Simon Preston - Reubke Sonata On The 94th Psalm

[PatHill]

Maybe the problem is longevity?

JJK

You may be right. I offered the link merely, and IMHO helpfully, as a pointer to those who might be interested, given that this is quite a difficult recording to find.

[Vox Humana]

I too have heard that CD-Rs degrade sooner than CDs. I have never yet had a CD degrade, but have certainly got some CD-Rs that have become unusable.

 

From what I'm told (by my son who has a sound recording degree), older CD players can't play CD-Rs, though any modern ones should be able to. That said, I have a newish but cheap bedside clock/radio/CD player that doesn't like them at all. The instructions do warn you not to use them. So too do the instructions for the CD changer in my car. The latter has played them OK, but one day it decided to lock up and sulk. It wouldn't play anything or eject the CDs. The man who fixed it for me reckoned it was the CD-R among the genuine CDs that was the culprit.

[Guest Roffensis]

I have listened to the Preston recording, it's good, but not the best IMHO. I still prefer Peter le Huray at Salisbury Cathedral, which like most of the old Saga recordings, has never seen light of day on CD. Ditto the whole host of excellent Vista label recordings and Abbey label recordings, that must be just rotting away somewhere.

 

Strange to think recording companies are issuing so many new recordings, but neglecting older ones, many of which are glorious. I still treasure my vinyl!!!......and made sure I kept and collected as much as possibly I could when CDs first entered into the arena, it didn't take a genius to work out how much would be lost to comercialism. Many older recordings are now simply unknown.

 

 

R

[Davidb]

If you are concerned about the longevity of the recording, what about purchasing the CD-R, and copying the tracks to your computer? they can be copied in flac which has no audio loss, and won't degrade over time. A simple solution

[Jonathan Thorne]

The Preston disc is a very interesting recording. I have a copy of the 1983 DG recording of the Rebuke and Liszt in it's original case and condition. I was lucky it was given to me but what e-bay was charging was a bit much. Good performances and organ in reasonable tune (apart from the fugue in the Rebuke plus the 2ft on the great is a little unbalanced).

 

However might I mention another good interpretation is the Roger Fisher rendition of the Rebuke in his early EMI disc from Chester Cathedral?

 

Oh and Keith John has done a good Rebuke on the Priory Label!

[innate]

The Preston disc is a very interesting recording. I have a copy of the 1983 DG recording of the Rebuke and Liszt in it's original case and condition. I was lucky it was given to me but what e-bay was charging was a bit much. Good performances and organ in reasonable tune (apart from the fugue in the Rebuke plus the 2ft on the great is a little unbalanced).

 

However might I mention another good interpretation is the Roger Fisher rendition of the Rebuke in his early EMI disc from Chester Cathedral?

 

Oh and Keith John has done a good Rebuke on the Priory Label!

Thy Rebuke hath broken his heart!

[JJK]

You may be right. I offered the link merely, and IMHO helpfully, as a pointer to those who might be interested, given that this is quite a difficult recording to find.

 

Indeed - very helpful thank you. I'm lucky enough to have one of the original CDs, and it is in my opinion a really excellent recording. Prices for secondhand copies on ebay went crazy, so even if CD-R is not quite as durable, it's much better than nothing!

 

JJK

[Phil T]

I too have heard that CD-Rs degrade sooner than CDs. I have never yet had a CD degrade, but have certainly got some CD-Rs that have become unusable.

 

From what I'm told (by my son who has a sound recording degree), older CD players can't play CD-Rs, though any modern ones should be able to. That said, I have a newish but cheap bedside clock/radio/CD player that doesn't like them at all. The instructions do warn you not to use them. So too do the instructions for the CD changer in my car. The latter has played them OK, but one day it decided to lock up and sulk. It wouldn't play anything or eject the CDs. The man who fixed it for me reckoned it was the CD-R among the genuine CDs that was the culprit.

 

What CD-Rs play on what CD players can be quite a lottery. My old CD player played a copy of a Red Hot Chilli Peppers album but didn’t play a friends copy of The Darkness (maybe a blessing).

 

If you are concerned about the longevity of the recording, what about purchasing the CD-R, and copying the tracks to your computer? they can be copied in flac which has no audio loss, and won't degrade over time. A simple solution

 

Until your hard drive stops working, you get a bad sector, etc. Maybe I’m wrong, but flash drives seem to be the most stable (computer) storage device out there?

