The Organ, Master of them all - general organ thread

[milk]

How could I forget this one?



http://www.amazon.com/Psalms-Geneva-Jan-Pieterszoon-Sweelinck/dp/B000J10K64/

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/BIS/BISCD1614

http://www.mdt.co.uk/sweelinck-psalms-from-geneva-organ-works-masaaki-suzuki-bis.html

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=144597

Reviews:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/psalms-from-geneva-mw0001857312

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/may07/Sweelinck_geneva_biscd1614.htm

Apparently, this is the organ I heard. I wonder if there are other copies of baroque organs in Japan. I'm guessing not many.
This is also the location where Suzuki recorded his Bach harpsichord partitas...but that's off topic. 

[Marc]

[....]
Btw, I was lucky to hear Suzuki 3 weeks ago in Groningen, NL, playing the historic instrument (a.o. Schnitger/Hinsz) in the Martinikerk. He played Sweelinck, Buxtehude and Bach (a.o. BWV 768 and 582). Another fine experience!

Masaaki Suzuki: celebrated conductor/harpsichordist/organist and world famous.
Reitze Smits: not so world famous.
But, IMHO, outclassing Suzuki as (Bach-) organist, this evening in the Martinikerk.
Right now I'm still in 7th organ heaven after Smits' Bach/Brahms recital, with a truly heartfelt Bach (Passacaglia and the Gloria chorales BWV 662-66), ending with two Brahms' chorales and a self-made arrangement of the Finale of Brahms' 4th Symphony. That was awesome!

Two Reitze Smits/Bach links (first short clip filmed in the audience):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-8Srv5AZgs
(only the Toccata-part of BWV 565)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caE6Q3WfYYE
(Concerto in G-Major BWV 986)

[Roel]

Having been a lurker on this forum for one year and a half, I registered today and write my first post.

I live in Groningen, a few minutes walking from the Martinikerk, and visit organ concerts there regularly. I'm fairly new to classical and organ music after having been a metalhead for 20 years (and I still am)

This week I heard the great organ (Schnitger et al.) in many different ways.
On Wednesday evening Reitze Smits played in an emotional way, from melancholic (Brahms) to extroverted (e.g. Bach Gloria BWV 664).
Today there was a good young organist, who played Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig. In some variations he used only one or two stops per manual/pedal. From time to time the organ sounded really raw. The last variation was ecstatic. The (this) organ is truly the master of them all.

[bhodges]

Welkom, Roel! If you like, please feel free to post a little more about yourself in the "Introductions" section.

You will find (or already have) a number of people here who like metal - and organ music, of course.

Anyway, again, welkom en geniet van jezelf.

--Bruce

[Marc]

Hello and welcome, ex-lurker!

Yes, at lunchtime today the young organist Sander van den Houten gave the Martini reed stops every chance to breathe!

Here you can hear and see Van den Houten improvising on the Hinsz-organ of the Broederkerk in Kampen, NL.

http://www.youtube.com/v/SpC6lB569aQ

Anyway, again, welkom en geniet van jezelf.

Geniet van jezelf .... sounds like another great translation machine!

[Opus106]

If  you are not  a member of SymphonyShare, you may not know that one of the members has hunted down, ripped and uploaded 7 volumes of a Nonesuch LP series called "Masterworks for Organ". And he also has uploaded one from a separate disc called "French Organ Masterpieces from the 17th and 18th Centuries".

I do not wish to post the links publicly, since this practice is generally frowned upon, unless stated otherwise explicitly by the uploader.

Here's what the first volume contains:

Jørgen Ernst Hansen (Frobenius Organ, St. Andrew's Church, Copenhagen)

Buxtehude:  Prelude and Fugue in D minor
Tunder:  Chorale Fantasy:  "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott"
Bruhns:  Prelude and Fugue in G major
Kneller:  Prelude and Fugue in D minor
Hanff:  Chorale:  "Auf meinen lieben Gott"
Weckmann:  Fantasie in D minor
Böhm:  Chorale:  "Vater unser in Himmelreich"
Brunckhorst:  Prelude and Fugue in E minor

[Mandryka]

I saw Olivier Vernet play last night in the cathedral at Frejus, just near Saint Tropez. He played some Lully transcriptions, a Mendelssohn prelude and fugue and some French baroque character pieces (titles like "the devil dances" and "Joshua at Jericho") by a composer whose name I forget and some 19th century pieces, also by composers whose names I forgot. Unfortunately I've lost the programme.

The organ is from the late 19th century. It sounded rather metallic and the bass wasn't specially impressive.

I thought the performance was completely lackluster and uninspired. I'm not sure I liked the music much either. In one of the French pieces -- with a title a bit like "March Storms" -- there was a registration change which was so absurd, so stupid, so inappropriate and so striking -- that it's still painfully echoing in my ears.

This was the first organ recital I've been to since I was a kiddie at school, so clearly I'm not a good judge and all the above is probably rubbish.  But I think it was thoroughly inauspicious.

I noticed that Vartolo is playing in the same organ festival, this time in Cuers, with some Bach and Frescobaldi . His recital is obviously a special event (they're even broadcasting it on a giant screen in the forecourt) Unfortunately I'll be in London at the time of that concert, otherwise I would certainly have tried to catch it.

To make things worse on the walk home (a walk of about an hour) the heavens opened and an extremely violent Mediterranean storm reigned. I was totally drenched and I think I've caught a cold. Fuck!!!!!

