UPDATED 11/25/2010

FEATURED INSTRUMENT CONCERT   Your support is necessary to continue this service. Even a small donation will help. A. Cavaillé-Coll Organ, originally Paris, France, moved to Mainz, Germany (1877) - Samples by Prof. Helmut Maier Dupré, Marcel: Antiphon I, Opus 18, No. 1 Massive chords, up to one note per finger for 10-fingered people, against a grand pedal line. Uses the extended set. [2:24] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Antiphon II, Opus 18, No. 2 Marked "Tranquillo" and consisting of mostly 3 voice chords with gentle syncopations and many held notes in the pedal. Uses the extended set. [1:55] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Antiphon III, Opus 18, No. 3 Restful and evocative prelude by an early 20th century French master. Uses the extended set. [3:8] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Antiphon IV, Opus 18, No. 4 This short scherzo has a sprightly theme which is passed between voices; a rising chromatic passage leads up to a sudden diminution in the manual volume, with the theme playing out in the pedal until it too comes to a halt. Uses the extended set. [1:20] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Antiphon V, Opus 18, No. 5 An attractive presentation reflective of its text. Uses the extended set. [1:50] Midi File Available HW1 Franck, César: Offertoire in C Major Good-natured gentle piece sounding vaguely like the German Chorale "Liebster Jesu" with occasional chromaticism and a stern middle section in C minor. Uses the extended set. [4:21] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Ave Maris Stella I, Opus 18, No. 6 Canon at the Fourth between the soprano and bass. Uses the extended set. [0:52] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Ave Maris Stella II, Opus 18, No. 7 Chorale in the tenor. Uses the extended set. [1:20] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Ave Maris Stella III, Opus 18, No. 8 Choral ornamented in the style of J. S. Bach. Uses the extended set. [1:24] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Ave Maris Stella IV, Opus 18, No. 9 Finale: an energetic toccata in the manuals, marked Staccato throughout. Chorale in the pedal. Uses the extended set. [2:0] Midi File Available HW1 Franck, César: Prélude, Fugue et Variation Actually 4 sections. 1) Andante cantabile: lilting 9/8 melody on Récit Hautbois 8' with one or two voices on G.O. Harmonic Flute, and another one or two on Pédale Subbass 16' + Bourdon 8'. 2) Lento: interlude with louder registration. 3) Allegro ma non troppo: Beautfully worked out Fugue with G.O. coupled to Récit. 4) Andantino: The original melody and registration are reiterated, but the G.O. figuration is mostly in sixteenth notes. Scores here. [8:32] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Magnificat I, Opus 18, No. 10 When I used to play this piece, it was as hard as walking on eggshells, but the result is as delicate as a Fabergé egg. Uses the extended set. Registration: G. O. Montre 8' + Flûte 8; Pédale: Soubasse 16' + Bourdon 8' + Basse 8'. [3:16] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Magnificat II, Opus 18, No. 11 Choral and Canon on Pedal Clairons with an attractive motive used throughout the accompaniment on Fonds 8 + 4 + Mixture . To accommodate the fact that this small organ doesn't have a 4' Clairon in the Pedal, the lower part of the canon was sounded an octave higher on the Pédale Trompette 8' and the upper part of the canon was sounded 2 octaves higher on the G. O. Bombarde 16 + Montre 8. In real life this would have required 2 players and great watchfulness on the part of both. Uses the extended set. [1:15] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Magnificat III, Opus 18, No. 12 The registration called for in the score includes "Cornets, Nazards, Tierces et Septiemes"--mutations sounding thirds, fifths and sevenths. On this organ only the Nasard is available, but the chromatic ingenuity, not to say general jazziness, of the figuration provides plenty of color on its own. Uses the extended set. [1:31] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Magnificat IV, Opus 18, No. 13 Marked "Cantilena" with tempo "Allegretto ma non troppo." The registration: Récit. Hautbois 8', Octavin 2' [substituted Flûte Octaviante 4']; G.O. [Harmonic] Flûte 8' Pédale Subbasse 16' et Bourdon 8' [et G.O. Tirasse]. The combination of restfulness with urgency is reflective of the lyrics. Uses the extended set. [2:2] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Magnificat V, Opus 18, No. 14 The Phantom Organist threw away the proposed registration in favor of the instructions "Misterioso e Adagiosissimo", resulting in Récit. Viole de Gambe 8' et Voix Celeste 8, and Pédale Soubasse 16' et Basse 8 with the G.O. Bourdon 16' up a fifth for the lowest octave of a faux 32'. Uses the extended set. [2:31] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Magnificat VI, Opus 18, No. 15 Brilliant arpeggios in the manual part with heroic pedal theme, ending with descending parallel marcato chords. Would make a great postlude. Many thanks to Brenton Brockhouse for providing the MP3 recording while my main computer is down. A high bandwidth version (5 MB) is available here. Uses the extended set. [2:3] Midi File Available HW1 Franck, César: Sortie in F Major From Franck's collection "L'Organiste, 59 Pieces for Harmonium" rendered here on the Cavaillé-Coll samples. The structure is quite plainly A-B-A, with a few pedal notes added for the reprise. Thanks to Roger Darrow for his invaluable suggestions. Uses the extended set. [4:20] Midi File Available HW1 Dupré, Marcel: Elévation Dedicated to Louis Vierne, this piece is written for organ or harmonium. The Phantom Organist has altered 3 notes (D to Db in ms. 24, 43-44). Uses the extended set. [3:22] Midi File Available HW1 Gigout, Eugène: Offertoire ou Communion No. 7 from Ten Pieces for Organ, this is an expressive trio where all three claviers have a chance at the melody. [3:15] Midi File Available HW1 Franck, César: Poco Allegretto Gentle rocking piece with some of the same themes used in his Offertoire. The first of seven pieces in C Major, and the very first piece in l'Organiste. Reduced sample set created by James Pressler for smaller computers and harmonium pieces like this one. See Hauptwerk Screen Shot. [1:24] Midi File Available HW1