An Organ Blaster: The Best of Michael Murray

If you have 15 inch woofers and a solid amplifier, you will feel the 16 Hertz notes. Get some big old school Altecs. The barcelona or Valencia will impress.

As a rather avid collector of organ performances, somehow, I had never purchased a Michael Murray album. But I have often heard his name bandied around as an organ virtuoso in the Virgil Fox class. So I purchased this disc with considerable expectations. I expected a first class organ recital with representative solo literature that I would both enjoy and be able to hear and assess Murray's prowess as a musician and organist. Sadly, for me, that was not the case. While the album did include several excellent performances of solid organ literature like the Bach "Toccata in D Minor," the "Widor Toccata," and the Messiaen "Dieu Parmi Nous," the remaining repertoire includes works of less substance, and works with orchestra. I confess that it may be a matter of taste, but if an organist is to program Cesar Franck, I'd rather hear one of the "Chorales" than Franck's "Beaucoup plus largement." The Soler "Emperor's Fanfare," Campra's "Rigaudon," and John Cook's "Fanfare" are for me organ parlor piece or album fillers from a musical viewpoint. Of the remaining three works, the "Jongen Toccata," the "Finale from the Rheinberger Concerto in F," and the Maestoso from the Saint-Saens "Symmphony in C Minor," two are admittedly fine works, but they tend to obscure rather than display the performer's mastery of the instrument. There is certainly no way you can equate Virgil Fox's solo performance of the Jongen with Murray's performance of just the organ part on this recording. In the Saint-Saens, the organ is used primarily as another orchestral instrument.Now technically, "Organ Blasters," is more an "organ tour" in the Diane Bish tradition as Murray plays most works on different organs, some very fine.. But if you want to study and enjoy Murray's proficiency as a solo organist, this isn't the disc for you.

I happen to love organ music, even that tacky Saint-Saens Third Symphony (with which this CD ends and just the third movement).I grew up with E. Power Biggs, Virgil Fox, et al. and had never heard of Michael Murray (okay, it's been a while). I bought this delightful CD when it first appeared and before Amazon had been invented.Upon hearing that most famous work with which Murray begins, I confess I was just this side of hysterical -- I was laughing with pure happiness. Murray's take on is it wonderfully over-the-top in the best possible sense. I have a son-in-law who is a musician and, indeed, does play the organ (i.e., if any of them have had pipes, I don't know, but I'm here to tell you, I don't want to hear ANY but pipe organs -- okay, I'm old).At any rate, to hear this Toccata and Fugue played with such (carefully studied) abandon so tickled me, I called Brian (the son-in-law) and demanded that he listen while I put it on my stereo.Now I'm going to send it to my son Bruce upon learning last night that he LOVES organ music. Who knew? He's 54 years old, for goodness' sake and never mentioned that little item before.

I was once an organ student many moons ago. This disk shows the instrument at its most majestic. Mostly from the romantic period, came from when they were known as MIGHTY pipe organs, and had the same effect on their listeners as a Marshall amp turned up to 11 has to a rock and roller. These tunes were written for a Church that proposed "Muscular Christianity"; a Christianity for mighty men. From a Hi-Fi perspective, the recording is a bit "brittle". I would surmise it was a early digital effort before they found out digital was not flawless. I have golden ears though; most people could not hear the difference and would love the music. Be prepared to be lifted out of your chair.

I am by no standards an expert on music, let alone organ music. I just purchased this CD because I love the sound of the organ, and wanted an album from a mix of artists before I started branching out to single composers. I would also consider myself an audiophile, only listening to high quality music with my portable headphone amplifier and Sennheiser HD-555's. Let me tell you, the quality is perfect, and the music is incredible! Such a full sound, it's *almost* as good as sitting in audience, only lacking the full body experience of organ music. I would recommend this to anybody looking to get a foot into the world of organ music.

This cd arrived brand new, and after listening to it last night, I really liked it a lot! The sound quality is awesome, and Michael Murray is such a great organ player! Every single recording I have heard of his, is fantastic! He just knows how to play, so much better than all of the other ones I have heard in the past. But, I am just going to have to listen to it when I am all alone, so I can turn the volume up loud enough to get the full dynamic range. I highly recommend this recording to anyone who really enjoys great organ music!!

I was surprised at how much I disliked this CD. I purchased it because of a Murray CD of Bach I ordered earlier and thought there would be some similarity. But the opening piece (Toccata and Fugue in D Minor) was just bizarre. The pacing and approach were highly idiosyncratic and not at all pleasant. And the tone of the organ! It was actively painful to listen to the low notes (which are very present in this piece). It came across as mere noise.The rest of the pieces varied from "meh, it's okay but I wouldn't tune in to hear it" to "I'm shutting this off it's so annoying".The CD itself seems fine and so I suppose I'm stuck with it. But it will never be listened to again by me.

This CD concentrates on the big, showy organ pieces that organists love to play. As an organist myself, I find that such numbers are usually more fun to play than to hear. Fortunately, this CD is very listenable, and makes the case for both playing and listening to these works. I'd buy it again; maybe more telling, I'm looking for some of the music, so I can go play it!

Da anni sono un sostenitore delle incisioni Telarc, il motivo già da tempo registravano in DSD. Cosa dire di questo cd, viscerale, l'organo è impressionante, è come trovarsi li, in Chiesa. Giudicate voi stessi come registravano già nel 1990. Un po' più ariose le nuove registrazioni a 50 khz. , queste vi stupiranno ugualmente.Consigliato per qualsiasi appassionato di musica per organo.

Of course everyone knows the first track, Toccata and Fugue in D Mino,r and it sounds great. Not being an organ aficionado, however, left me in the dark as to what the other selection were. I gave it a chance but none of the other tracks tickled my fancy. They just don't have the power that Toccata and Fugue in D Minor has. I am sure an organ lover would find more of it pleasing. The sound quality varies from track to track, some sounding a little thin.

Muestras de sonido al organo, muy bien grabadas, para tener música de este género sin muchas pretensiones de gran colección. Interpretacion de tecnica correcta, y de estilo muy standard. A los amantes de la alta fidelidad, les proporcionará buenos ratos. Los seguidores de obras interpretadas por organistas con estilos personalizados, que busquen otros discos.

Posso solo dire di aver ricevuto un disco masterizzato...

Per gli amanti del genere non è possibile trovare di meglio,sia per l'esecuzione cui Michael Murray è davvero come pochi al mondo,sia come registrazione,ai massimi livelli,cui Telarc ormai ci ha abituati e che rimane un riferimento.