organ Archive
“Bach to the Future” – Olivier Latry, Grand Organ of Notre Dame of Paris – La Dolce Volta
The last recording from Notre Dame Cathedral that we are likely to hear in a while.
Jake Mason Trio – The Stranger In The Mirror – Soul Messin’ Records
Organ trio shines on their new release.
Joey DeFrancesco – In The Key Of The Universe – Mack Avenue
Veteran organist/trumpeter revisits free jazz with stellar results!
Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow, Bobby Previte – You Don’t Know the Life – Vinyl LP – Rare Noise
Stretching the boundaries of the organ trio…
Harald Vogel: Buxtehude Early Organ Works – MDG
Performaned on Buxtehude’s Organs by Harald Vogel, Buxtehude’s Early Organ Works.
Phillip Johnston & the Coolerators – The Adventures of Prince Achmed and Diggin’ Bones – Asynchronous
Organ jazz and a jazz soundtrack with a difference.
CÉSAR FRANCK: The Organ Works – Ben van Oosten, organ – MDG
This is a valuable compendium of Franck’s organ music, including works that will be new to most. While perhaps the interpretations of the greatest pieces may not rival the best versions available, it is a very worthwhile collection for any library.
ANGELUS – Zvonimir Nagy Organist and composer – Ravello Records
Contemporary organ music that makes a deep impression in its range and ambition. ANGELUS – Zvonimir Nagy Organist and composer – Ravello Records CD – Catalog #: RR7987 (4/13/18) ****: Angelus is a refreshing exercise in melody and minimalism from Croatian-born American musician Zvonimir Nagy, both a music composer and scholar. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he is an Associate Professor of Music at Duquesne University. He is also an active performer with interests in contemporary music and improvisation. The album features music for contemplation, using a solo organ to create what Nagy calls a “delicate space for inner exploration throughout the life of the album.” I can’t help but agree. The album starts meditatively but by the final compositions is full of dynamism and exuberance. Nagy’s performance is impeccable, and each piece is moving and memorable. The sound is fine on the disc, but I long to hear a work like this in higher than CD resolution and multiple channels. I got a little help from my pre-amp giving me a faux surround sound, but that’s never the same as true multichannel music. The recording was made at the Chapel of Holy Spirit at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh […]
Musica Baltica Vol.3: FW Markull – Organ Works – MDG
19th Century organ music beautifully played and recorded Musica Baltica Vol.3: FW Markull – Organ Works – MDG (Dabringhaus und Grimm) Cat No: MDG9062048 Hybrid SACD TT: 67:19 (3/16/18) *** 1/2 Friedrich Wilhelm Markull began his career as a child prodigy and was appointed to the post of organist at Danzig’s magnificent St Mary’s Church when he was only twenty years old. Markull had a great influence on Johannes Brahms, who received inspiration in Danzig not only for his own organ compositions but also for the German Requiem. Markull died in 1887. Markull’s works are played on the Bucholz Organ, dedicated in 1841, an instrument with more than fifty stops on three manuals. Organist Andrzej Szadejko has found an outstanding replacement for the early romantic Danzig instrument Markull performed on, which was completely destroyed during World War II, in the very expertly restored Buchholz organ in Stralsund’s St Nicholas Church. The music on the disc is very well recorded. I listened in 5.1 surround, and I was quickly transported to St. Mary’s. I was pleased to see this disc has a dedicated subwoofer channel, as often classical recordings are done in the 5.0 format. The surrounds give us a sense […]
Arrangements for two organs and percussion – Music by Josef RHEINBERGER and Modest MUSSORGSKY – Jörg Endebrock and Suzanne Rohn, Organs / Conrad Graf, percussion – HD-Klassic
