Quad LP/Tape Poll Fox, Virgil: Heavy Organ At Carnegie Hall [CD-4/QR]

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Rate "Heavy Organ"

  • 8

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 7

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5: Rather mediocre

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

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  • 2

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  • 1: Suck City in all regards

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    3

EMB

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His 1973 Bach-only and Quad only (at least at the time) album. Track listing taken from CD-4, ARD1-0081.

Side 1:

Fugue in C Minor, BWV 537
"Little" Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578
Arioso (from Cantata No. 156)
Toccata in F, BWV 540


Side 2:

Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor ("Great), BWV 542
In Thee Is Joy, BWV 615 (Chorale Prelude)
Adeste Fideles (trad)


ED :)
 
I did a conversion of this from CD-4 for a friend of the forum and it came out nicely. The playing was excellent and Virgil Fox is a hoot! To my ears a very big sounding album thanks to a huge organ (?!?) in a big hall with a really enthusiastic crowd.

Recommended to all who love classical and organ music.
 
Good afternoon Bobby! :)

First of all, I'd recommend this album and mix to anybody who just loves the excitement a live performance can offer (only thing missing is the video, but the album cover helps a little there).FWIW, Fox used a 'Rodgers Touring Organ' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodgers_Instruments#Touring_organs

Fox (1912-1980) was easily the best ambassador any organ ever had (beyond that minority who bought Lenny Dee's or the late Ken Griffin's cheesy stuff). He was, as his bio states, a child prodigy, but destined not to be considered 'serious' (in his future career) like a Van Cliburn was, if only because he a) had a different and more adventurous feel for music in general, b) didn't mind putting on not just a recital but a show, and c) was not what one might consider a handsome man, but a fellow who looked more like a professor and could play like a...well, prodigy with attitude. And with extroverted fun, which is where this album comes in: it's all fun throughout, while also being an education in a great venue of how one piece of equipment, in the hands of a master with a touch of eccentricity, could fill a hall. As Fox is quoted on the back cover: "Bach is like a jetstream. If you can get on it, you soar!" And in quad, that full sound soared wonderfully on this album.

For more on Virgil Fox: http://www.virgilfoxlegacy.com/



ED :)
 
I love Bach and organ music and quad so I guess this is right up my alley.

And, at least they didn't attenuate the bass frequencies too much in the quad production as on some other CD-4 material.

I don't know what CD-4 engineers were afraid of in that regard. The records that have full bass and have grooves close to the label play just as well as the others where they tried to avoid those two things.

But that is a subject for another thread, I guess.

Doug
 
Well, not just CD-4 engineers....just some engineers in general, perhaps?

But it should be noted that, as a rule, there is some compromise with most full length 33 1/3 rpm recordings (and even worse: 33 1/3 rpm six-track EP albums for jukeboxes, easy to find from the '60s. Many were compressed like hell, and sound lousy, lacking not only bass but the all-important full-bodied midrange).

I wonder, though, if it's possible that the error isn't just in the mastering, but in a certain mindset worried about 'lesser sound systems,' where a buyer might blame the vinyl, rather than his/her audio equipment, for distortion or some other thing, and return the Lp (which in truth was not faulty at all, at least not in that way). We also have to factor in that rich bass automatically means a widening of the grooves, taking up more space on the vinyl (which is why a 12-inch 45 mix of almost anything should sound superior to the same recording on a 20 minutes + album side, where some kind of compression and compromise might have to be employed).

But as you say, that's probably for another thread. But what the hell, here we are! :D

ED :)
 
I came close to giving this a 9. it's a bit showy for classical and you can't dance to it. What the hell, the guy could play and it's a good classical vehicle for showing off CD-4 and Quad. I prefer ol' Ernest (E. Power Biggs) as a Bach interpreter. Still, it's a 10.

Linda
 
Both men remarkable musicians, but while Biggs was a traditionalist and superb technician, Fox was partly both, but also a bit of a showman and iconoclast (and of course Biggs made his rep on Bach, his best-selling albums).

One might wonder how J.S. might have considered the two, their similarities, their differences. Then again, maybe he would have decided there was no better interpreter of his work than the dude who composed it? :D

ED :)
 
Don't forget the greatest Bach interpreter of all, Professor Peter Schickele. Oh, wait a minute. He's the interpreter of P.D.Q. Bach. Never mind.

Linda

Both men remarkable musicians, but while Biggs was a traditionalist and superb technician, Fox was partly both, but also a bit of a showman and iconoclast (and of course Biggs made his rep on Bach, his best-selling albums).

One might wonder how J.S. might have considered the two, their similarities, their differences. Then again, maybe he would have decided there was no better interpreter of his work than the dude who composed it? :D

ED :)
 
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