An old thread but it would be interesting to compile a list of Classical Organ CDs with deep bass content, one of my favourites is Organ Encores with Ian Tracey at the Liverpool Cathedral https://www.discogs.com/Ian-Tracey-Liverpool-Encores/release/5746614Track 12 Fantasia On British Sea Songs has some real deep and solid bass down to and below 20Hz which pressurised my room rattling windows etc. |
“In a Quiet Cathedral” Todd Wilson, organist, played on the Aeolian-Skinner organ at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta.(Delos cd). Deepest bass of the 500+ cds in my collection.
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@mamboni
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“In a Quiet Cathedral” Todd Wilson, organist, played on the Aeolian-Skinner organ at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta.(Delos cd). Deepest bass of the 500+ cds in my collection.
Which tracks in particular would you recommend, and as having the deepest bass? |
17 year old thread bump
Picked up a couple of E. Power Biggs LP's in the bargain bin:
E. Power Biggs plays Mozart
Saint Saens Sypmphony #3 in C major, OP. 78
Organ is a test for any rig, especially if a turntable is used. You aren't hearing the impact without 12" woofers/subs.
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I guess it's possible that the organ recordings cognescenti might thumb their noses at this particular recording because of its provenance (which is the only reason I can think of that would explain the failure of its mention thus far) and the OP has indicated that Virgil Fox is not to be found in the pantheon of his personal favorites, but "The Digital Fox" direct to disc on Ultragroove records (not to be confused with its exact counterpart "The Fox Touch" on Crystal Clear) has it all IMHO. The immediacy and seeming effortlessness that D2D does so well along with a staggering magnificence and capture of space, it is sonic bombast at its finest and I must confess that I find myself wallowing in it whenever it hits the platter. I find that the CD version does not fair nearly as well as the vinyl, BTW. I can see where some might be put off a little by the perceived schmaltziness that Fox is capable of but his style communicates to me that he is in charge and complete command of the music where others seem to be somewhat timid and maybe even a tad cowed by the sheet music in front of them. Possibly restrained or wooden would be a better choice of words here.
Having been recorded over a three day period in Aug. 1977 at the Garden Grove, Ca. community church on the newly installed Ruffati organ (selected by Fox for this project) it is claimed to be the first ever digital recording made in the US. I'm assuming redbook standards had not even been set by this time as it is recorded at 16 bits/37500 hz (thus, my remark about provenance). Counterintuitively for me, I find it more compelling than its analog D2D counterpart "The Fox Touch" in that it exceeds the former with greater palpability, dynamics and its ability to leap from the medium, so to speak. Selections from Bach, Fraunck, Dupre, Widor, Vierne, Alain, Gigout and Jongen are on offer so, almost certainly, something for every ear and sensibility.
I bought mine new on release 40 years ago and would expect the availability of good quality copies to be quite limited by now. But certainly worth a look, I would say. |
"Having been recorded over a three day period in Aug. 1977 at the Garden Grove, Ca. community church on the newly installed Ruffati organ (selected by Fox for this project) it is claimed to be the first ever digital recording made in the US. I'm assuming redbook standards had not even been set by this time as it is recorded at 16 bits/37500 hz (thus, my remark about provenance)."
acresverde-As a SoCal native, interesting fact. Just a casual fan of pipe organ with a few cool LP's of historic performances.
To my biased ears, organ LP's are like a great R&R,Classic,Jazz... pressings. No NAS/streaming here, only a "good enough" CD/DAC playback setup.
Satisfying but not mind-blowing which a few REALLY nice setups are capable of.
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That Fox recording is a lot of fun, and it does have a good deal of bass. I found the CD to be a little dry, but the D2D (I have the Crystal Clear) is pretty good, even though it has a few wrong notes in it that were cleaned up on the CD. Fox was a master of using all the colors available on an organ, and while some organist friends of mine find them a little too much, others admire them. Closest thing to him right now in this regard is probably Jean Guillou, IMHO. |
@darkmatter. Virtually every track has serious low bass. The last 2 tracks on Cd 2 might be notable. The recording emphasizes the deep bass, the midrange and treble quiet and calm. It’s good listening at night: the deep bass provides total body massage. Of course you’ll need a loudspeaker that can do 20 hz in room. |
Virgil Fox. In case others access this old thread again. |
The mentioned earlier, Jean Guillou, organist; Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Stravinsky, 3 Dances from Petrouchka; Dorian is also available on SACD (stereo layer only). A mandatory purchase. Keep your hand on the volume control. Ideal for temporary hearing loss.
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The CD, The Organ Club 75th Anniversary, track 6, REGCD155, has 5 minutes of generous bass. Rest of CD is uninspiring. Nothing compares to the SACD above.
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2 SACD from base2music that are affordable and contain serious organ music which is recorded with impeccable quality;
1. Jean-Paul Imbert - Passacaglia. An hour of woofer calisthenics can be tiresome so Track 9, attributed to Virgil Fox, is appropriately titled Come Sweet Death.
2. Percy Whitlock Organ Sonata. Plenty of pedal bass accompanied by variety. Track 6 will shake headphones to pieces.
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The CD titled Die Passauer Domorgel - Helga Schauerte SYR141310 has a selection of loud pieces, including Bach, played on the world's largest church organ. The piece you want to hear is Boellmann's Suite Gothique, tk 9 and tk 11. The flutter is like a distant helicopter.
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Tk 12 of Schauerte SYR14130 is what I imagine to be dinosaur dreaming sounds. No living creature snores with the rhythm, depth, power, and wind volume.
Another Passau CD to look for is titled Dom Zu Passau - Edgar Krapp Eurodisc 6100 031-231. Tk 4 is Bach BMV532 and this will warm the sweet spot of your deepest driver. Tk 6 is Reger Intr&Passacaglia which keeps rumbling without its impact being diluted by excessive keyboard accompanient.
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My spouse is pretty tolerant of me playing Orchestral works at loud volumes but is absolutely allergic to Organ music at any volume. It reminds her of church and since she grew up in the Boston area having to endure CCD from one of the Priests later exposed in the abuse cases dramatized in the movie Spotlight she just gets immediate revulsion at the sound of the Organ; therefore my Organ music collection is pretty skimpy.
One of my favorite lps in College was E. Power Biggs playing Bach at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. The bass in the Passacaglia and Fugue in DMinor would threaten to eject the woofer cone of my Advent 3 bookshelf speakers. I tried to find that same album in CD and it hadn’t been digitalized at the time (there were other recordings of Biggs in the same work but they just didn’t match my aural memory).
Even before meeting my wife in my forties (20th anniversary tomorrow!) I had never developed a taste for organ music after Bach. Widor and his ilk basically give me a headache, and I’ve delved into the Organ Music of Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Brahms, but this music is obscure for a reason, imo.
I have always thought that the Organ Symphony of Saint Saens was more notable for its restraint than its ability to spotlight the instrument. Romantic composers such as Strauss in Zarathustra and Holst do use it to augment low tones and imo one needs at least 1 sub in the system to really get that room filling effect
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A little off topic, but since the interest is pipe organ music and recordings, there is an excellent archive of the npr show Pipedreams at the pipdreams.org website. You can search by country and region (for USA) and organ to discover pipdreams episodes featuring your favorite instruments.
Bill in Ga
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