 

[James Goldrick]

===========================

 

I have a lot of old LP recordings, but sadly, only the record-sleeve of the Preston recording following a mishap involving a cut-glass vase, a dozen roses and a loose shoe-lace.

 

From what I recall, it was a wonderful performance, but I always felt that the organ got in the way of the music a wee bit.

 

I therefore console myself in the knowledge that I have the Roger Fisher performance from Chester, where the organ fares rather better, the reeds are superior and the performance quite "balls-out" from start to finish.

 

As I've just damaged the stylus on my record-deck, I can't check it out, (I don't have much luck with record-decks) but I seem to to recall that Roger Fisher gets those "impossible" swell-crescendos almost at the beginning, where both feet are fully occupied doing other things.

 

Of course, Reubke himself had a "device" for achieving this impossible feat, I seem to recall, whilst everyone else who wishes to play the music as carved in stone, are obliged to call upon the services of anyone small enough and agile enough to either work their way behind the console and operate the swell-pedal by hand, or swing on the mechanical linkage like an organistic version of Quasemodo.

 

"The reeds! The reeds!"

 

If Pierre likes British organ-artillery, he wouldn't be disappointed with the 32ft Trombone and the Solo Tubas on that Chester recording.

 

MM

 

 

Roger Fisher's 1970 Reubke arrived today on the re-master of the EMI Great Cathedral Organs Vol.1

It is a superb performance, though I must side in personal preference with the Simon Preston recording.

The Tubas really provide some artillery in the fanfares. However, the 32' Contra Trombone seems entirely mute thoughout, and in the final chord, I would have guessed the organ has a very weak Contrabassoon at best.

Is this just the re-mastering?

 

Cheers

 

JG

[Guest Cynic]

Roger Fisher's 1970 Reubke arrived today on the re-master of the EMI Great Cathedral Organs Vol.1

It is a superb performance, though I must side in personal preference with the Simon Preston recording.

The Tubas really provide some artillery in the fanfares. However, the 32' Contra Trombone seems entirely mute thoughout, and in the final chord, I would have guessed the organ has a very weak Contrabassoon at best.

Is this just the re-mastering?

 

Cheers

 

JG

 

 

The Pedal organ at Chester is quite superb.... mind you, in a 1970 recording there might have been more difficulty in picking it all up and reproducing it* than in these days of Sound Field microphones. I would rate the Hill 32' and 16' reeds as among the top half dozen in this country. They are fractionally annoying to the player, sounding a little late from the console. They are sited some good distance back from the main body of the organ which stands at the opening of the North Transpet while the big Pedal pipes (both flue and reed) are sited on the back wall of the transept.

 

 

*Or, of course, something has gone wrong (as you suggest) in the transfer. It has to be said, though, Martin Monkman is very much a leading engineer at this type of work - he has an enormous re-issue catalogue to his credit.

[Guest Roffensis]

I think Chester is a gem, although I also firmly believe it needs a thorough restoration with a capital "R", with a regard for the original voicing, pitch and spec. I think it could have fared far worse in the 70s rebuild, but it does not have the same growl it had now. One could go on...

 

I think I must have previously mentioned the single biggest disaster in Chester in recent years has been the plush seating put in the nave. This is almost equivalent to carpeting the floor, and has dulled the instrument a great deal. The "ring" has all but gone. The "swirling" effect certainly has totally gone.

 

The quite recent recordings by Paul Derrett are excellent (pity they couldn't have removed the chairs), and show the organ off magnificently. If you want to hear how it did sound when the chairs weren't in, try the old Fisher/Elgar disc. Glorious!! The recent reissue of the Darke recording by Fisher was also done pre cosy nave seating, and is also superb.

 

Oh well I also notice them creeping into the choir transepts at Rochester, which has also effected the acoustic. Cathedral authorities ought to be aware of the musical damage they do surely?

 

 

R

[Guest Barry Williams]

"Cathedral authorities ought to be aware of the damage they (plush chairs and carpets) do"

 

The effect on the acoustic of plush furnishings, including carpets, has been known for many years. John Norman has written an excellent article on it and the Exeter DAC has issued guidance in similar terms. Many an organ has been fully restored only to sound dreadful when the ecclesiastical people turn the church into a living room. Even a single strip of plain carpet along the nave can have a dramatic effect on the acoustic of a church.

 

I fear than even when advice is given it will not be heeded, for the popular approach to worship these days has little to do with the numinous and much to do with perceived immediacy.

 

Barry Williams