Search - Frances Poulenc, Samuel Barber, Petit :: Poulenc: Organ Concerto; Barber; Petit

Great Performances and a REAL Surround Experience

Orgelbear | 08/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great 20th-Century repertoire, fine performances, unbelievable recording, a real surround-sound experience...Buy this SACD now!



As perhaps the only work for organ and orchestra that has earned an unchallenged spot in the pantheon of Western classical music masterworks, the Poulenc concerto takes center stage on this disc. Gillian Weir and conductor Hill (himself an organist of the first rank) turn in a blistering performance. Only a couple of other recordings, both on regular CDs, can be placed in this league. The aging Angel recording with Duruflé, who played the work's premiere, is still a fine musical experience with historical interest. Organist Michael Murray, conductor Robert Shaw, and the Atlanta Symphony on Telarc are more successful at pulling together the work's bipolar religious seriousness and campy dance hall qualities into a tragic whole. Still, the unprecedented driving intensity of Weir's performance, and in SACD to boot, make this a "must have" recording.



Until recently, the Barber "Toccata Festiva" was a rarity unavailable even on regular CD. Now it turns up regularly in concert, and there are at least four recordings, including this one--all quite good. Raymond Leppard leads a plush Rolls Royce of a performance here. Weir negotiates the bravura organ part with ease, making this the pièce d'occasion that Barber intended. (The Sony recording by E. Power Biggs with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra is a worthy complement to this one despite dated sound.)



Pierre Petit's Concertino, dating from 1958, is little in name only. In three movements lasting about twenty minutes in total, it may be more intimate in scale and sound than the Poulenc and Barber, but it explores more sinister psychological ground.



The Linn recording is a real surround-sound experience. Those of us who regularly attend organ programs in churches are used to concerts where the organ is in a gallery behind us at the rear of the church while the orchestra is in front in the chancel. This was the setup when this recording was made at the Tonbridge School Chapel in Kent. In the disc's surround program, the 68-stop Marcussen organ roars from the rear channels, and the orchestra speaks from the front. The sense of space is remarkably defined, and the sound is detailed and clean. It is almost too beautiful. In two-channel, the entire sound stage folds quite naturally to the front. This disc makes a strong argument for the SACD format."

A Neglected Gem

Jdaniel1371 | Sacramento, CA United States | 04/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's always nice to find a neglected gem that turns out to be just what the cliche promises--a gem, and quite a substantial one at that! I'm talking about Barber's 16min Tocatta Festiva for Organ and Orchestra; the final offering on this exceptionally recorded disc. I heard this music for the first time last year when my orchestra performed it, and immediately after I picked up a performance on the Cedille label. A previous rarity on any medium, there are now two(!) available on SACD and one more coming on Naxos. The other performance on SACD is on the Audite Label entitled, "Touching Colors." How do the two stack up? I prefer Weir/Leppard on the above Linn. While Schmitt/Wildner on Audite might have a *slight* edge when it comes to rhythmic snap from the orchestra, (they have a very earnest percussion section); the organ is bass-shy and (at least) *I* found this disappointing throughout. In the very finale, the gong crescendo peaks before I'm ready. Before anyone's ready. Fatal I tell you. On the Linn, The conductor Leppard begins the proceedings a *touch* heavy-handed, (sample the rhetorical brass material about 5 bars in), but most of the performance could be described as spectacularly expansive, and with the bass generated by Weir's organ, it has to be--now we're talking! The orchestra material is expertly handled, weighty when it has to be and surprisingly impressionistic otherwise, revealing Barber's multi-faceted orchestration like no other I've heard. If you like Poulenc's Organ Concerto, (I'm assuming most are quite familiar
with it), the Linn recording comes with another
substantial piece in a similar vein--the Pierre Petit
(1922-2000)"Concertino" for Organ, Strings, and Percussion. It has the same
tartness, catchy motivic tattoos, and idiosyncratic melodies as the
Poulenc, but not at all derivative. I liked it quite a bit, but it is the Barber that inspired the most rapture, and so the only piece I felt comfortable discussing in depth. (What of the fillers on the Audite SACD? I found the Saint Saens Organ Symphony to be *too* heavy-handed in the finale. Sure, the first three mov't are crisp and compelling, but if the finale deflates.... And then there's that bass-shy organ again. Zabel's "Touching Colors" is typical wall-of-sound music-interesting but rather boneless for my tastes. Strauss' Festive Entry of the Knights was surprisingly dull-- rhythmically, harmonically, and melodically foursquare. This from the composer of Electra?) What doesn't the Linn have going for it? I found it hard to get, without ordering from Europe. Yes, I'm being a whiny American, but hey, you're getting my money! The cover-art, typical of many Classical CD covers, is exceedingly masculine, (ahem), causing any man, whatever his proclivities, to probably slide it under a magazine when the guys come over for football. Oh well, can't satisfy everyone!Technical notes: I listened to this SACD in two-channel. In surround, the organ is pumped out of the back speakers *only* so they will have to be full-range. Don't be disappointed in this respect."