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Performance: Deuxieme Fantasie - Jehan Alain (1911-1940)
This is my first ever upload of a live performance in a concert hall. I am performing the Deuxieme Fantasie of Jehan Alain (1911-1940) one of the most significant organ composers of the 20th century.
The really scary starts at 2:48, climaxing at 3:31.
Listen closely to the effects from 3:57 on *mischievous laughter*
Now that I have that out of the way, this is one of my favorite organ pieces. It is done on an organ I have not recorded on before.
Stoplist:
Great:
Rohr Floete 8'
Principal 4'
Nasat 2 2/3'
Wald Floete 2'
Terz 1 3/5'
Mixture IV
Trumpet 8'
Tremulant
Positive:
Holz Gedeckt 8'
Salicional 8'
Rohr Floete 4'
Principal 2'
Quint 1 1/3
Zimbel II
Schlamei 8'
Tremulant
Pedal:
Subbass 16'
Flach-Floete 8'
Choral Bass 4'
Rousch-Quint II
Fagott 16'
Rohr Schlamei 4'
Couplers:
Positive to Great 8'
Positive to Pedal 8'
Great to Pedal 8'
The really scary starts at 2:48, climaxing at 3:31.
Listen closely to the effects from 3:57 on *mischievous laughter*
Now that I have that out of the way, this is one of my favorite organ pieces. It is done on an organ I have not recorded on before.
Stoplist:
Great:
Rohr Floete 8'
Principal 4'
Nasat 2 2/3'
Wald Floete 2'
Terz 1 3/5'
Mixture IV
Trumpet 8'
Tremulant
Positive:
Holz Gedeckt 8'
Salicional 8'
Rohr Floete 4'
Principal 2'
Quint 1 1/3
Zimbel II
Schlamei 8'
Tremulant
Pedal:
Subbass 16'
Flach-Floete 8'
Choral Bass 4'
Rousch-Quint II
Fagott 16'
Rohr Schlamei 4'
Couplers:
Positive to Great 8'
Positive to Pedal 8'
Great to Pedal 8'
Category Music / Classical
Species Squirrel
Size 85 x 120px
File Size 5.46 MB
it's cool to see somebody on here that recognizes modern composers. 20th century pieces generally have a great appeal to me for some reason. I think it has something to do with not being afraid to use some pretty jarring scales and the inclusion of major sevenths as a normal chord and just being generally a little more free sounding. I enjoyed this quite a bit:3
Thank you for listening. I do enjoy playing this modern organ music. I suppose you can say I specialize in 20th Century music, particularly as a composer.. This is a lot of fun to play, though I still could have done a better job, I will eventually be performing this in the future, hopefully with an even better interpretation. As for this piece, you can find Alain's pieces on iTunes, or youtube. I also recommend his piece "Litanies". Again, thanks for listening!
You know, the beginning of this piece really reminded me of the a few parts of that three movement organ piece I have up, though I'm quite a bit more reserved (then again my aim was not to scare).
Ido like your choice of stops~ They have the just the right tone (though a little "bright", but that may just be the acoustics of the room or maybe the organ or the actual microphone). I saw myself in an already "peculiar" night whilst listening to this, no moonlight and the stars clouded out. I know my organ is a little weak in dynamic contrast compared to (practically any) other organs, but you do manage to make everything sound so terrifying with those rather sudden changes. Wonderful performance, sounds like a really though piece, yes well played!
Ido like your choice of stops~ They have the just the right tone (though a little "bright", but that may just be the acoustics of the room or maybe the organ or the actual microphone). I saw myself in an already "peculiar" night whilst listening to this, no moonlight and the stars clouded out. I know my organ is a little weak in dynamic contrast compared to (practically any) other organs, but you do manage to make everything sound so terrifying with those rather sudden changes. Wonderful performance, sounds like a really though piece, yes well played!
Thank you
I don't know if you know this but 20th century/contemporary concert organ composers write in specified stops for their pieces. Its not like Bach and Buxtehude that just wrote the music to be played, so every stop change you hear was specified by Jehan Alain. This is definitely one of my favorite pieces of organ music of the 20th century, modernistic.
Scary is just a more mundane term I use to describe this around here, even though technically that is not the correct term, its more just something that tends to be invoked on people while listening to this.
I don't know if you know this but 20th century/contemporary concert organ composers write in specified stops for their pieces. Its not like Bach and Buxtehude that just wrote the music to be played, so every stop change you hear was specified by Jehan Alain. This is definitely one of my favorite pieces of organ music of the 20th century, modernistic.
Scary is just a more mundane term I use to describe this around here, even though technically that is not the correct term, its more just something that tends to be invoked on people while listening to this.
