The Organ, Master of them all - general organ thread

[Mandryka]

Which box do you think of? I only know one individual CD with Norbert Broggini.

This one

[Que]

Second question:
Recommend 5 Non-JS-Bach-Organ discs (or smallish anthologies, no huge boxes) you consider essential even for people only moderately into organ music!

The NM Sweelinck set is not exactly a smallish collection, but a feast nonetheless....  (the Glossa set might be a good alternative)

A selection of other organ discs/ sets I cherish:

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(Or any of the other recordings Andrea Marcon made for Divox)

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(Many other recordings by Joseph Kelemen are gemms)




Q

[prémont]

This one

Thanks. I realize that I have ovned this for more than 10 years-

[Jo498]

Thanks! Some of them are unfortunately rather expensively oop, others are too much or too specialized for me (I have one Merulo-disc on Aura that is quite strange to my ears and I am not sure I am sufficiently into such early stuff yet).
I have most of Buxtehude's as well as single disc anthologies some of them recommended here. The Walcha I linked above, Ablitzer's "école du nord", one disc of Schoonbrodt playing Sweelinck, one Leonhardt/Frescobaldi, one Tachezi recital (Ossiach) and a few more.

Is nobody interested in 19th+20th century organ music? I got one twofer with romantic organ music but not much really grabbed me therefore I hesitated to get Brahms, Mendelssohn or Rheinberger although I like their non-organ music and the French romantics
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[kishnevi]

Bump for the sake of
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I have it as part of a Membran box (Spirales), but can certainly suggest this CD as proof that late 20th century composers could still find something to say on the organ.

Works performed
Frode Bitsch
Fantasia on "De levendes Land" pour grand orgue (1994)
Bo Gronbech
Three Liturgical Dances (1981)
Svend Erik Tarp
Four Organ Pieces Op. 87 A-D (1983)
Jesper Madsen
Praetorius Variationer (1983/1989)

Organ used: Poul-Gerhard Andersen organ, Sankt Markus Church Arhus

[bioluminescentsquid]

I'm listening to this one, played on a reconstruction of a 16th-century Niehoff organ like the one Sweelinck played on.



I have to say that the opening Fantasia Chromatica is stunning - probably my favorite version, since it uses the full plenum of the organ. I've always thought that the ending of the Fantasia, juxtaposing descending and ascending chromaticism, is one of the most satisfying endings to a piece I've ever heard.

The other fantasies and toccatas are also magnificent - I really like how he starts the D-minor Echo fantasy off with a full plenum, an approach that is rare among organists, but it's a tad bit too fast for my taste.

As for the variation sets, Schoonbroodt seems to have a penchant for "dirty" flutes like quintadenas and plena built on them. I don't know how much I share this penchant, though - I like cleaner flutes and principals.

[Mandryka]

The combination of speed and a slightlly resonant recording ambience is the weakness of that CD, but the sense of spontaneity and enthusiasm is very memorable. I have a few things by Schoonbroodt and I've seen him in concert. There's an excellent Boyvin CD, he's a bit of a specialist in real minor french composers! And I have some Couperin by him but I can't remember anything about it.

[bioluminescentsquid]

The combination of speed and a slightlly resonant recording ambience is the weakness of that CD, but the sense of spontaneity and enthusiasm is very memorable. I have a few things by Schoonbroodt and I've seen him in concert. There's an excellent Boyvin CD, he's a bit of a specialist in real minor french composers! And I have some Couperin by him but I can't remember anything about it.

I didn't have a problem with the recording, and thought that it was quite clear even at that speed. I did have reservations about the speed, though, in some pieces.

I also enjoyed his Chaumont on Spotify, and might seek out the other discs. Do please tell me how the Couperin sounds!

His discography (many French composers distributed across different labels, some defunct?)
http://www.sergeschoonbroodt.be/index.php/discographie

[Mandryka]

I've gone off François Couperin's music completely I'm afraid.

Thanks for pointing out his website, I didn't know he had recorded some Grigny. I've just ordered it.

Schoonbroodt also has a Titelouze CD with some de Cauroy interleaved - apparently there's a connection between the two composers. I like it, it's a fun listening experience not least because the singing is sympathetic and there seems to be a good rapport between organ and voice. And because Schoonbroodt's passion for the music is very palpable in the final verses of the hymns - where Titelouze is at his most inventive. For some reason he's left it out of his discography.