Arrangements for two organs and percussion – Music by Josef Rheinberger and Modest Mussorgsky – Organists Jörg Endebrock and Suzanne Rohn – Konrad Graf- percussion -HD-Klassic SACD with stereo and binaural versions / hd-klassic 3D-001701 TT: 60:31 – Released August 2017 A spectaclular demonstration of audio technology with excellent performances It’s not often I hear something really new and unique, both musically and technically. But that’s the case with this new disc from HD-Klassic, a German distributor. This SACD features 3 ways to listen to this music- on the stereo layer of the CD, in 5.1 surround on the SACD layer, and as a binaural recording designed for headphone listening. The music is well suited for this technology demonstration: It includes Josef Rheinberger’s Organ Concerto #2, and an organ transcription of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This work is also scored for percussion. Two organs are played for both pieces. That’s not something you hear every day. Organist Susanne Rohn and Jörg Endenbrock play the historic Walker Organ at the Lutheran Church at Wiesbaden and the Klas Organ respectively. Percussionist Konrad Graf provided the percussion music during the Mussorgsky. It’s quite a listen in any of the formats provided. In […]
Samuel BARBER: Organ Works – Rudolf Innig – MDG Classics
Samuel BARBER: Organ Works- Rudolf Innig – MDG Classics MDG 917-2010-6 -5.1 channel SACD TT: 65:04 (8/18/17) [dist. by Naxos] ****: Barber’s Organ music well played and nicely recorded When Samuel Barber was young, he told his mother he intended to be a musician, and not to try and dissuade him. Luckily, his mother complied, and Barber became one of the great musical voices of the 20th century. What many do not know, is that Barber was a fine organist and composer for organ. The CD under examination today is a fine collection of Barber’s organ works, ably performed by Rudolph Innig. The disc starts with Barber’s first organ composition, To Longwood Gardens, and ends with his Chorale Prelude based on Silent Night. Along the way we get a lovely transcription of Barber’s most well known work, the Adagio for Strings, opus11. Barber himself did the arrangement for organ, and the piece has been performed at the state funerals of Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy and at the memorial services for Grace Kelly and Albert Einstein. This familiar piece works well transcribed, and is one of the many highlights on this disc. Organist Rudolf Innig does a fine job with each […]
Heroic Proportions: Selected Works for Organ = Music by BACH, FRANCK, BARBER, STEWART, WILLAN – Felix Hell – MSR Classics
Heroic Proportions: Selected Works for Organ – J. W. Steere & Son Organ, Opus 665 – Music by BACH, FRANCK, BARBER, STEWART, WILLAN – Felix Hell – MSR Classics CD MS 1542 TT: 69:00 (2/28/17) ****: A fine performance of classic and more contemporary organ works Felix Hell is one of the most sought-after concert organists of his generation. He has had a fine career as a concerto soloist and recitalist and has performed more than 850 solo recitals throughout his native Germany, as well as in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Latvia, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Spain, Russia, and throughout the United States, where he has performed more than 500 recitals in 46 states. At the age of 21, Felix Hell received global recognition for his performances of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach in three full cycles. Then, in 2013, Felix Hell was engaged by the Germany Embassy in Seoul, Korea, to perform the complete organ works of Bach there, commemorating the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Germany and South Korea. This disc features two classic organ pieces by Bach and Franck, along with some more contemporary works by […]
Marcel TYBERG: Masses – Christopher Jacobson (organ) South Dakota Chorale/Brian A. Schmidt- Pentatone