Ah, I don't have many organ scores to examine (the ones I do have access to are quite ancient), though I do kind of know it, I mean it's quite expected that composers want more and more control over the performances of their music, rightly so too (though I do love making my own choices). I might have to try and write something modern, it might be fun!
Ah well, technically correct, technically wrong, it kind of gets the point across and anyway this isn't a university report or anything so you could even write AUYDIBahfghidvb as the description and people would still listen to it.
Ah well, technically correct, technically wrong, it kind of gets the point across and anyway this isn't a university report or anything so you could even write AUYDIBahfghidvb as the description and people would still listen to it.
ohh I'll definitely try that, I have to see if its in the Alain collection I have. My biggest dilema is not the music itself but my organ, it is only two manuals, and most of Alain's music is for 3 manuals. Also, I really wish I had a 32 reed on my organ, which I don't; but that's beyond the point. I'll still give it a try. In this performance I had two people assisting with the stop changes, since there were no pistons, and only two manuals. That is how I worked around this one.
You play Jehan Alain! Amazing!!! I have both Naxos CDs of his Organ Music.
And I have a great little story about this particular piece (which you played very well). About a year and a half ago, my Church was having their organ dedicated in a concert. We brought in a professional organist to play the concert and one of the pieces she chose, amongst more standard repetoire, was this particular gem. She told us to listen for repetitions of the opening motif which I did. At the end of the piece she asked the audience if she should keep it in her standard lineup. I immediately shouted, "Keep it! It's great!" I think I may have been the only one to do so, but at least she had one enthusiastic fan for the work.
She then closed with the opening movement to Widor's 6th Organ Symphony. I'd heard recordings of it and liked it, but to hear it played live just utterly blew me away!
I'm very impressed by your organ skills and am definitely going to give you a Watch. I will have to post the one Organ fugue I wrote at some point to now because of you.
Dominus tecum
And I have a great little story about this particular piece (which you played very well). About a year and a half ago, my Church was having their organ dedicated in a concert. We brought in a professional organist to play the concert and one of the pieces she chose, amongst more standard repetoire, was this particular gem. She told us to listen for repetitions of the opening motif which I did. At the end of the piece she asked the audience if she should keep it in her standard lineup. I immediately shouted, "Keep it! It's great!" I think I may have been the only one to do so, but at least she had one enthusiastic fan for the work.
She then closed with the opening movement to Widor's 6th Organ Symphony. I'd heard recordings of it and liked it, but to hear it played live just utterly blew me away!
I'm very impressed by your organ skills and am definitely going to give you a Watch. I will have to post the one Organ fugue I wrote at some point to now because of you.
Dominus tecum
Well thank you for your kind words. I did love playing this but I was upset a bit at the mistakes I made, but I figured I did my best. I performed this in a modern music concert, all sorts of ensembles played; and I had the pleasure of presenting this piece to many people who had probably not heard it before.
The first time I heard it, I heard it played by Olivier Latry. I remember so clearly because at the part around 3:57 he made a really soft melody with almost all the stops doing those sudden chords. Needless to say I nearly jumped out of my seat as I wasn't expecting them.
I did want to perform this piece for a while but didn't have a lot of time to prepare it, but I will be performing it again soon. As a lover of modern music, composer, and organist, I just fell in love with this piece when I first heard it.
Thank you for your comment!
-Juniper
The first time I heard it, I heard it played by Olivier Latry. I remember so clearly because at the part around 3:57 he made a really soft melody with almost all the stops doing those sudden chords. Needless to say I nearly jumped out of my seat as I wasn't expecting them.
I did want to perform this piece for a while but didn't have a lot of time to prepare it, but I will be performing it again soon. As a lover of modern music, composer, and organist, I just fell in love with this piece when I first heard it.
Thank you for your comment!
-Juniper
It is a great work! And it is a shame that Alain passed on so soon. But what we do have is wonderful, this piece is probably my favorite of all his works in fact.
As a sometime pianist who has dabbled with some beginner's stuff for Organ, I know how frustrating it can be when you hear the mistakes in your own playing. One day I'll upload some of my piano playing and I'll feel much the same way.
*hugs ya* Keep on playing that modern music! There's a lot that deserves to be heard and discovered!
I actually played a piece by Messiaen during the Good Friday Tenebre service last year. I can't say it was the best received piece I've ever played but it was good for the mood!
Dominus tecum
As a sometime pianist who has dabbled with some beginner's stuff for Organ, I know how frustrating it can be when you hear the mistakes in your own playing. One day I'll upload some of my piano playing and I'll feel much the same way.
*hugs ya* Keep on playing that modern music! There's a lot that deserves to be heard and discovered!
I actually played a piece by Messiaen during the Good Friday Tenebre service last year. I can't say it was the best received piece I've ever played but it was good for the mood!
Dominus tecum
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