2 comments about The Cambridge Companion to the Organ (Cambridge Companions to Music).

1. Those who are used to the Oxford series of "Companions" will be surprised to find this Cambridge Companion is not an encyclopedic reference book. It is a collection of articles on a broad range of topics--construction, esthetics, performance technique and the repertoire--with a very uneven level. Some articles address the basics (sit up straight while you are playing) while others assume that you know everything already (off hand references to organs you should know about.) Almost all the organs discussed in any depth are the German-Dutch baroque instruments and their modern replicas, with just a few words on large romantic instruments. In sum, it may be an interesting "read" for the connoisseur, but it isn't very useful as a reference for the interested amateur.



2. The comments from "a reader" (anonymous and pseudonymous reviews should be discouraged as a matter of Amazon.com policy; in non-life-or-death matters like critiques of musicology texts, surely the courage to sign your name is a prerequisite?) indicated a rip-off. In fact this publication turns out to be useful far beyond the confines of Dutch and Central European baroque topics. There can be no argument with complaints about unevenness. One section (the chapter on Austrian / South German baroque composers) is written with genuine panache; another (on Franck, his precursors, and his successors in the Gallo-Belgian romantic repertoire) is almost equally worthwhile; the advice on optimal practice methods for organists is uniformly well-judged; alas, all too many of the other sections read like - and probably were - extracts from humdrum doctoral dissertations.
   
   The treatment of Spanish and Portuguese 16th- and 17th-century organ writing is, at least to the non-specialist writing this review, largely incomprehensible (and where not incomprehensible, is dubious: can it really be true that the "royal trumpet" stops which characterized Iberian organs, and which so well suit 17th-century Iberian "battle music", are an 18th-century invention?). A more obviously encyclopedic approach, such as Julie Anne Sadie employed when she edited Cambridge's COMPANION TO BAROQUE MUSIC, would have been superior to what we have here.
   
   Still, here is one church organist who feels very grateful to this tome's staff-notation passages for having introduced him to valuable pieces by Teutons (the mid-17th-century's J. K. Kerll), Americans (the late-19th-century Dudley Buck), and Englishmen (somebody named Henry Smart, who apparently died in 1879), hitherto mere vaguely-contemplated names, or else, in Smart's case, not even that. Better to treat this COMPANION as a goad to the performer who seeks fresh and agreeable sheet music, rather than as a reference resource.

1 comments about Organ Music for the Christmas Season.

1. I was sorry I bought it. It is not what I expected and definately not worth buying.

No comments about Old English Organ Music: Book 3.

2 comments about Symphony No. 3 ("Organ") in Full Score.

1. In an era where good manuscripts are expensive and somewhat difficult to obtain, Dover has made available the consummate example of organ and symphony in harmony. With easy readablity and the trademark 'lay-flat' binding, Dover allows easy access to all parts of the score with little confusion. A must for all who enjoy listening to this piece as well as those who study scores and instumental relationships.



2. The full score for CSS's organ symphony is very well arranged, easy to read, and is of good quality. It is really a steal at that price and is good enough for review or study. I used it to transcribe the piece to another instrument. For an orchestra you would need to have the piece-wise score for each instrument which obviously costs much more, but this is a good alternative for simpler applications, is great for a conductor or for transcribing, and is perfect for the casual reader. Very durable too.

No comments about The Language of the Classical French Organ: A Musical Tradition before 1800, New and Expanded edition.

No comments about Handel: The Messiah; An Oratorio, Vocal/Organ Score Complete (G. Schirmer's Editions of Oratorios and Cantatas).

2 comments about Forest of Pipes: The Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ.

1. It's only the Gehry Organ, but I like it. It is in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in Los Angeles.
   
   Yes, it is called, "a forest of pipes." Or a "log jam of pipes." Or "french fries." Or "a startling array of cockeyed organ pipes." And one detractor said that "it will set back organ building a hundred years."
   
   In this book, we see photos of early study models, with metal pipes, then with a façade of straight but angled wooden pipes, and then with the trumpets at the top, and finally with the curved and angled wooden pipes and the trumpets below. The longer pipes are indeed wooden (and used as part of the façade), with pipes behind the façade being made of alloys of tin and lead.
   
