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Organ CDs with really deep bass

I'd like to request and share information with other classical-music audiophiles who are interested in classical pipe organ CDs that are exceptionally well recorded and have really deep bass. I have a couple of recommendations for now, and I'd be interested in hearing recommendations from any of you who are into classical pipe organ CDs that permit your state-of-the-art subwoofer to strut its stuff. (Please, no arguments/diatribes here about analog vs. digital, LP vs. CD. Plenty of room for that elsewhere.)

1. Jean Guillou, organist; Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Stravinsky, 3 Dances from Petrouchka; Dorian CD DOR-90117. D. B. Keele, who used to write speaker and subwoofer reviews for Audio, used this as one of his references for testing subwoofers and called it "one of my favorite bass demos." It has potent levels of really deep bass. As organ buffs know, most medium-to-large pipe organs have at least one (and sometimes more) 32-foot pipe (usually but not always a pedal pipe); this pipe has a fundamental of 16 Hz. This is one of the few recordings I know of that contains this note. An amazing, reference-quality recording. If you'd like to get evicted and are looking for a lease-breaker, this CD played on a good system with a first-class sub should do the trick. (All of the Dorian CDs I have tried of Guillou playing European organs of his design (three of them) have reference-quality sound and seemingly unlimited bottom-end response.)

2. Michael Murray, organist; The Ruffati Organ in Davies Symphony Hall: A Recital of Works by Bach, Messiaen, Dupre, Widor & Franck; Telarc CD CD-80097. Although not as colorful as the Guillou/Dorian CD above, this excellent CD also has prodigious deep bass that will give your sub plenty to do. To my ears, Telarc does a better job of recording Michael Murray (one of the best organists of our day) playing pipe organs than it does of recording orchestras. There are a number of superb Telarc CDs of Murray playing various interesting organs. This is not my favorite overall, but it is outstanding for deep bass.

Now let's hear from you guys. I'm all ears. Thanks.
texasdave

Showing 1 response by acresverde

acresverde
372 posts
 
I guess it's possible that the organ recordings cognescenti might thumb their noses at this particular recording because of its provenance (which is the only reason I can think of that would explain the failure of its mention thus far) and the OP has indicated that Virgil Fox is not to be found in the pantheon of his personal favorites, but "The Digital Fox" direct to disc on Ultragroove records (not to be confused with its exact counterpart "The Fox Touch" on Crystal Clear) has it all IMHO. The immediacy and seeming effortlessness that D2D does so well along with a staggering magnificence and capture of space, it is sonic bombast at its finest and I must confess that I find myself wallowing in it whenever it hits the platter. I find that the CD version does not fair nearly as well as the vinyl, BTW. I can see where some might be put off a little by the perceived schmaltziness that Fox is capable of but his style communicates to me that he is in charge and complete command of the music where others seem to be somewhat timid and maybe even a tad cowed by the sheet music in front of them. Possibly restrained or wooden would be a better choice of words here.

Having been recorded over a three day period in Aug. 1977 at the Garden Grove, Ca. community church on the newly installed Ruffati organ (selected by Fox for this project) it is claimed to be the first ever digital recording made in the US. I'm assuming redbook standards had not even been set by this time as it is recorded at 16 bits/37500 hz (thus, my remark about provenance). Counterintuitively for me, I find it more compelling than its analog D2D counterpart "The Fox Touch" in that it exceeds the former with greater palpability, dynamics and its ability to leap from the medium, so to speak. Selections from Bach, Fraunck, Dupre, Widor, Vierne, Alain, Gigout and Jongen are on offer so, almost certainly, something for every ear and sensibility.

I bought mine new on release 40 years ago and would expect the availability of good quality copies to be quite limited by now. But certainly worth a look, I would say.
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