The other French composers he's recorded  don't much interest me at the moment.

Has anyone heard those Bach recordings?

[bioluminescentsquid]

Is it this one? Seems very interesting.


I do remember that Ablitzer also recorded a Titelouze disc with interwoven hymns - a friend lent me the disc but I wasn't too impressed by it, and gave it back.

[Mandryka]

Have you heard this one?

Dans le premier tiers du XVIIe siècle furent publiés, aux quatre coins de l'Europe, d'extraordinaires chefs-d'oeuvres pour clavier. Les pièces pour orgue de Jehan Titelouze, « Chanoine & Organiste de l'Eglise de Rouën », appartiennent à cette floraison miraculeuse : ses Hymnes de l'Eglise sont imprimées en 1623 chez Ballard (Paris), bientôt suivies d'un second livre consacré au Magnificat ou cantique de la Vierge (1626). Pour célébrer le 450e anniversaire de la naissance du "père de la musique d'orgue française", l'ensemble Les Meslanges a choisi de faire entendre ces pages d'orgue jouées par François Ménissier en alternance avec les voix et autres "instrumens musicaulx" comme le cornet et serpent, instruments indispensables dans les cathédrales comme celle de Rouen au XVIIe siècle. Ce concert aura aussi l'originalité de présenter ce compositeur en relation avec les musiciens de son époque dans le lieu où il a évolué: la cathédrale de Rouen. On entendra ainsi de superbes pages de Henri Frémart, maître de musique à la cathédrale de Rouen puis de Notre Dame de Paris, de Jean de Bournonville qui remporta à Rouen et à Evreux le Puy de Sainte Cécile, concours de musique fort réputé à l'époque...

[bioluminescentsquid]

Have you heard this one?

Listening to it on Spotify - initial reactions are very good; the organ is powerful and brilliant and I enjoy the cornetti accompanying the voices.

Now that I think of it, I don't listen to enough French Organ music. The discs that I have and listen to more often are Leonhardt's Couperin and Marchand on the Dom Dedos, an earlier one of his with Bouyvin and Chaumont, and also Titelouze by Bates.

Edit: I'm thinking of getting the Titelouze by Goecke - are you familiar with it?

[Mandryka]

 Goecke is Apollo and Bates is Dionyssus.

[Mandryka]

Now that I think of it, I don't listen to enough French Organ music. The discs that I have and listen to more often are Leonhardt's Couperin and Marchand on the Dom Dedos, an earlier one of his with Bouyvin and Chaumont, and also Titelouze by Bates.

Four French organ recordings I like are Jan Willem Jansen's Louis Couperin, Gillian Weir's Roberday, Bernard Coudurier's Grigny (both of them) and Freddy Eichelberger's Marchand.

[bioluminescentsquid]

Four French organ recordings I like are Jan Willem Jansen's Louis Couperin, Gillian Weir's Roberday, Bernard Coudurier's Grigny (both of them) and Freddy Eichelberger's Marchand.

Thanks - I'll shamefully admit that the only one I've listened to before is Coudurier, so there's lots to explore here.

Goecke is Apollo and Bates is Dionyssus.

Nice to know that I've been having strong mead for all this time!

[prémont]

Goecke is Apollo and Bates is Dionyssus.

What would you in this terminology call Darasse, Prefontaine, Schoonbroodt and Ablitzer?

[Mandryka]

What would you in this terminology call Darasse, Prefontaine, Schoonbroodt and Ablitzer?

Darasse - Iris
Prefontaine - Krishna
Schoonbroodt - Mercury
Ablitzer - He's not God of anything.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Just ordered this Vierne Missa Solennelle from Germany. None available in the U.S.

[prémont]

Darasse - Iris
Prefontaine - Krishna
Schoonbroodt - Mercury
Ablitzer - He's not God of anything.

I have to think about this....

Iris (rainbow), do you mean colorful?

Krishna (the creator) do you mean perfect?

Mercury (god of trade) do you mean commercial?

[Mandryka]

Iris (rainbow), do you mean colorful?

Yes

Krishna (the creator) do you mean perfect?

I think Krishna is a bit like Loge in the ring, a sort of uncontrollable and highly spontaneous life force. I think Prefontaine is particularly  flamboyant and wild sounding sometimes, more so that Bates. You can here an Italian side to Titelouze in Prefontaine.

Mercury

Fast. Winged sandals.