Customer Reviews

Great Toccatas

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To properly appreciate this record one should (of course) hear it live, preferably in a church with excellent acoustics. It must be admitted, though, that this CD is the next best thing.
The depth and sonority of sound is difficult to match and it goes without saying that the artistry in both interpretation and handling the sheer difficulty of the pieces is unmatched.

The Romantic Era organ was the Golden Age for keyboard music - whether organ or piano. Yes, Bach will always be first in the pantheon of Pipe Gods (I count his Prelude in B Minor as the first Romantic Organ work). But the evolution of the physical instrument brought forth somthing new -the French organ with all the magnificent sonorities. With composers writing for that instrument, organ music reached an apotheosis before being dragged down by various "modern" works that must be explained to listeners in case they thought the sounds from the stage were noise or a malfunctioning keyboard.

This is a great CD that all lovers of organ music should own. The Toccatas heard here are some of the best and one is constantly aware of the great men who wrote them.

Alain performs some of the best toccatas written for organ in her typical, near-perfect style. This CD is far better in musical and recording quality than comparable compilations of popular organ music. You will also enjoy her CD, "Les Bis Pour Orgue" or "Organ Encores".

I received this disc from a French visitor and have listened to it several times. I still have the uncomfortable feeling that Ms. Alain is playing these pieces for the umpteenth time, and while they are technically brilliant, they seem a bit soul-less to me. I have an old vinyl recording by E. Power Biggs (who seems to have been at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Romantic school of organ music), and those recordings of French organ music, many of which are on the CD in question, had real feeling behind them. Still, there is no denying the power of this music.

When I received and played this DVD, it exceeded every expectation, and this from someone with over a half century experience enjoying great music.

I bought this CD for the Widor and Bach. Both are played too fast. In each case, either the artist was trying to finish as quickly as possible or the technician accelerated the recording to get another peice included. In either case, there was no music, only speed. I was very dissapointed, because those are truely outstanding pieces when played at a reasonable pace. I am still looking for an excellent recording of the Widor piece.

Never received the CD. Had to DISPUTE the charge on my M/C even though the 'seller' claimed he'd submit a credit. Very disappointed.

Let me add my voice to those who are disappointed with the pieces. Ms. Alain is, as has been pointed out before, technically brilliant, but the feeling I got was "let's get this over with", not "I can't wait to play this!". There are a couple of what I call "mad scientist" pieces that are good introductions to those new to organ music, and this CD is great for that purpose. But the Bach and the Widor are way too rushed; these fantastic pieces are much to...well...fantastic, to be rushed. Every hemisemidemiquaver, every pedal tone, every flourish needs to be played, with the reverence that you give music of this stature. Here, while Ms. Alain obviously knows the music, she doesn't convince that she loves it. Three stars is sufficient, sadly...