This is not a new recording. The recording was done in 1987. Jonathan Dimmock performs.
Prelude and Fugue in B major - Dupre; Scherzo - Gigout
Chorale in A Minor - Franck; Communion & Sortie - Messien
Cortege et Letianie - Dupre; Allegro Vivace from Symphony V - Widor
Cantilene - Langlais; Trumpet Tune - Langlais
I ordered the CD based on the hope that the State Trumpets would be played to good effect. The Langlais Trumpet Tune, which was written specifically for those trumpets, sounds good. This is the 'world premiere recording.
So, I find myself wondering if this CD could/should have sounded muchbetter. In the Gigout Scherzo the organ sound turns to mush- or perhaps, mud. The Widor piece is almost indecipherable until perhaps the last four or five minutes. Experimenting with the equalizer on my receiver did not help the sound of either piece.
Question - is it me, or is this CD a mixed bag?
I found that CD in a second-hand shop some years ago. I recall being excited by it at the time, but that was back then... much water under the bridge, much wind out of the pipes since. I'm not at home now, but at my earliest convenience I'll give it another spin and get back to you.
[quote user="Jason E"]I found that CD in a second-hand shop some years ago. I recall being excited by it at the time, but that was back then... much water under the bridge, much wind out of the pipes since. I'm not at home now, but at my earliest convenience I'll give it another spin and get back to you.
[/quote]
Thanks.
Meanwhile 'Mind the gap.'
I re-listened to my copy of this CD and found a few things wrong with it. It is an early digital recording and some of the recorders in that time had low bit resolution which would turn the high mid-frequencies into mono. That would explain the mud. I did listen to the Gigout and Widor. They came across quite well. Certainly not indecipherable. Mr Dimmock's playing is quite good!
I've listened to this CD several times, and am a mite mystified why the OP was having difficulty with it. Like Rob points out, it's an early digital recording, but I never felt that the music got at all jumbled or confused. The Dupré tracks were terrific (Dimmock is indeed a fine player) and even the Widor sounded a lot cleaner than I was expecting.
It's possible the generous reverb could be contributing to Etienne's dissatisfaction, I doubt the fault is with his sound system.
I have a number of CDs from churches with large American Classics, and St. John is easily my favourite. Don't miss Marsha Heather Long's recording on Koch International Classics. Of course the proof is in 'being there', and the only American Classic I have heard Stateside live is Grace Cathedral.
I have listened to this CD several times now, on two different systems, and I think that organ in that space should should considerably crisper and brighter.
The sound drops to a mere whisper at the beginning of the Gigout, and the player'sregistration left much to be desired.
The sound level drops again at the beginning of the Widor and gradually increases over the next four or five minutes.
I get the same results on two different sound systems.
[quote user="Etienne"]
I have listened to this CD several times now, on two different systems, and I think that organ in that space should should considerably crisper and brighter. [/quote]
My good mate, Etienne, I simply cannot agree with that. Perhaps this is just a matter of taste -your opinion is respected- though care to sample Liverpool Anglican? Methinks it would thrill you, oh the stories I could tell. You haven't lived until you've heard Ian Tracy launch into the Franck E major at full tilt at the close of CE. Unbelievable, you should be there with me.
Many folks here consider Riverside the greater instrument than St. John, but IMO, the acoustics are so dead at Riverside, it doesn't really matter. I've always had a difficult time with recordings from that venue. (I have a difficult time with the grape juice liturgy at Riverside, but we won't get into that.)
The sound level drops again at the beginning of the Widor and gradually increases over the next four or five minutes.
Okay, now I understand your point, though it bothers me less than you. I still think Widor is all about showing off his native organs. As a composer, the middle movements of his symphonies are great for encores, but the beginning and ending movements often loose themselves in a lack of direction, as if Widor never had an overall plan.
Standards in organ music are so much lower than in piano music. How to explain Widor's flummoxed moment at page 12 in the first mov't of the 6th symphony? He simply has no idea what to do next, and the writing reverts to a very simplistic, homophonic style, all the more annoying coming after the brilliant variation in F# minor. But by that time it's too late and the mov't ends anticlimactically.
Widor can always be counted on to generate excitement, but he is an awful composer.
sb32 plays a dynamite Widor 'Toccata' -he does it better than I do- but I wonder if he thinks it's a good piece of music...
I find the tempos in the recording to be "labored". But this is an organ of extreams... super soft and very loud.... So I was not suprised to the levels in the recording. And saying the organ is "muddy"... well... the room for one.. and... it is basically a hodge-podge of all the old organs Aeolian-Skinner removed from all of their rebuilds (remeber the organ was done on the cheap!). Virtualy none of it was "new" in the 1950's. In fact a good portion of the pipe work came from Riverside (tho revoiced).
But I am rambling.... no matter what the make up of the organ, I like it!
You mentioned the organ at Liverpool Cathedral.
I was looking for a CD that featured their famous 'trompette militaire' to good effect, so I posted a query on their site.
The suborganist responded with a recommendation. Just got a notice that it (Bombarde! French Organ Classics) was shipped today from my order source.
They also have an appeal going to raise 900,000 pounds for the organ.
[quote user="Etienne"]
Just got a notice that it (Bombarde! Frency Organ Classics) was shipped today from my order source.
[/quote]
That's a cool CD- you'll love it. But someday you should hear that instrument live. It is utterly overwhelming.
Nice thread, btw. One of the few presently about classical music/ pipe organs.
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