The organ

[AdamSmith]

No, I only remembered that the Disney Hall organ was not built by Ruffati. So I searched for who built it and just included the additional information for those who might be interested. I have only heard the Disney Organ in the Poulenc Concerto and it sounded wonderful. My only other experience was a concert at St. Sulpice in Paris, but that was a number of years ago.

Many thanks for the correction on the Disney Hall organ.

 

And St. Sulpice! Words cannot express my envy! Cavaillé-Coll's reconstruction of the Clicquot 'Great Organ' there renowned of course as his crowning achievement.

 

[Rudynate]

I have to confess to one of my guilty pleasures - I like to listen to Diane Bish's videos on Youtube - "the first lady of the organ." The thing that first got me interested in her was the weird outfits she wore while performing.

 

Here's one of her weirdest outfits::

 

[whipped guy]

Many thanks for the correction on the Disney Hall organ.

 

And St. Sulpice! Words cannot express my envy! Cavaillé-Coll's reconstruction of the Clicquot 'Great Organ' there renowned of course as his crowning achievement.

 

 

French Organist and composer Daniel Roth playing the organ of St. Sulpice Paris. I chose this because of what is shown both before and after the actual playing of what sounds like Bach, but I can't quite place the piece. It probably is a chorale prelude. I doubt that anyone heard the speaking and singing during the playing of the piece.

 

 

Bach BWV 650:

 

[AdamSmith]

French Organist and composer Daniel Roth playing the organ of St. Sulpice Paris. I chose this because of what is shown both before and after the actual playing of what sounds like Bach, but I can't quite place the piece. It probably is a chorale prelude. I doubt that anyone heard the speaking and singing during the playing of the piece.

 

 

Bach BWV 650:

 

Marvelous!

 

In your first posted piece, it was startling to see how many manuals he had coupled together, and yet the evident ease and lightness of his touch. Took me a moment to remember -- aha! The famous Barker lever in action.

 

(Spurring the semi-random association that, although the

stop usually released a springloaded foxtail into the startled performer's face, that source mentioned one organ where the 'joke' executed by the Fuchsschwanz is that it consists of a Pedal-to-Great coupler -- not Great-to-Pedal! So that the unsuspecting performer who pulls it is suddenly having to play the pedal keys from the manual.)

[AdamSmith]

Michael Murray performing the complete Franck organ repertoire, on the Cavaillé-Coll instrument at St. Sernin.

 

Masterful interpreter, to my ear. Buried somewhere in this compilation is the second-best performance of the 'Final' that I know, after the one by Mlle Demessieux that I posted above.

 

[AdamSmith]

Tickled by the title of this article:

 

Humid Organs

 

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/01/humid-organs/

[Kenny]

Many thanks for the correction on the Disney Hall organ.

 

And St. Sulpice! Words cannot express my envy! Cavaillé-Coll's reconstruction of the Clicquot 'Great Organ' there renowned of course as his crowning achievement.

 

I'm certainly no organ connoisseur (though St. Sulpice is a fave place in Paris), but I did hear a wonderful organ concert at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, where the pipes are highly regarded and said to rival those at Disney Hall.

http://www.ppcmusic.org/pipe-organ

[+ sync]

French Organist and composer Daniel Roth playing the organ of St. Sulpice Paris. I chose this because of what is shown both before and after the actual playing of what sounds like Bach, but I can't quite place the piece. It probably is a chorale prelude. I doubt that anyone heard the speaking and singing during the playing of the piece.

 

The Shazam app I have identified the piece as Canon In D Major For Organ (Walter Rinaldi). I have no idea if that's accurate.

