melody (the chorale tunes) or in their spirit (the Trinitarian form of the great Fugue in E-flat). We are glad to share our Richards & Fowkes organ that is well-suited for the performance of these works.