Any pipe organ fans here?

pploeser

acmf74's audiophile CD post got me thinking... but I didn't want to hijack it.

So I'm curious if any of you do much listening to pipe organs. I grew up around them, so I'm rather fond of their sound.

What are your favorite organs, organists, recordings, or builders?

Just wondering...

shack

One of the best classical CDs in my collection.

mhardy6647

In a word, yes. I also served on an organ study committee for our church that resulted in the commissioning of a pretty nice Cornel Zimmer hybrid tracker pipe/electronic organ to replace an aging (and awful) Rodgers.


http://www.zimmerorgans.com/opus47.htm

In terms of recorded music; the late-1970s Direct to Disc (LP) Sonic Fireworks Vol. 1 and 2 on Crystal Clear Records are dandy sounding recordings including/featuring a nice pipe organ. Not the greatest musically, but they do sound good.

Ern Dog

I love the way the really low notes fill up my room and vibrates in bones.

SCompRacer

cfrizz

Virgil Fox Live at Carnegie Hall

mmadden28

I never really gave much thought to pipe organs until I saw the inner workings of one at The Longwood Gardens. Holy Mackerel!!! Monstrous!!. :eek::eek::eek:

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/OrganandCarillonHistory_1_3_2_1_5.html


I did hear somewhere though that if you want to test your systems ability to reproduce the low notes, using Pipe Organ music is one way to do it.

headrott

Rick Wakeman did some great things with some pipe organs (Close To The Edge and Awaken being two excellent examples (not forgetting The Six Wives of King Henry the Eighth)).

hearingimpared

SCompRacer wrote: »

I have this. It makes your internal organs vibrate & quake. I love old church pipe organs. My sister was a concert pianist and played the pipe organ at our church years ago and it was inspiring to say the least.

Hilbert

There are a couple of nice (SACD) recordings of Handel organ concertos on the Harmonia Mundi label:

http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Organ-Concertos-Hybrid-SACD/dp/B00103E124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267964378&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Organ-Concertos-Op-7/dp/B002AHJSX6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267964378&sr=1-2

I not sure if organs in question are pipe organs or not, but the music is very enjoyable and the sound is great.

fatchowmein

Hilbert wrote: »

There are a couple of nice (SACD) recordings of Handel organ concertos on the Harmonia Mundi label:

http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Organ-Concertos-Hybrid-SACD/dp/B00103E124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267964378&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Organ-Concertos-Op-7/dp/B002AHJSX6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267964378&sr=1-2

I not sure if organs in question are pipe organs or not, but the music is very enjoyable and the sound is great.

I concur with Hilbert. I too have Richard Egarr's Handel: Organ Concertos, Op.4 on hybrid SACD but I don't have the Op.7, yet.

I also have Maurice Durufle's Organ Music (Complete) performed by Todd Wilson although I'm not crazy about it.

http://www.amazon.com/Durufl%C3%A9-Organ-Complete-Maurice-Durufle/dp/B0000006W7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1268011847&sr=1-2

domflane

I love pipe organs, they sound sinister and really awesome. I just picked up a Bach pipe organ CD at a thrift store for $1 and am loving it.

dpowell

I enjoy hearing them live. Never really heard a good recording that did them justice but maybe I just haven't looked around enough.

Just found out the other day that my cousin now works for a pipe organ servicing company. He gets to sit at the consoles and play them while his boss makes the adjustments and does the rest of the servicing.

Wardsweb

My favorite is E. Power Biggs playing Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on the Flentrop at Harvard University. Having a sub that goes to 10Hz really lets me experience the piece.

hearingimpared

Wardsweb wrote: »

My favorite is E. Power Biggs playing Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on the Flentrop at Harvard University. Having a sub that goes to 10Hz really lets me experience the piece.

Never hear the Biggs version, but this is one of my all time favorite pieces. I get chills and goosebumps everytime I hear it. Talk about "sinister!"

pploeser

dpowell wrote: »

I enjoy hearing them live. Never really heard a good recording that did them justice but maybe I just haven't looked around enough.

Just found out the other day that my cousin now works for a pipe organ servicing company. He gets to sit at the consoles and play them while his boss makes the adjustments and does the rest of the servicing.

My father does organ restoration & tuning for a living. I've spent hours at many an organ console holding keys while he tuned. I've heard some of the largest organs in the world in person, played by some incredible organists, and nothing really compares. If a piece of music is going to move me to tears, chances are it came out of a pipe organ. You just can't reporduce that kind of power with electronics. But it's fun to try

A 10Hz sub? really? That might come close. Where does one acquire such a thing?