Marcel TYBERG (1893-1944) ; Mass No. 1 in G Major for Mixed Chorus and Organ (1934) Mass No. 2 in F Major for Mixed Chorus and Organ (1941) ; Christopher Jacobson (organ) South Dakota Chorale/Brian A. Schmidt- Pentatone PTC5186584 SACD TT: 64:36 – (1/15/16) ****: Pentatone provides an opportunity for us to honor the music of a forgotten composer who died in the Nazi concentration camps This new SACD disc from Pentatone gives us two masses from Marcel Tyberg, While not a prolific composer, he wrote some powerful and memorable music, and these two masses are perfect examples. Marcel Tyberg was born in Vienna in 1895. In the years immediately before the Second World War II, Tyberg was a promising young composer whose Second Symphony had been premiered in the 1930s by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Rafael Kubelík. Part Jewish, but a practicing Catholic, his family did it’s best to dodge the Nazi’s increasing interest. Thinking he would at some point be arrested, he entrusted his music to friends. For many years he was thought to have committed suicide, but in fact he was exterminated at Auschwitz. The Mass No. 1 was written in 1934, for Mixed Chorus and Organ. It’s an ethereal work, […]
Keith Oxman – East of the Village – Capri
Keith Oxman – East of the Village [TrackList follows] – Capri 74145-2, 60:36 [2/17/17] ****: Bringing back soulful 1960s organ jazz with a few modern twists. (Keith Oxman – tenor saxophone; Jeff Jenkins – Hammond B3 organ, mixing, mastering; Todd Reid – drums) Big thumbs up to Denver-based tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman and his organ trio for a swinging good time on their newest release, the hour-long East of the Village. From start to finish, the ten tracks (seven covers and three originals) bring poise, polish and precision to a tribute to classic 1960s soul jazz. Oxman typically uses a piano, sax and bass configuration, but recently he began exploring a more soul-drenched approach and the result is one of the best soul-jazz efforts of the year. Rather than relying solely on well-known standards from the Great American Songbook, or oft-done jazz touchstones, Oxman, Hammond B3 organist Jeff Jenkins (who has worked with Phil Woods, Freddie Hubbard, David “Fathead” Newman, Bobby Hutcherson and John Abercrombie) and drummer Todd Reid (his credits include Mose Allison, Richie Cole, Curtis Fuller and Red Holloway) utilize relatively unknown material in their set list. So, while the soulful sound might have some sense of familiarity […]
“Between Two Worlds” = Original Works for Saxophone and Organ” – Massimo Giacchetti (sax.) /Manuela Di Marco (org.) – Dynamic Records
“Between Two Worlds” = Original Works for Saxophone and Organ” – Massimo Giacchetti, saxophone/Manuela Di Marco, organ – Dynamic Records CDS724 [Distr. by Naxos] 61:51, (6/26/2012) Tracklist follows ***: Very unusual but mostly quite enjoyable. This Italian recording of music for saxophone and organ has actually been out for a few years but I just recently came across it. I admit straight up I was not aware that any composer had written music for saxophone and organ, being the very unusual combination fraught with potential performance inconveniences that it is, and I admit that I was very skeptical. Truth be told, I was not really enthralled with any of the pieces herein but I was also pleasantly surprised that the overall effect and the mesh of these two seemingly disconnected timbres was actually pretty entertaining. Compliments to all the composers here for scoring the music for the voices on organ and the exact saxophones (soprano and alto) whose partials and timbres sound almost ‘organ-like’ Giacchetti and Di Marco are both very fine players and this repertoire relies mainly on tone quality and melody rather than on the hypertechnical – I think for the better. I found the works by Denis […]
Friedrich Wilhelm MARKULL: Organ Works Vol. 1 – Andrzej Szadejko – MDG
Friedrich Wilhelm MARKULL: Musica Baltica 2 – Organ Works Vol. 1 – Organist: Andrzej Szadejko – MDG Multichannel (5.1) SACD cat. # MDG 906 1990-6 TT: 61:34 (2/24/17) **** A fine organ recital richly recorded When Friedrich Wilhelm Markull died at the age of seventy-one in 1887, posthumous tributes honored him as a “most highly knowledgeable musician and a most highly outstanding organist and composer for the church, school, and salon and of classical orchestral works.” For more than fifty years Markull had played a significant role in Danzig’s music culture. Markull also enjoyed a reputation as a pianist, and had given excellent concerts of chamber music. He composed operas, oratorios, and two symphonies, as well as and many works for the organ, which is the program for this disc. In this new release from MDG organist Andrzej Szadejko has chosen an attractive selection from Markull’s multitude of organ compositions and recorded these works on the historic Bucholz organ at the Church of St. Nicholas in Stralsund, as part of the MDG Musica Baltic series. The disc contains a few short works followed by three extended compositions by Markull. The organ is a large one, and the recording reflects its […]
