Organ Fireworks V [Import]

Jehan Alain (Composer), Jean Sibelius (Composer), Bjarne Slogedal (Composer), Henri Mulet (Composer), Oskar Frederik Lindberg (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Louis James Alfred Lefebure-Wely (Composer), Carl Nielsen (Composer), Edward Elgar (Composer), Christopher Herrick (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Christopher Herrick
• Composer: Jehan Alain, Jean Sibelius, Bjarne Slogedal, Henri Mulet, Oskar Frederik Lindberg, et al.
• Audio CD (May 17, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZTA
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,344 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Litanies - Jehan Alain

2. Finlandia, Op.26 No. 7 - Sibelius

3. Variations On A Norwegian Folk Tune: Koral (Choral) Espressivo

4. Variations On A Norwegian Folk Tune: Song

5. Variations On A Norwegian Folk Tune: Fløyteljod ('The Sound Of The Flute')

6. Variations On A Norwegian Folk Tune: Langeleik

7. Variations On A Norwegian Folk Tune: Frygde Song (Song Of Joy) Maestoso

8. Carillon-Sortie

9. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 23: Third movement: Alla Sarabanda

10. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 23: Finale: Allegro con brio

11. Fantasia In F Minor, K608 - Mozart

12. Marche In C Major (L'Organiste Moderne, Book 12)

13. Commotio, FS155 (Op. 58)

14. Pomp And Circumstance March No 4 In G, Op. 39 - Elgar

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a magic Nielsen played on incredible organ, June 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Organ Fireworks V (Audio CD)

I'm very fond of organ music, expecially romantic and contemporary works. I did't know Nielsen's "Commotio", a real masterpiece, in his mixture of hypnotic treatment of harmony and strength of contrapuntal plot, into a balanced modern sensitivity. The great mechanical organ of Turku is the best you can find for this music; a spectacular recording and performance of C. Herrick do the rest. Roberto Ranieri

3.0 out of 5 stars Good playing, dreadful organ, November 24, 2009

By 

John Gouwens "Carillonneur" (Culver, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Organ Fireworks V (Audio CD)

I side with "Avid Reader" on this one! I've offered reviews of other volumes of this series, and in fact I own all of them. Christopher Herrick can always be counted on to play with great skill and energy on anything he sets his mind to record (and he is a VERY prolific recording artist). The Nielsen "Commotio" is a large-scale piece by an important composer, and quite ill-represented on recordings. It's good to have a good recording of it, but this organ is hideous - screechy, thin - not much to love there - and really this recording didn't win me over to the piece. Herrick is great, and his selection of instruments is remarkably eclectic, but it sometimes seems he has chosen certain organs as token representatives of a particular country rather than out of any intrinsinc musical quality. I enjoy some of the repertoire, so I'm less inclined to level criticism at the programming than "Avid Reader" was, but this is definitely the "weak sister" of the series. Volume 1 (Westminster Abbey), Volume XIII (I think that's the volume - Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas), and especially Volume III (Saint-Eustache, Paris) are the volumes to get, unless you are wanting to buy the whole series, or are keen to get a recording of some of the rarer pieces here. Otherwise, I'd steer clear of this one!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sound and Selection Problems, February 10, 2005

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Organ Fireworks V (Audio CD)

I'm not sure who assembled this particular array of works but they need to return to the drawing board. While admitting a preference for the Reubke/Rheinberger/Reger Germanic side and the Guilmant/ Widor/Vierne/Boellmann Gallic side I do appreciate other things. But several works seems forced at best, not "organistic" in the sense that Bach or Franck's works are. The many variations presented seem shallow if one is looking for genuine "fireworks".

Then there is the "fabulous" organ (that's a joke) at the Turku Cathedral in Finland. The sound was tinny, hollow at times, lacking the color of the French, the depth of the Germans and the expressiveness of the Benelux organs. Also - and I hate to complain - the recording acoustics are just terrible! Mr. Herricks is a remarkable organist, a musician of the first order, but even he cannot turn this collection into something presentable.