# Organists Past and Present



## Yardrax (Apr 29, 2013)

I've been listening to a lot of Organ music by Bach recently with a bit of Buxtehude on the side from Youtube, I'm interested in branching out and exploring the Organ repertoire a bit more but I have no idea about any Organ players besides Glenn Gould's occassional dabblings and Cameron Carpenter who is definitely not my kind of player. Help would be appreciated, time period in which they recorded is not an issue. Thanks in advance


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2013)

Well, a great past organist was Anton Bruckner, but unfortunately he popped his socks before YouTube and other such technology came along. Jumping forward quite a few years, you could check out this piece (given hereafter as a YouTube link) by *Ligeti* called *Volumina*. I wonder if our Kiwi music specialist *NZ* knows that this piece was first premiered in Wellington (please check city, it might have been Christchurch?) in the late 60s/early 70s by Denis Smalley to much furore?


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## ShropshireMoose (Sep 2, 2013)

When I first started work in Birmingham in 1980, there was a free organ recital every Wednesday lunchtime in Birmingham Town Hall. The city organist was then Sir George Thalben-Ball. He was 84 and still on top form, quite an incredible organist. He wrote Variations on a theme of Paganini (the 24th Caprice- viz. the Rachmaninoff one!) for pedals alone- the hands just joining in in the final toccata. It's a real tour de force and there are various versions on youtube. Thalben-Ball himself recorded it on the now defunct Vista label, an LP that's well worth tracking down, as is his remarkable performance of the Reubke Sonata on the 94th Psalm, another Vista LP recorded on the organ of All Souls, Langham Place. Reubke was a pupil of Liszt, who died sadly young, and this piece always seems to me to be the organ equivalent of Liszt's B Minor Sonata. 
Two CDs of more recent vintage that have given me a great deal of pleasure are:
1.Alfred Hollins Organ Works played by Timothy Byram-Wigfield at the Caird Hill Organ, Dundee (designed by Hollins)
Hollins (1865-1942) was a blind organ virtuoso, who wrote extremely enjoyable late romantic organ music, and it really is both splendidly played and recorded here.(Delphian DCD34044)
2.Restored to Glory- Thomas Trotter at the Organ of Birmingham Town Hall. This disc includes the Thalben-Ball Paganini Vars., plus Handel's 16th Organ Concerto arr. by Marcel Dupre, W.T. Best's Concert fantasia on Men of Harlech, Ireland: Villanella, Bizet's "Carmen" Suite arr. Lemare, 3 Lemare pieces and concludes with his transcription of Wagner's "Rienzi" Overture. Trotter succeeded Thalben-Ball as Birmingham City Organist, and a better choice could not have been made.(Regent REGCD 265)

Marcel Dupre made some good recordings for Mercury in the 50s and 60s of Franck's organ works and some of his own. I have LPs of these, they may be available on CD.

There's a few suggestions anyway. 

A Thalben-Ball story. A friend of mine used to occasionally broadcast for the BBC, and on one occasion he'd been asked to play a particular work by J.S. Bach. He didn't have the work in question, so went to the BBC library to get it out. The edition they had was Peters. On the title page it simply states: "Bach's Organ Works" underneath it was written: "So does mine, George Thalben-Ball" !!

Having watched a few of the youtube Paganini Variations, Diane Bish's is the one to go for, superbly played and well filmed and recorded.


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2013)

I definitely enjoy Peter Hurford's Mendelssohn interpretations and Karl Richter's Bach interpretations.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Some of my favorite interpretations of Bach in the organ are by Karl Richter and Ton Koopman. And I really prefer old Silbermann organs instead of the modern ones. I don't like Gould very much eek.





, "Little fugue" - Koopman




, "Toccata und Fuge (Dorian)" - Richter (one of my favorite organ recordings of Bach)




, "Toccata und Fuge BWV 565" - Richter (my favorite recording of this piece; the colors in the sound of that organ are amazing)




, "Great fugue" - I only know the guy trough youtube.

And this Ligeti also: 



 (I like this more than Volumina)


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## Yardrax (Apr 29, 2013)

Thanks for the recommendations so far 

I was actually listening to those Ligeti pieces earlier today. Interesting stuff indeed.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2013)

I'm a huge fan of Jean Guillou--sometimes called "the Horowitz of the organ." This CD is mind-blowing and an incredible demonstration disc:


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

I'll just mention a couple of post-Bach organ CDs I've been enjoying recently









Weinberger plays Mozart, which I play mostly for the fantasie for a musical clock. It's a great, savage performance. i like Chorzempa too, but this effaces his memory and is completely different.









Gerd Zacher plays Brahms op 122. I'm very interested in Op 122, I like this and the recordings by Jacques van Oortmerssen and Lena Jacobsen.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Now earlier. I'll just list some names

Buxtehude - I think Vogel's set is very satisfying. 
Pachelbel - I thought Rübsam on Naxos was a revelation
Sweelinck - Top choice for me remains Leonhardt, though lately I've been enjoying Leo van Doeselaar.
Frescobaldi - It's very hard to say. I love what Vartolo does with Fiore Musicale, but I'm aware that he provokes strong reactions. I also think John Butt's recording of then Capricci is interesting even if at the end of the day I have reservations - that may just be a question of my moods and tastes rather than anything more objective.
Froberger - suggestions appreciated
Byrd - I enjoyed Berben a lot in the Fantasies, though I get the feeling that it's not the last word in Byrd on organ. Anyone got any ideas?
Bruhns - Helmut Winter
D Scarlatti - suggestions appreciated

I haven't much explored French early organ music. I would like to, especially Muffat - I've been dipping into Haselbök's recordings on Naxos and I like it. Same for C P E Bach.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Now JSB.

This is obviously too big a topic. All I really want to say is that anyone interested in modern ideas about how Bach's music should go needs to be acquainted with Rübsam's recordings on Naxos and Weinberger's set.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

Keith Emerson of ELP as anyone who takes a knife to their organ and comes up smiling must be ok


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2013)

Svelte Silhouette said:


> Keith Emerson of ELP as anyone who takes a knife to their organ and comes up smiling must be ok


Like this?


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