   We often measure the size of an organ by the number of pipes, or by the number of sets of pipes that produce a given timbre, called "ranks." These ranks are controlled by the organist using "stop controls" (generally tabs or knobs) at the keyboard.
   
   Originally, the proposed cost was one million dollars. But Manuel Rosales pointed out that this would only be enough for a small organ, of about 25 ranks. Finally, a budget of 3 million dollars was agreed on. It took $999,509 just for the materials, shipping, and insurance. Anyway, the budget was used, and the result was a 4-manual organ with 72 stops, 109 ranks, and 6125 pipes, the longest being 32-feet (which has a frequency of 16 Hertz).
   
   How does this compare with other pipe organs? I'll mention twelve others to compare it with to give you an idea. The organ I remember best is the one in MIT's Kresge auditorium, where I heard E. Power Biggs practice. That has 3 manuals and 41 stops.
   
   What about other concert hall organs? The Dallas symphony orchestra has a 4-manual organ with 65 stops, 84 ranks and 4535 pipes. It was built a little before the Gehry organ. The Cooper Organ in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center is 4-manual, with 111 stops, 125 ranks, and 6938 pipes. It was built a little after the Gehry organ. The organ in Sydney's Opera House has 5 manuals with 131 stops, 205 ranks, and 10,154 pipes. The Royal Albert Hall organ in London has 4 manuals, 147 stops, 177 ranks, and 9997 pipes.
   
   Other pipe organs are even bigger. The Los Angeles First Congregational Church organ has 5 manuals, 265 stops, 346 ranks and about 22,000 pipes. In Szeged, Hugary, the Fogalmi Templom organ is 5-manual with 171 stops and 9040 pipes. Washington DC's National Cathedral has a 4-manual organ with 155 stops, 186 ranks and 10,650 pipes. The Sydney Town Hall has a 5-manual organ with 126 stops, 160 ranks, and 8756 pipes and has a longest pipe of 64-feet. The Mormon Tabernacle organ, in Salt Lake City, has 5 manuals, 170 stops, 206 ranks and 11,623 pipes.
   
   The very biggest organs are the 6-manual Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia (386 stops 461 ranks and 28,482 pipes) and the 7-manual Convention Hall Organ in Atlantic City (852 stops, 452 ranks, and 33,112 pipes, and with a 64-foot longest pipe).
   
   In this book, we see comments from several of the people involved in producing this organ and first using it. Organist Cherry Rhodes calls it "an experience-and-a-half!" As she says, when you play on the upper console, the sound is "quite immediate." But when you play on the smaller remote console, on stage, there's a delay due to the distance that one has to take into account.
   
   Anyway, she found the organ easy to use. In particular, she liked the sequencer button, that allows the organist to progress through the succession of registrations from the beginning to the end of the piece.
   
   This book, by Jennifer Zobelein, is a fine tribute to a superb musical instrument.



2. We were so excited about the book about Disney Concert Hall, and its accompanying CD, that we sent copies to several of our organist friends. They were thrilled with it!

1 comments about Old English Organ Music: Book 1.

1. This book is well organized and includes material at a variety of levels and for a variety of interests.

1 comments about Seventy-Nine Chorales for the Organ: Opus 28 (Belwin Edition).

1. This is a very useful method for organ players and musicians. Marcel Dupré, well known for his organ method published in French (A.Leduc ed) in 1927 meets here an application in the Seventy-Nine Chorales op 28. With progressive difficulties, it has the advantage to secure the student with explicit fingering and a recall of execution principles previously exposed by the author in his method of organ playing, as few other methods do on how to play Bach. Details of execution are in English, and French.
   
   Church organists may find in this method a pleasant way for brilliant execution of serious organ music, and will get the performer to a new point of excellence facing the audience. Some of these Chorales inspired by J.S. Bach are pure beauties. The only "bug" in this book is the inappropriate binding when open on organ or piano desk. Despite this small point, this study tool is a must.

1 comments about The Organ Music of J. S. Bach.

1. This book is fundamental for every organist! Very clear and full of relevant and difficult to find information about Bach sources. A must buy.