[AdamSmith]

Back-view cutaway of a typical large tracker (of course) instrument from Dom Bédos's L'Art du Facteur d'Orgue (published 1766-78).

http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/articles/how_a_pipe_organ_works/images/dombedos2.jpg

The poop on Dom Bédos: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Bédos_de_Celles

 

I was at one of many life intersections of interest and random chance when, studying history of the organ & its literature with Fenner Douglass at Duke two years after the inauguration of the great Flentrop there, Fenner convinced a blueprint shop in Raleigh that happened to be owned & operated by a fellow organ enthusiast to undertake the production of an archival-quality facsimile edition of Dom Bedos's great, prolifically illustrated, treatise on organ building. (Of which, of course, Fenner possessed a museum-quality original to work from. Copyright having expired some time previous. )

 

The 2-volume book, already in large quarto dimensions, further included a number of illustrations that folded out to 4 times that size, such as the above image. Suspecting some market for these, the blueprint-shop owner produced a number of the book's illustrations in overrun, for sale separately, unbound.

 

So I am lucky to own one of those pages of the above yuge illustration, matted, framed & hanging on ze wall. Several others too.

 

Alas I can no longer locate that print shop. Even walked past where it used to be, hoping for clues, but the storefronts are entirely changed now from then in 1979.

 

P.S. The facsimile edition on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Organ-Builder-Volumes-Francois-Bedos-Celles/dp/091554802X

 

Currently unavailable, but occasionally someone puts up a set for sale, usually for about $500 if memory serves.

 

P.P.S. There was a cloth-bound and also a leather-bound edition, so price will differ by ~$100-150 between the two.

[body2body]

Once again you have spurred me to listen to new things. I found this piece with Olivier Messaien " improvising" on the Great Cavaillé-Coll organ at Sainte Trinité in Paris ( they also have a Chancery organ). Messaien was the organist at Sainte Trinité from 1931 until his death in 1992. I was spellbound listening to this. I have heard some of Messaien's orchestral and chamber music, and got to hear his great opera Saint François d'Assise in Paris a decade ago I have never heard him play the organ. This is a rather long clip, but I think it is rewarding to listen to the whole piece.

[gallahadesquire]

Back-view cutaway of a typical large tracker (of course) instrument from Dom Bédos's L'Art du Facteur d'Orgue (published 1766-78).

http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/articles/how_a_pipe_organ_works/images/dombedos2.jpg

The poop on Dom Bédos: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Bédos_de_Celles

 

I was at one of many life intersections of interest and random chance when, studying history of the organ & its literature with Fenner Douglass at Duke two years after the inauguration of the great Flentrop there, Fenner convinced a blueprint shop in Raleigh that happened to be owned & operated by a fellow organ enthusiast to undertake the production of an archival-quality facsimile edition of Dom Bedos's great, prolifically illustrated, treatise on organ building. (Of which, of course, Fenner possessed a museum-quality original to work from. Copyright having expired some time previous. )

 

The 2-volume book, already in large quarto dimensions, further included a number of illustrations that folded out to 4 times that size, such as the above image. Suspecting some market for these, the blueprint-shop owner produced a number of the book's illustrations in overrun, for sale separately, unbound.

 

So I am lucky to own one of those pages of the above yuge illustration, matted, framed & hanging on ze wall. Several others too.

 

Alas I can no longer locate that print shop. Even walked past where it used to be, hoping for clues, but the storefronts are entirely changed now from then in 1979.

 

P.S. The facsimile edition on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Organ-Builder-Volumes-Francois-Bedos-Celles/dp/091554802X

 

Currently unavailable, but occasionally someone puts up a set for sale, usually for about $500 if memory serves.

 

P.P.S. There was a cloth-bound and also a leather-bound edition, so price will differ by ~$100-150 between the two.

 

This vs. a complete Audobon "Birds of North America" vs joining Jetsmarter. What is a fellow to do?

Dutchmutch - care to chime in?

[gallahadesquire]

Once again you have spurred me to listen to new things. I found this piece with Olivier Messaien " improvising" on the Great Cavaillé-Coll organ at Sainte Trinité in Paris ( they also have a Chancery organ). Messaien was the organist at Sainte Trinité from 1931 until his death in 1992. I was spellbound listening to this. I have heard some of Messaien's orchestral and chamber music, and got to hear his great opera Saint François d'Assis in Paris a decade ago I have never heard him play the organ. This is a rather long clip, but I think it is rewarding to listen to the whole piece.