Organissimo – B3tles: A Soulful Tribute to the Fab Four – Big O
B-3 trio plus classic Beatles compositions – a winning combination … Organissimo – B3tles: A Soulful Tribute to the Fab Four – Big O 2424, 67:51 ****1/2: (Jim Alfredson – Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, electric piano/synthesizers; Lawrence Barris – guitar; Randy Marsh – drums, harmonica (#9); Bill Vits – percussion (#1, 3, 5, 9, 12); Mike List – tabla (#12) ) For lovers of the Hammond organ, and soul jazz, it is a very short journey to get excited about a project bringing the Hammond to re-interpret classic Beatles compositions with organ and guitar improvisation. Changing “All You Need is Love” to 5/4 time or “Taxman” to 7/4 sounds about right when the vibe is soulful. (Adding a tenor sax to the mix would have been perfection, but who’s complaining when the trio is expanded to a quintet including tabla on George Harrison’s “Within You Without You.”) Choosing twelve tracks from the Beatles songbook might have been the hardest choice for band leader organist, Jim Alfredson, who also recorded, mixed, and mastered the project. “Taxman” kicks off the tribute with the familiar melody immediately upfront in the mix before Alfredson adds a little grease, and we’re only missing dancers on risers […]
Joey DeFrancesco (B-3) + The People – Project Freedom – Mack Ave.
Joey DeFrancesco + The People – Project Freedom – Mack Avenue MAC 1121, 64:20 [3/10/17] ****1/2: B-3 master shows a lot of heart in debut for new label. (Joey DeFrancesco – organ, keyboards, trumpet; Jason Brown – drums; Troy Roberts – tenor sax, soprano sax; Dan Wilson – guitar) Joey DeFrancesco has always been proud of his Philadelphia roots. As a teenager, this emerging B-3 organist garnered praise from the likes of Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones. This led to a gig with Miles Davis that got his career off to a fast start. Recently, he returned to his hometown to receive a star on the Philadelphia Music Walk Of Fame. He joined jazz luminaries including John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone. Like many other Philadelphia musicians, Joey has embraced the “heart and soul” aspects of his instrumental prowess. There is no organist who is regarded by his peers and critics to such a degree. (He has been voted best organist 11 of the last 15 years in Downbeat Magazine.) As a sideman, he has played with Diana Krall, George Benson, Jimmy Cobb, Ray Charles, Bobby Hutchinson, Larry Coryell, David Sanborn, James Moody and Nancy Wilson to name […]
Mike LeDonne, B-3, & The Groover Quartet – That Feelin’ – Savant
Keeping the classic organ/sax quartet format vibrant… Mike LeDonne & The Groover Quartet – That Feelin’ – Savant SCD 2159, 59:38 ****: (Mike LeDonne – Hammond organ; Eric Alexander – tenor sax; Peter Bernstein – guitar; Joe Farnsworth – drums. With special guest, Vincent Herring – alto sax on # 1, 5, & 6) Living in New York City with its unique seven-day-a-week jazz scene, provides the opportunity for Hammond B-3 organist, Mike LeDonne, to keep his Groover Quartet tight. Fellow band members Eric Alexander (tenor sax), Peter Bernstein (guitar), and Joe Farnsworth (drums) are all active with various projects and recording dates. Yet they can play with LeDonne often, usually at the jazz club Smoke. Mike has kept the soul jazz sax/organ/guitar front line format alive and kicking on his new CD, That Feelin’. It is a grouping that can re-conceptualize pop and soul charts like “La La Means I Love You” and “This Will Be an Everlasting Love” as well as the Broadway tune, “A Lot of Living to Do.” Straight-ahead jazz is covered by Donald Byrd’s “Fly Little Bird, Fly” and the standard, “At Last.” The quartet expands to a dual sax quintet with altoist, Vincent Herring, […]
