The Organ, Master of them all - general organ thread

[bioluminescentsquid]

How do people think of CPO's Pachelbel organ series?

It seems that most performances are just solid, nothing amazing or extremely convincing, but I wonder if there are any gems in there.

[Mandryka]

How do people think of CPO's Pachelbel organ series?

It seems that most performances are just solid, nothing amazing or extremely convincing, but I wonder if there are any gems in there.

Yes, I mean no, I mean you're right, even though there are lots of different organists they're all a bit too solemn and earthbound - they never escape orbit and fly to the stars. The second instalment has been released but I have haven't heard it.

(I'm still enjoying Albert Bolliger's Pachelbel.)

[ahinton]

https://goldrush.uiowa.edu/project/5439

For further information on this historic event and the plans for this music, please write to me at sorabji-archive@lineone.net .

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

The only Lubeck piece I've explored really is Ich ruf zu dir.

Leon Berben's probably my favourite from commercial recordings, I think it has all the vitality of Coudurier and Chapuis, and I appreciate Berben's extra grandeur and  spirituality. Walter Kraft 's recording probably influenced my expectations of the music. But Kraft's recordings aren't available and anyway the sound's not very good.

Follow-up: Berben's Lubeck sounds solid and colorful. I love it. Thank you for the info, ladies and/or gents.

[Mandryka]

Not totally uninteresting article here on touch sensitivity

http://www.pykett.org.uk/touchsens.htm

Attempts have been made for centuries to develop a keyboard instrument having something of the qualities which make, say, a violin seem to be part of the player (when played well, that is).  The unity of the instrument and the performer is demonstrated by the enormous variety of tone colours, dynamics and subtle articulations which almost approach the human voice in expressive power.  The invention of the forte-piano was the first major breakthrough enabling a keyboard player to have direct control over the way the notes are sounded, and the expressive capability of a modern grand piano is elegant testimony to the developments that followed. . . a number of transient effects occur with organ pipes, and that some of these at least are under the control of the performer at a suitable instrument.  Invariably this has to have a mechanical action designed according to sound engineering principles.

[Mandryka]

 

There's a little recorded choral partita by Scheidemann called Herr Christ der einig Gottes sohn. Leonhardt seems to have had a special penchant for it, because there are at least two recordings, one at the old church in Amsterdam, one at Marienhafe. In addition there is recording from Bernard Coudurier (I think a bit glib, but others may enjoy the simplicity. I enjoy the simplicity, but not when I've not Leonhardt ringing in my head! ) and one from Julia Brown on Naxos (to me the registrations sound unusual, but the performance is "deeply felt")

Leonhardt in Amsterdam benefits from the best organ - the best gravitas - and it inspires him to give a fabulous performance, one that convinces me that the music is a mini-masterpiece. Leonhardt's "deeply felt" like Julia Brown, but Leonhardt's deep feeling is less romantic, if you know what I mean. I think this is my favourite.

The organ in Marienhafe (Saxony) is less imposing, but is maybe a bit more interestingly astringent from the point of view of harmonies (I think that the Amsterdam church organ was equally tuned when Leonhardt made the recording.) The performance he gives there seems slightly more improvised, more flamboyant, more like a precursor of  Stylus Fantasticus - it's interesting to hear the two together, to hear how the musician adapted to the instrument at his disposal.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Fun recording by Eric Lebrun. Lively and bright.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

What are the essential Bernard Couderier disks? I was listening to him play Bach on French organs on Spotify, and, while, very different and interesting, I would not say it is a must-have for my collection. There are many other albums to explore however--which are your favorites?

[prémont]

What are the essential Bernard Couderier disks? I was listening to him play Bach on French organs on Spotify, and, while, very different and interesting, I would not say it is a must-have for my collection. There are many other albums to explore however--which are your favorites?

I would say:

Grigny - 2CDs
Lübeck
Bruhns
Scheidemann

They can be found at Amazon.de and Amazon.fr

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Thanks. It is too bad they are not available on Amazon.com. Perhaps I will have to bite the bullet pay shipping from Europe, or bite the bullet and settle for MP3s (Why doesn't AMAZON get into the 21st century and offer FLAC!?!?). Maybe I'll be able to find them in Ireland when I visit later this summer.

[Mandryka]

What are the essential Bernard Couderier disks? I was listening to him play Bach on French organs on Spotify, and, while, very different and interesting, I would not say it is a must-have for my collection. There are many other albums to explore however--which are your favorites?

I love the  Scheidemann, the Norden Schnitger is wonderfully recorded and the style is sometimes like chamber music, intimate and lyrical.

[prémont]

Thanks. It is too bad they are not available on Amazon.com. Perhaps I will have to bite the bullet pay shipping from Europe, or bite the bullet and settle for MP3s (Why doesn't AMAZON get into the 21st century and offer FLAC!?!?). Maybe I'll be able to find them in Ireland when I visit later this summer.

I did not know, that you live overseas.

