Customer Reviews

Michael Murray: The Ruffatti Organ in Davies Symphony Hall

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I grew up in the 70's listening to Virgil Fox and thinking he was the "most". In the 80's it was Carlo Curly. As my music tastes changed and refined, I realized that they were the "Liberace's" of the organ: style over substance. Now I truly appreciate the playing of Michael Murray, and I feel that this CD truly showcases his gift. It is a wonderful eclectic mix of Bach and some of the 20th Century organ masters. What is so wonderful about this CD is that in spite of a large instrument at his disposal (which Fox or Curley would utilize to it's fullest) Murray selects registration for the Bach that allows the music to shine through, yet allows the contemporary Ruffatti voicing to enhance the Bach vision of God. It is the perfect balance between the garishnous of Fox and the conservative playing of E. Power Biggs. The Bach is played with great articulation and expressiveness, serving the music well. Then the fire starts with Messian's "Du Parmi Nou". It continues with Dupre (Murray's teacher), some gentle Widor, and finishes with a brilliant interpretation Cesar Frank's "Final in Bb". The Telarc engineers truly picked up the dynamics of the Davies Symphony Hall installation (this recording was made before the wonderful acoustical renovation in the early '90's). This is an excellent CD to own for the instrument, the music and the performance.

This CD is perhaps the most listened to in my whole organ collection. From the most quiet and serene pieces to the abrasive, this CD has it all and Michael Murray masterfully knows how to exploit every little nuance. The shining jewel on this CD would have to be Dupre's Op. 7, No. 3. I don't know how one person can play this piece, but Murray manages in a way only a master organist can. His stop usage on the Ruffatti brings out the amazing range of this instrument as well as its tonal characteristics that make it one of the great organs of the western U.S.

This is a CD that will tell you the truth about your sound system. Track 11, Widor's Adagio, Symphony No. 6. is a truly difficult piece to reproduce even for a top notch system. Abysmal, melodious bass well isolated against crystal clear highs. It will tell you every resonance in your listening room. Don't have an equalizer? You may want one after listening to this.

If you are a fan of pipe organ music then you will absolutely want to have this CD. The Ruffatti organ is rich and vibrant, and mighty powerful, as well as tender and gentle, according to the master's ability to play. And this organist does a fabulous job. I listen to this over and over again ! What a blessing it is to me, uplifts me when I am down, encourages me, inspires me, and calms me when I need it the most.

Back when I was single and could get away with blasting away with big external speakers, this was a recording I would pull out to "show off" my system to my music-loving friends. While I love everything on the recording, the Franck Final still gives me chills, even when played from my Ipod over a little JBL external speaker sitting on my desk.

I want to say a word or two about the organ itself. Installed in 1984 in the new [1980] Davies Symphony Hall, the instrument was built by the world-famous Italian (Padua) firm Fratelli Ruffatti and is said to be the largest concert hall organ in North America. As to exactly how large it is, there seems some difference of opinion. In the specification list for the organ on their website, the Ruffatti brothers show 147 ranks of pipes controlled by a 5-manual console employing electric action. They do not tell us the total number of pipes, but if we add up the pipes shown on their listing we get 7,398. A Davies Hall webpage gives a total of 9,235 pipes, and the liner notes for this CD show 132 ranks with 7,373 pipes. (Will the real Davies Hall Ruffatti please stand up?) I assume that the 147 ranks is correct, and would guess that there are currently 9,235 pipes, though all may not have been present when this recording was made.

From Ruffatti's specification we can draw a few conclusions: the 5 manuals seem to have 61 keys each, while the pedalboard likely has 32 pedals. We are told that the console is movable, and I gather it is fundamentally electronic, which offers many advantages in flexibility. (It is said to be reprogrammable to switch between German and French styles.) The specification shows seven implemented divisions, with an eighth "Terrace" division prepared for on the console. The divisions, with mainly French names, are:

Grand Orgue (unenclosed, Manual II)

Récit (enclosed, Manual III)

Choeur-Bombarde (enclosed, Manual I),

Positif (unenclosed, of course, Manual IV)

Fanfare (unenclosed--and en chamade?, Manual V)

Grand Choeur (floating)

Pedal Organ (unenclosed)

The pedal division boasts two 64' stops, but, as no pipes are listed, they may remain unimplemented; four 32' stops appear also, along with several 16' stops. Other divisions show some interesting stops: the Jeu de Clochette in the Positif division uses two ranks (2/5 + 1/3) to simulate the sound of distant bells. The hooded 16' Trompette Heröique stop in the Fanfare division is unusual, in name at least. The 2' Flūte Magique in the Choeur-Bombarde division is a rarely encountered stop, as is the 4' Cor de Nuit [=Nachthorn?] in the pedal division. Last, but not least is the charming, toylike Étoile de Matin [Morning Star] in the Positif division, apparently a Zymbelstern employing 6 bells which rotate as they ring. (Listen for it throughout Track #7 in the chorale prelude, "Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich" [The day, which is so rich in joy].

The recording was made April 12, 1984 in the Davies Symphony Hall by Telarc engineer Jack Renner using a Soundstream Digital Tape Recorder. [Since that machine records at the rate of 50,000 samples per second per channel, and the compact disk specification calls for 44,100, there had to be a conversion between the master tapes and the commercially distributed compact disks. The vaunted Studer SFC-16 Sampling Rate Converter is cited as the means.] That was during the organ's dedication week and a feeling of breathless excitement is palpable in the liner notes. Undoubtedly the Ruffatti is a remarkably fine instrument, but the hall itself soon began to evince such serious acoustic deficiencies that a major acoustical overhaul had to be undertaken in 1992.

Since this recording predates that overhaul, the question is whether it reflects the acoustic problems. I believe that it does. In the chorale preludes I sense a sonic gap between the upper voices and the bass, and did so before I knew of the problems. Though the bass itself seems strong enough it doesn't link smoothly with the treble. Moreover, the bass seems uneven in sonority and occasionally one of its notes seems to stutter a bit. This could be due to uneven resonances in the hall. The French pieces don't seem to suffer from those problems, however, perhaps because of their different registrations and harmonies. It would be interesting to hear a recent recording of the same program in order to compare the sounds.

The acoustic problems which seem to affect the Bach pieces are outweighed by the excellence of the French music, the playing, and the organ to earn five stars, in my opinion.