 

Way back when, when I still sang with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and thought I had artistic talent, I heard Messiaen's Turangalila live at Symphony Hall, Boston. I could still hear in those days, but I struggled to hear the Ondes Martenot, even though it was in clear sight. My overall memory was that of an awful lot of fascinating noise. (we were 1st balcony, just about center, about third row back).

 

And Messiaen was in the audience! I had forgotten about that.

[gallahadesquire]

Anybody know where Cavaillé-Coll instuments are in Greater North America? They certainly do honk, and Messiaen brought out the best in them.

[AdamSmith]

Anybody know where Cavaillé-Coll instuments are in Greater North America? They certainly do honk, and Messiaen brought out the best in them.

Don't think his production got beyond the borders of France.

 

You know those Frogs.

[+ quoththeraven]

Don't think his production got beyond the borders of France.

 

You know those Frogs.

 

Oh, Mr. Smith. Ethnic slurs? Or are the French incapable of being slurred? :eek:

[AdamSmith]

Regarding how quality of performance can change everything.

 

Bach's Toccata in F Major by E. Power Biggs [autocorrect suggested Buggs ]:

 

 

Vs. by [my fav] Michel Chapuis, who makes it sing:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koFGXVvGu3Y

[AdamSmith]

Oh, Mr. Smith. Ethnic slurs? Or are the French incapable of being slurred? :eek:

Need I say: to both, yes?

[AdamSmith]

Regarding how quality of performance can change everything.

 

Bach's Toccata in F Major by E. Power Biggs [autocorrect suggested Buggs ]:

 

 

Vs. by [my fav] Michel Chapuis, who makes it sing:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koFGXVvGu3Y

In case of need to be blunt and cruel: Biggs's performance aesthetic, such as it was, was as a child's Puff the Magic Dragon stylings when there were abroad several number of well informed arguments on how to perform Bach historically. Biggs was blissfully ignorant of them all.

[+ quoththeraven]

Regarding how quality of performance can change everything.

 

Bach's Toccata in F Major by E. Power Biggs [autocorrect suggested Buggs ]:

 

 

Vs. by [my fav] Michel Chapuis, who makes it sing:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koFGXVvGu3Y

 

Biggs' version sounds like a merry-go-round calliope.

I am now horrified that I listened to him when I was younger. I may even have a CD by him lying around somewhere.

[AdamSmith]

None of this is to disparage his tireless efforts to improve and correct organ design and construction.

[AdamSmith]

Biggs' version sounds like a merry-go-round calliope.

I am now horrified that I listened to him when I was younger. I may even have a CD by him lying around somewhere.

LMAO

 

I have every one of his records. To give him his due, he was a heroic and tireless proponent of that instrument he loved.

 

But I too love that instrument ( ) so a certain aesthetic duty expressed here in this thread.

[+ nycman]

This vs. a complete Audobon "Birds of North America" vs joining Jetsmarter. What is a fellow to do?

Dutchmutch - care to chime in?

 

JetSmarter!

 

We are having a BLAST in the air...join in!

[whipped guy]

When I was a kid everything organ was E. Power Biggs.... Changed to Buggs but I caught it... Hey with a Big and Powerful name how could it be otherwise? Plus, how many other organists have a star on Hollywood Blvd?!?! None of which I am aware... Not even Virgil Fox...

[AdamSmith]

Not even Virgil Fox...

If the drug of speed were all...

[+ quoththeraven]

When I was a kid everything organ was E. Power Biggs.... Changed to Buggs but I caught it... Hey with a Big and Powerful name how could it be otherwise? Plus, how many other organists have a star on Hollywood Blvd?!?! None of which I am aware... Not even Virgil Fox...

 

He certainly was ubiquitous and synonymous with organ music.

 

Btw, maybe you should consider turning off your autocorrect. I'm so much happier now that I have. I make more typos, but the tablet doesn't turn words and names I type correctly but which it doesn't recognize into gibberish.