heva

Amongst many others making it impossible to choose only 6, I would definitely place the Isnard organ in St.Maximin-la-Ste.Beaume in the upper part. As sunny, warm, and fiery as the Provence itself ....

It's still listed here, just try !

I had to play a wedding mass some ten years ago, where a (woman) friend of the bride would sing Ave Maria - the Bach/Gounod one (sure ...). We sang it through before mass and it was ok (for an amateur singer), but so incredibly loud - like a high pressure soprano mirabilis ... ("Or should I sing a little more in your direction", nonono, it's ok ....) Well, at the end of the mass the Ave Maria should be sung and I started the 'Bach' prelude waiting for the soprano to join. Which she did, but a third too low. Funny, I thought. In doubt whether to transpose or not - she didn't seem to notice (question is if could be heard at that volume) - so I didn't transpose. Nor did she. I kept on playing the piece, which writtendown was in D-major, she kept singing in B-flat major - it's difficult not to laugh then, that jazzchord at the end ... The priest asked me later "you know, I have no musical knowledge, but what kind of Ave Maria arrangement was that? I sounded somehow ................different............

That was Widor 5 and 6, nice recording though...

Even more so, if you look at old books with registrations (suggestions) you'll find that the sesquialtera is drawn in the 'organo pleno'.

His piano teacher was Marguerite Long, wasn't she? The sostenuto wasn't there - at the very end of track01 on th DVD he ends with a tutti (oui....) where the left takes over a chord from the right where it seems as if there is a sostenuto (not so good filming actually). About this left hand: look at the descendig scale in the Couperin at the beginning: nice historically correct way to play ...

The first parts of the transeptorgan date from 1658 by Hans Wolff Schonat, that's 37 years after Sweelinck's death. The shop window displays pull out all the stops, if you pay them

Sorry, neither instrument has been played on by Sweelinck.

Pedal coupled to a manual (LH)? manualchords by suboctave coupler(RH)? Another thing: do we widness the use of the/an sustenuto on the DVD where he ends at man.5?

I doubt the tonic sixth chord - okay, I hear it too, but I just can't believe he did it. Must be the chamades in the pedal (where the b ís played) hanging or so ... Final 6th is simply electrifying, not to mention the the dancing scelletons in the scherzo ....

Indeed, the 'louzy sightreader' remark puzzled my mind too. But did they need to in Dupré's class, I always thought everything needed to be played from memory.

Funny ... http://www.amyhughes.org/lego/church/photos011.html

Well, my foot get's better already, whith these wise words here Could playing these impro's conflict with the original artist's will? As far as I know PC seemed not very serious about it ("I don't study it, I study it on stage") and said that that music is there on the moment and is gone when it's finished. Would it show respect to him to keep repeating his 'thing for that particular moment'? (I know he was proud on the other hand when Jean-Marc had written down the Boléro - and played it himself (and found it pretty difficult)). But I agree they áre wonderfull ...

Well, another Rouen set - how much are there yet (haven't heard 'm though - so won't judge on the playing). How about Martin Jean at Woolsey Hall, Yale? It'll be my next ... Recently I bought Daniel Roth in St.Sulpice with Vierne 1+2. Though a very good set, I always find this organ (on cd) somewhat remote , 'at a distant' (also on Landale's Franck), even though it's sounds is massive in the tutti. Roth plays the Vierne's with authority, very musical. But, from all Vierne's I've heard so far, it's the Cochereau set that goes in my bag if sent to a desert island (there's só much fire in those recordings )

That's exactly what I personally dislike in all this Cochereau-improvisations-writtendown-and-performed. The great Pierre would probably not have 'done' the same improvisation twice, his genius would already have moved further. I doubt even if he would have liked it (would they be written down if he had had the health to be still alive?). Even on 'his' organ, with his notes, and his registration, you are not Cochereau, and neither is your 'performance' (and now I start wondering if this doesn't also count for written music by i.e. Bach - shooting myself in the foot?). Anyway, let's study his impro's very carefully, but do our/your own thing.

... needing an artist who understands what this music is about and who is able to naturally convince/move the audience with his understanding (of both this music and his instrument).

Congratulations, and let us know what your neighbours think of it

Get the Latry-set, (it's back in print as far as I know). I don't know this Van Oosten set, find his playing very good, but mostly (very) 'reserved' (not to say boring). You'll be surprised to hear the NDdP organ souding só good for that time (don't know what they ever did with/for it ...) I also know old LP's with Pierre Labric, if you could get them: do!

A bit difficult being a 6-foot-5-inch Dutch Besides - there's Amsterdam (isn't that called 'sinkpot of the empire'?) and there's 'The Netherlands' ... But then there are those among 'us' who do the reverse: catch a boat and a train and listen St.Pauls or Westm.Cath.

Maybe that Reger's music compensates some emotions that are lacking in the (more ore less) orthodox protestant population? Anyway, 'we' Dutch lack an healthy amount of chauvinism, maybe that's why we don't play our own legacy (on the other hand the things that áre played over often overestimated in my opinion) The organ in the catholic church (not a cathedral) you refer to (by Maarschalkerweerd) is in restoration and should be finished somewhere in 2008.

Shall we stick with "tall" ??

Please allow me to add dutch organist Piet van Egmond to your listing; played all the great classical repertoire and 'light' music for Dutch radio on the BBC-(cinema)organs (amongst others)....

New organs being built, in Holland? One interesting organ being built is this one; french romantic organs normally are associated in Holland with the RomanCatholic demonination, this church is a protestant church in a rather orthodox protestant area in the Netherlands. Also it's a 'larger' new instrument for this builder in years - ofcourse 'large' in a Dutch perspective, we criticize 'big beasts' (just kiddin', steve) and built effectively nothing new (most new instruments are copies of some historic style.

Two possibly interesting Steimeyer organs: http://www.hessing-konzerte.de/orgel.htm (!!! there's a sample of Pincemaille-Impro on this one !!!) http://www.eo-bamberg.de/eob/dcms/sites/bi...rgel/index.html

This Mutin is superb if you ask me ...