HOELLER: Fantasie for Violin and Organ; Triptychon for Organ solo; Improvisationen for Cello & Organ – William Preucil, v./ Roy Christensen, c./ Barbara Harbach, organ – MSR Classics
The music of Karl Hoeller proves devotional and ecstatic in a highly individual but dark style. KARL HOELLER: Music for Violin, Cello and Organ = Fantasie for Violin and Organ, Op. 49; Triptychon for Organ solo, Op. 64; Improvisationen for Cello and Organ, Op. 55 – William Preucil, v./ Roy Christensen, cello/ Barbara Harbach, organ – MSR Classics MS 1445, 70:55 (9/29/16) [Distr. by Albany] ****: During a phone interview with pianist Veronika Jochum, daughter of eminent conductor Eugen Jochum, the name of composer Karl Hoeller (1907- 1987) arose, in the course of a radio tribute to Eugen Jochum which featured one of Hoeller’s orchestral compositions. Given Hoeller’s penchant for polyphony, tonal colors, and classical procedures, a comparison to Paul Hindemith seemed inevitable; but Ms. Jochum and I agree that Hoeller’s style feels distinctly less “academic” than that of Hindemith. The three works presented here derive from the years 1949-1963. Violinist William Preucil served as concertmaster in Atlanta and in Cleveland, before assuming the first violin position with the Cleveland String Quartet. The Fantasie (1949) opens with a solo violin cadenza before the organ joins him in some “symphonic” harmonization. The writing for both instruments, whether in concert or individually […]
American Psalmody of the 20th Century – Gloriae Dei Cantore/Richard K. Pugsley – Paraclete (3 CD set)
A fine tour of American choral music on 3 CDs. American Psalmody of the 20th Century – Gloriae Dei Cantore/Richard K. Pugsley – Paraclete Recordings 8999 (3 CD set) TT: 3:11:00 (7/20/16) ****: This new recording from Paraclete is a pretty complete tour of American Choral music based on Psalms from the Bible. The collection features 20th century music, and 23 of the works contained in this 3 CD set have never been recorded previously, making this set quite a musical treasure. The composers represented include Charles Loeffler, Virgil Thomson, Kent Newbury, Samuel Adler, Charles Ives, Alan Hovhaness and more. The performances are by the Gloriae Dei Cantores, an internationally recognized choir with more than forty members who range in age from seventeen to seventy. This massive collection is conducted by Richard Pugsley. There are also instrumental contributions from brass instruments, a piano and the great organ at Methuen Memorial music Hall at Metheun, MA. The collection is so large you’re not likely to get through all 3 CDs in one sitting, but wherever you dive in I think you’ll be pleased with the level of musicality. Taken together, the collection is moving and they are well performed. It was […]
Alyssa Allgood, vocals – Out Of The Blue – Jerujazz
Alyssa Allgood, vocals – Out Of The Blue – Jerujazz JJR-5, 49:41 ***: A credible first outing. (Alyssa Allgood – voice; Dan Chase – organ; Tim Fitzgerald – guitar; Chris Madsen – saxophone; Matt Plaskota – drums) Alyssa Allgood is part of that cohort of up and coming young singers who are looking to make an impact in the jazz world. Not an easy thing to do given the nature of the business, and the changing pattern of the distribution channels for the end product. Out Of The Blue is Allgood’s attempt to capture lightning in a bottle, by earmarking her session to the hard-bop repertoire as defined by Blue Note Records. Backed by a jim-dandy quartet, anchored by B-3 organist Dan Chase, the set list covers some of bops’ signature compositions. Allgood has added lyrics to several of these numbers, starting with Hank Mobley’s Dig Dis which he released on Soul Station and which she calls “Watch Me Walk Away”. From Chase’s opening organ rif, Allgood finds a way to convey the number’s essence, with lyrics that are tricky to align to the bop frame. The other compositions that now have Allgood’s lyrics are Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil”, […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
