November 2004
 Transcription and improvisation are part of an organist’s
required craft, yet few recordings are solely devoted to either talent. This entertaining
disc is made of solely transcriptions of works that are famous in their original formats.
It is interesting to study how each can change character when transcribed for the
"king of instruments." Marcel Dupré’s Bach pieces remain relatively the
same pieces, but Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue takes on a sense of grandeur not
found in the original version for strings, and the famous Rachmaninoff Prelude
becomes menacing and dark. Oliver Latry plays them all with precision and élan. One can
seldom imagine any piece sounding better than it does here.
The SACD and DVD-A catalogs already contain a large number of superb multichannel organ recordings. This one must be added to them. The vast space of the Notre Dame Cathedral is clearly staked out by the five main channels, yet the organ pipes seem very well anchored in the front and detail is abundant. There’s no muddy sound here, just a vastness of space. Advanced resolution allows all of the doublings and overtones to be heard clearly. The deep pedal notes are focused and solid as the proverbial rock, while the upper-register tones have palpable space around them. Congratulations to producer Sid McLauchlan and balance engineer Andrew Wedman. The attractive booklet has good photos of the cathedral, the organ, and Latry, and an interesting discussion of each transcription. GO BACK TO: |
Midnight at Notre-Dame:
Organ Transcriptions
