Search - John Dunstable, Antonio Soler, Benedetto Marcello :: Michael Murray At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine: Works By Franck, Widor, Dupré, Bach and Others

Good, but not the best ever

11/07/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc has on it one of America's foremost organists playing one of the largest organs ever constructed. The result is a mix of good music well played with some rather irritating bits. Firstly, the Dunstable and the Purcell (actually by Jeremiah Clarke) make use of the incredible State Trumpet stop; whilst this makes for an excellent first track, in which it appears briefly at the start and end in a sort of fanfare motif, the use of this stop in the Trumpet Tune becomes ear-splitting and tiresome. Murray also has an apparent predilection for slower speeds (though in the main there is nothing wrong with that). Perhaps the most annoying thing is the second Vierne track (the Prelude in D major)- the sleeve notes make a clear point that "any music can be played on this organ", but whether as a result of the recording equipment or the gigantic acoustic or the instrument, it is as if this track was recorded through thick cotton wool from a distant room in the Cathedral. However, even with all these points, this is an interesting programme rendered with genuine sensitivity on a challenging instrument. Worth listening to."

Vibrant sound and Performance, some questionable interpretet

Aaron A. Pisula | 05/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This particular michael murray recording makes up for the lack of recordings of the magnificent organ in St. John Divine. It is perhaps one of the greatest and largest American organs, notably the very powerful state trumpet stop located underneath one of the rose windows (This is one of the few stops of its kind in existence). The Agincourt Hynm really shows off what this stop is capable of. There is some good variety in this recording, although sometimes I felt that the State Trumpet was used in excess (it became annoying at points, simply because it was so powerful and overused). The biggest downfall of this recording is the interpretation of the Widor Symphony VI Finale. I felt the tempo was extremely too slow, and due to this, was lacking the excitment of this wonderful piece (For a more exciting, no holds-barred recording of the Widor 6th, check out David M. Patrick's recording). Overall, this recording is very powerful and really shows off what this famous, yet, not so very often recorded organ can do."

Devine

David J. Trainer | Sydney, Australia | 07/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big fan of Mr. Murray's organ playing. In fact I love it as much as I detest his fellow American Newman.



The acoustic of this huge cathedral is captured nicely on this wonderful CD ... especially the ear splitting State Trumpet (listen to tracks 1 and 2). There is a delicious account of Widor (one of the movements from Symphony 6 is perfect and makes me hanker for the whole cycle on this monsterous organ.



It's a shame that organ CDs seem to be hotch potch collections of famous music, but I think that's just the nature of the beast. Sadly, not ever piece on this CD thrilled me as much as the Widor, but that's just personal. I'll most definitely look out for more CDs from St. John the Devine as the organ is to be heard to be believed!



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