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I love American audiences. They are always so amazingly appreciative. The same with the French - and I daresay any nation other than the English.

I shall have to have another listen to this when I am less replete with what I shall euphemistically refer to as festive cheer, but my first impressions are that the stars of this clip are the three orchestral soloists (clarinet, trumpet and 'bone) . As for the organist, to me he seems too guarded and "careful". Surely the piece cries for (1) more panache with (2) much crisper articulation and (3) a more incisively voiced organ able to cope with it?  I know I'm being churlish, but the performance doesn't seem to "take wing" as it might have done.

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Two clips from Cologne Cathedral.

Most YouTube clips from Cologne Cathedral seem to feature the main 4-manual organ at the crossing of the cathedral but, in view of it being lit up, I assume this is the cathedral's main organ which was built by Klais of Bonn in 1998: it looks to me in the clip as if someone is at the console of it. Lovely building but I think the sound quality of this clip is not perhaps as great as the piece sounds. Speaking of which does anyone recognise the piece?

Sticking with the main organ at the crossing in the Cathedral (Klais of Bonn, built 1947 and restored with alterations in 2000) here we have what sounds to me like an absolutely splendid improvisation of Hymn 642 from the hymnbook of the same cathedral. It sounds as if this one is done in the French style - my Dad always says to "expect fireworks from the French" - but whether it is intended to sound French or not it is fabulous anyway.

Enjoy!

Dave

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I was privileged to be present at the organ recital at which this video was filmed. It is played on the Blancafort organ of the Concatedral de Santa Maria in Castellón de la Plana, Spain by the Italian organist Carlo Maria Barile. He’s improvising on the tune “Salve, Virgen del Lidón”, a local folksong dedicated to the patron saint of Castellón.

 

 

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A member of this forum put a picture of this organ on their Facebook page a couple of days back. Lovely looking instrument but what a pity (IMO) that someone had to go and jazz it up to the extent that it starts (to my ear anyway) to sound more like a fairground organ: a look at some other clips on YouTube reveal that, aside from the Cymbelstern (no objection) the statues and some other parts also move: see the clip called "Święta Lipka - Polonez - Pożegnanie Ojczyzny organy (HD)".

The organ is in the church of the Dear Lady, located in Święta Lipka (Poland) and was built by Jan Mosengel (1721) with more work by B. Goebel (1905) and by Klepacki & Sauer (2010). Sounds great in these clips but I wonder how much of the organ as it is now is original material.

 

 

Nice instrument though and lovely colours.

Dave

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11 hours ago, Jonathan Dods said:

A new recording of the organ at St Michael and All Angels Bedford Park:

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJIsJpp9ITLz4YaNU1AkGCAciuW1ypPls

Nice recording and instrument: thank you for posting it.

Here's another offering from the Finnish organist Kalevi Kiviniemi on the 81-rank organ of Turku Cathedral, Finland which was built by Veikko Virtanen Oy, Espoo, Finland in 1980. It is a fantasy improvisation on the tune "When Johnny": composer unknown.

Dave

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This is great fun! He obviously knows his instrument, knows his acoustic and did everything IMHO in the best possible taste. Organ improvisation is very subjective and to me seems to go in cycles as far as style and approach are concerned. Some of the best improvisation I have heard recently has come from players not setting out to show off their technique etc. but to produce something new and satisfying. I also believe that something simple can be as effective as something complex. Here in the UK there seems to be a move away from just ‘trying to sound French’ and some of the best ‘improvisation educators’ such as Ronny Krippner while acknowledging that there are national schools of improvisation also push for showing one’s own identity. One can still experience the ubiquitous Anglican ramblings (often on Organists’ Association visits!) but more often than not better things can be heard. I still can not get to grips with improvisiations on silent films however..but this is a purely personal view!

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Can anyone help please? On the clip below are two pieces, the first is from Michel Corrette’s book of Nöels but I am unable to trace the second which is a set of Baroque type variations on the well known ‘Marche des Rois Mages’. I would like to get hold of a copy of the second piece but it does not seem to crop up by searching under ‘Corrette’ or anywhere else.

Any information would be welcome.

Thanks in anticipation.

A

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9 hours ago, AJJ said:

Can anyone help please? On the clip below are two pieces, the first is from Michel Corrette’s book of Nöels but I am unable to trace the second which is a set of Baroque type variations on the well known ‘Marche des Rois Mages’. I would like to get hold of a copy of the second piece but it does not seem to crop up by searching under ‘Corrette’ or anywhere else. Thanks in anticipation.

A

The second piece is "Lei Rei" (Marche de Tourenne) by the French composer Edouard Marcel Victor Rouher (1857–1940). It is a part of his collection of 450 Noëls and the score is available on IMSLP: https://imslp.org/wiki/450_Noëls_(Rouher%2C_Edouard_Marcel_Victor) (either pp. 38–40 in Vol. 1 or pp. 4–6 in the "10 Pièces").

It seems like a lot of fun to play. 😄

M

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"Präludium und Fugue D-Dur" by Franz Schmidt as played on the Nave organ in Cologne Cathedral. Sounds fab: wouldn't mind hearing this live (ie. not on YouTube) if I ever get the chance but the noise-cancelling headphones I have make it sound as if I am there. Good processional piece for the end of a service perhaps.

Dave

 
 
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Franz Schmidt - a forgotten composer! My friend and ex colleague, the late Harold Truscott, was an authority on his music. If the Prelude and Fugue inspires you then try listening to other organ works - there are plenty of them! Or the one of the four Symphonies - No. 4 (A Requiem for my Daughter) is wonderful and is available, together with the other three on CD (L1 0122-2 034). Schmidt was a fine 'cellist but, surprisingly, there is no concerto for that instrument. He was also a very fine pianist and there is a Concerto for left hand.

I think his lack of popularity was possibly, coloured by his, seemingly, support for the Nazi part. That, and the fact that he was, in his time, considered to be a little old-fashioned relying heavily on tonal counterpoint and heavy orchestration in the manner of Bruckner. The Cantata Deutsche Auferstehung (German Resurrection), his last work, was a setting of Nazi text. Hitler knew Schmidt and this piece was commissioned after the Anschluss. It was never finished by Schmidt but by Robert Wagner. At the same time he was working on a piece for the pianist Wittgenstein, of Jewish decent,  which, possibly, indicates his lack of sympathy with the Nazi cause!

 

 

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Susi Jeans played Schmidt’s Toccata in her recital at the inauguration of the Royal Festival Hall organ in 1954.  As I recall, the other performers were André Maréchal, Arnold Richardson, George Thalben-Ball and, of course, Ralph Downes.

Another Schmidt expert is Peter Gould, formerly of Derby Cathedral.  Some years ago he gave a memorable masterclass to the Winchester and District Association of Organists on Schmidt's organ music .   

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On 07/01/2019 at 22:15, SlowOrg said:

The second piece is "Lei Rei" (Marche de Tourenne) by the French composer Edouard Marcel Victor Rouher (1857–1940). It is a part of his collection of 450 Noëls and the score is available on IMSLP: https://imslp.org/wiki/450_Noëls_(Rouher%2C_Edouard_Marcel_Victor) (either pp. 38–40 in Vol. 1 or pp. 4–6 in the "10 Pièces").

It seems like a lot of fun to play. 😄

M

I played this at my regular noon hour concert in Fredericton Cathedral last Friday.  It is indeed a lot of fun.  Thanks for the reference - there looks to be quite a treasure trove of short pieces in these volumes on imslp.

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