The John Wanamaker organ in Philly is one of my favorites, probably because I spent a lot of time there listening to it and working on it. The Austin at Irvine Auditorium at U Penn in Philly is another big one I like, and was involved in the restoration about 8 or 9 years ago. He's currently in the process of restoring the famous Boardwalk Hall organ in Atlantic City. Talk about huge... it's something you have to see/hear in person. The skinners at Riverside and St. Mary the Virgin in NYC are a couple of other favorites.

hearingimpared

pploeser wrote: »

My father does organ restoration & tuning for a living. I've spent hours at many an organ console holding keys while he tuned. I've heard some of the largest organs in the world in person, played by some incredible organists, and nothing really compares. If a piece of music is going to move me to tears, chances are it came out of a pipe organ. You just can't reporduce that kind of power with electronics. But it's fun to try

A 10Hz sub? really? That might come close. Where does one acquire such a thing?

My 1.2TLs claim to go that low. I have experienced, many, many times the vibration without the sound from them. I don't need no stinkin' sub.:D

pploeser wrote: »

The John Wanamaker organ in Philly is one of my favorites, probably because I spent a lot of time there listening to it and working on it.

I've heard it many times as a child. My grandpop would bring me there every Saturday. It's funny he would say in broken English, "hey Jose (my name is Joseph), you wanna go anna see Johna Wanaa maka?" I miss that great old man.

pploeser wrote: »

He's currently in the process of restoring the famous Boardwalk Hall organ in Atlantic City. Talk about huge... it's something you have to see/hear in person.

That's another that I remember seeing as a child but I don't recall hearing it. I remember being WOW'd by the sheer size of the the thing.

Great stuff pploeser!!!:)

mhardy6647

Wardsweb wrote: »

My favorite is E. Power Biggs playing Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on the Flentrop at Harvard University. Having a sub that goes to 10Hz really lets me experience the piece.

You should only need 16 Hz, right?
I am guessing you like the mechanical and room "noise", too? ;-)

Seriously, I am sure that it is (to use an overused word) awesome!

jz0h4d

Check out the complete works for organ of Jehan Alain.

Performed by his sister Marie-Claire Alain.

On Erato.

cstmar01

my brother and I grew up listening to Pipe Organ music. He stayed more with it through the years as I took more the direction of jazz and big band music. However I still have found memories of going to a church on the 4 of July in my home town and they would do a concert of classical music geared for the 4th. Was a great performance and just a fun time to go to.
Also thanks to the OP as now I'll have to go and check out some of the things mentioned above!

pploeser

mhardy6647 wrote: »

You should only need 16 Hz, right?
I am guessing you like the mechanical and room "noise", too? ;-)

I believe 16Hz would be the frequency of a bass note pipe, 32ft in length. 64' pipes exist, but they're about as musical as a steam locomotive.

Yeah, the mechanical action and wind rushing noises are usually a good indication of a live pipe organ recording. All part of the ambiance...

I've got a few recordings of the Wanamaker organ during store hours. You can hear clothing hangers being slid around on the racks, kids crying, dishes clanking in the little restaurant... on top of the 7 blowers. Or maybe it's 10. I can't remember.

Mr. Sharpe

SCompRacer wrote: »

my first Telarc Album and I've always loved it! I love Pipe organ, they're good for testing out speakers, namely my dad's Polk RTA 12's:) they sound so sweeeeeeeeet down in a nice big fat F major chord with all the stops pulled. and yes it does shake/rattle/roll/turn stuff over in your stomach.

the first organ piece I heard was Bach's Fantasia and fugue in G Minor "the great" from one of telarc's sampler's, I wanted the CD so bad! now I have and I really like it:) the inner workings of a pipe organ is awesome, especially 32' or this... http://www.137.com/organs/atlan3a.jpg

64'... love it. Atlantic city convention hall PIPE ORGAN.

wayne3burk

The German Lutheran church and grade school that i attended had a pipe organ.... And our 5th / 6th grade teacher (and principal) played it every sunday. So as you can imagine all the hymns were accompanied by the pipe organ, and the processional music every Sunday before services was Bach, Jesu, the joy of thy desiring.

I'm sure ms. eggers played all the classics -- I'm just not musically informed enough to know one fugue from the next.

I wonder if they still have that pipe organ in service there - nothing like live pipe organ music.

-- wayne --

mhardy6647

us Lutherans are big on pipe organs and organ music! :-)

nadams

While it doesn't compare to the true Bach classics, Keith Emerson did use the pipe organ in several of his songs with ELP. I'm assuming they didn't let him jab knives into the console like he did with his own organs, though.

The Three Fates from their self-titled album was one that I know of... fairly certain there's one on Tarkus, too, but I don't remember what song.

I'm going to have to go home and pop in my Bach CD while I'm cleaning this afternoon

Mr. Sharpe

I like hearing from Pipe Organ enthusiasts. I'm rebuilding my tower speakers that are on my signature and they will hopefully have that 32' depth I want in them. I'll be using all same drivers but a new midrange and 12" passive radiator and I'll model the cabinet size going by Polk Rta 12C's. that doesn't have much to do with this but I am seriously glad that somebody likes pipe organ music as much as i do:) I used to just get whatever organ CD out of FYE before they closed because they were usually pretty cheap