The Bruhns and the Grigny are available at Amazon.com: (MP)

https://www.amazon.com/Lorgue-Baroque-En-Allemagne-D/dp/B00008LOPA/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1497606251&sr=1-6&keywords=bernard+coudurier

https://www.amazon.com/Loeuvre-Dorgue-BERNARD-COUDURIER-ENSEMBLE/dp/B00008LOPE/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1497606251&sr=1-5&keywords=bernard+coudurier

https://www.amazon.com/Hymnes-Vol-Cintegabelle-Alternatim/dp/B000025B1K/ref=sr_1_14?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1497606561&sr=1-14&keywords=bernard+coudurier

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Thanks! I searched for Bernard Couderier yesterday and nothing came up.

[Mandryka]

This recording by Wolfram Syré on the label Motette is possibly the best sounding, best engineered, organ recording I've heard. I mean, there may be some SACDs but really this is pretty special!

I wonder if there are any other good things on Motette. Most of their stuff is later music than interests me, but I noticed one thing, a recording by Felix Friedrich in Vogtland.

Wolfram Syré is clearly an outstanding musician, and his website is chockablock with free recordings, but all on midi organs!

[bioluminescentsquid]

This recording by Wolfram Syré on the label Motette is possibly the best sounding, best engineered, organ recording I've heard. I mean, there may be some SACDs but really this is pretty special!

I wonder if there are any other good things on Motette. Most of their stuff is later music than interests me, but I noticed one thing, a recording by Felix Friedrich in Vogtland.

Wolfram Syré is clearly an outstanding musician, and his website is chockablock with free recordings, but all on midi organs!

I listened to some of his recordings on Contrebombarde, and was mostly less than impressed - most of them had pretty stodgy tempos and execution, and the sheer amount of pieces makes me wonder whether he's looking for quantity over quality here 

Although the Tunder disc does seem interesting, judging from JPC sound samples.
How do you think of Foccroulle? He's the one who impressed me enough with the Christ lag in Todesbanden to get me into Tunder.

[Mandryka]

I listened to some of his recordings on Contrebombarde, and was mostly less than impressed - most of them had pretty stodgy tempos and execution, and the sheer amount of pieces makes me wonder whether he's looking for quantity over quality here 

Although the Tunder disc does seem interesting, judging from JPC sound samples.
How do you think of Foccroulle? He's the one who impressed me enough with the Christ lag in Todesbanden to get me into Tunder.

It was Syré's Christ lag in Todesbanden which made my jaw drop to the floor, when the pedals come in it's like . . . so unbelievably grand and noble.  I like what Foccroulle does with it but I think at the end of the day he's too introverted. There's another thing, Syré handles the transitions more naturally. Basically Syré's Christ lag in Todesbanden is wicked.


(I like Flamme in this piece too!)

I'll put the recording in symphonyshare next week, I've got just 100000MB left to upload to Backblaze so it should be done tomorrow sometime, that'll leave me free to do some sharing.

I haven't heard any of his midi recordings, but he's a bit slow and careful it's true, he reminds me of Götz.

[bioluminescentsquid]

You mean the D'Anglebert fugues? Do you know any other recordings?

I dug up Andreas Staier's "Pour passer la melancolie" to listen again, after unfairly neglecting it for a while. Was pretty surprised to hear the 1st fugue on this disc, albeit played on the harpsichord.

Actually I like it better on the harpsichord because everything sounds cleaner and of course freer, but paradoxically the conterpoint is clearer on an organ. On harpsichord it sort of degenerates into an unmeasured-prelude sort of swirl of notes. Or, perhaps I just shouldn't be expecting a nice clean Bach-like fugue out of a French composer?

There's something very Sweelinckian about the fugue, too, that I can't put my finger on.


One random question - between the NM Sweelinck Box (now thankfully on Spotify) and the Glossa box, which one do you prefer?

[Mandryka]

I dug up Andreas Staier's "Pour passer la melancolie" to listen again, after unfairly neglecting it for a while. Was pretty surprised to hear the 1st fugue on this disc, albeit played on the harpsichord.

Actually I like it better on the harpsichord because everything sounds cleaner and of course freer, but paradoxically the conterpoint is clearer on an organ. On harpsichord it sort of degenerates into an unmeasured-prelude sort of swirl of notes. Or, perhaps I just shouldn't be expecting a nice clean Bach-like fugue out of a French composer?

There's something very Sweelinckian about the fugue, too, that I can't put my finger on.


One random question - between the NM Sweelinck Box (now thankfully on Spotify) and the Glossa box, which one do you prefer?

I quite like that performance by Staier, it is a swirl of notes and I like it.

I thought that NM was more consistently satisfying than Glossa.

[bioluminescentsquid]

I quite like that performance by Staier, it is a swirl of notes and I like it.

I thought that NM was more consistently satisfying than Glossa.

I'm curious what you mean by that, because I liked the Glossa more, but am trying to get into the NM.

[Mandryka]

Well there were some things on NM which really had a big impact on me: Asperen and Matter and Winsemius come to mind. Nothing quite got to me in the same way on Glossa as far as I remember, apart from Leonhardt.

I have a friend who HATES the NM, he things it's too solemn, that they play Sweelinck like Bach. And he thinks that Glossa is better and the musicians kind of saw the error of their ways, that's why they rerecorded it. I don't agree by the way.