The American composer and organist Leo Sowerby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1895. An early exposure to the organ music of Cesar Franck prompted the young Sowerby to learn the organ and its literature. He was later to become one of the most distinguished and honoured virtuosos of his generation. During his long and productive life, Leo Sowerby was the first recipient of the American Prix de Rome, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the first American to be made a fellow of the Royal School of Church Music. His music is colourful and freely draws upon both American and European Classical influences.

Festival Musick and Classic Concerto were both written for the great E. Power Biggs. Festival Musick, composed in a single week in the summer of 1953 is a brash and brightly scored concert piece. The Classic Concerto presents Sowerby’s lifelong occupation with traditional forms and countrapuntal structures. Medieval Poem, dating from 1926 has as its inspiration the ancient Liturgy of St. James and captures an atmosphere of divine mystery. Pageant, composed in 1931 at the request of Italian organ virtuoso Fernando Germani, is an ingenious set of variations, featuring some bravura passages for pedals alone.