[PaulSC]

Here's a potentially interesting new release: Walcha in the role of composer rather than performer; Rubsam in the role of performer rather than barber. The first in a projected series of four volumes...

[asin]B00925TBAE[/asin]

[listener]

nice short article with pictures from the Wall Street Journal -  Wendelen Eberle and Rieger organs
at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203630604578072871859674256.html

[Mandryka]

This Sweelinck disc is tremendous.



Oh by the way can someone tell be how many Sweelinck records Glen Wilson has recorded? I know the one on Naxos, but is there more?

[Mandryka]

Has anyone read this? Does it go into his musical ideas much? Are there any (other?) good things to read about him, in English or French?

[prémont]

If  you are not  a member of SymphonyShare, you may not know that one of the members has hunted down, ripped and uploaded 7 volumes of a Nonesuch LP series called "Masterworks for Organ". And he also has uploaded one from a separate disc called "French Organ Masterpieces from the 17th and 18th Centuries".

I do not wish to post the links publicly, since this practice is generally frowned upon, unless stated otherwise explicitly by the uploader.

Here's what the first volume contains:

Jørgen Ernst Hansen (Frobenius Organ, St. Andrew's Church, Copenhagen)

Buxtehude:  Prelude and Fugue in D minor
Tunder:  Chorale Fantasy:  "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott"
Bruhns:  Prelude and Fugue in G major
Kneller:  Prelude and Fugue in D minor
Hanff:  Chorale:  "Auf meinen lieben Gott"
Weckmann:  Fantasie in D minor
Böhm:  Chorale:  "Vater unser in Himmelreich"
Brunckhorst:  Prelude and Fugue in E minor

Jørgen Ernst Hansen died about a month ago.

[prémont]

Has anyone read this? Does it go into his musical ideas much? Are there any (other?) good things to read about him, in English or French?

It is in French and deals very little with his musical ideas, but preferably with when and where he played or recorded what. A number of his pupils (and spiritual pupils) write about when and where, they met him. There are some photo´s of limited interest to others than Walcha-philes.

[Mandryka]

That's disappointing. His musical voice is so distinctive in the early records at least, it would be good to have a serious study of his ideas, origins, reception, influence etc.

[Opus106]

Found this through the YouTube channel OrganLiveRecordings: http://www.paolocrivellaro.com

I happen to have some tape-recordings of a few old (and less old) concerts that I thought to "digitalize" and put on the web.

What a nice thing to do.

[Marc]

Found this through the YouTube channel OrganLiveRecordings: http://www.paolocrivellaro.com

I happen to have some tape-recordings of a few old (and less old) concerts that I thought to "digitalize" and put on the web.

What a nice thing to do.

Yep.

[Opus106]

Jozef Sluys' recordings of Böhm's music on Ars Musici. Are they good selections for a first set? (I see two different covers for both volumes, but I assume the recordings are the same.)

[prémont]

Jozef Sluys' recordings of Böhm's music on Ars Musici. Are they good selections for a first set? (I see two different covers for both volumes, but I assume the recordings are the same.)

Concerning Böhm´s organworks I prefer Christiaan Teeuwsen (one CD Naxos) and Bernard Foccroulle (one CD Ricercare). Both only recorded about one half of Böhm´s ouvre, but in both cases the most important part, and Teeuwsen´s CD is called Vol.1, so maybe a vol. 2 will follow some day.

Sluys (2 CD Ars Musici), Flamme (2 CD CPO) and Stella (4 CD Brilliant - including the harpsichord music) have made complete recordings. I do not know Stella´s recording yet - it is on its way to me from JPC at the moment.

Sluys and Flamme are competent and listenable, but I do not think they capture the spirit of the music quite as well as Teeuwsen and Foccroulle.  Sluys has for one of the CDs the benefit of the Trost-organ in Waltershausen, which may be almost too colourful for Böhm´s music.

The Danish organist Sven-Ingvart Mikkelsen has recorded the complete organworks for Kontrapunkt (2 CD). His playing is rather unimaginative and earthbound and the modern organ he uses is unsuited for the job IMO.

[Mandryka]

Remember Christ Lag in Todesbanden played by Leonhardt in St Petersberg in 2011.

[Opus106]

Concerning Böhm´s organworks I prefer Christiaan Teeuwsen (one CD Naxos) and Bernard Foccroulle (one CD Ricercare). Both only recorded about one half of Böhm´s ouvre, but in both cases the most important part, and Teeuwsen´s CD is called Vol.1, so maybe a vol. 2 will follow some day.

Sluys (2 CD Ars Musici), Flamme (2 CD CPO) and Stella (4 CD Brilliant - including the harpsichord music) have made complete recordings. I do not know Stella´s recording yet - it is on its way to me from JPC at the moment.

Sluys and Flamme are competent and listenable, but I do not think they capture the spirit of the music quite as well as Teeuwsen and Foccroulle.  Sluys has for one of the CDs the benefit of the Trost-organ in Waltershausen, which may be almost too colourful for Böhm´s music.

The Danish organist Sven-Ingvart Mikkelsen has recorded the complete organworks for Kontrapunkt (2 CD). His playing is rather unimaginative and earthbound and the modern organ he uses is unsuited for the job IMO.

Thank you for your suggestions, Premont.