This is a very nice recording, despite the drubbing Biggs took from the Gramophone reviewer of the time, who apparently had a horror of interestingly registered color and anything that, as he writes, might "ipater (sic) les bourgeois." I assume he means "épater" (amaze or impress) , but he in any event ends up revealing a good deal about his own shabby snobbery.
I guess I am one of that horrid bourgeois (without, however, enjoying the pedestrian, creature comforts that implies), because Biggs has always been my favorite organist. I do not find most organ playing very interesting; Biggs makes it very interesting, undoubtedly by appealing to my philistine musical sensibilities. So be it. I will add to my musical boorishness by recommending highly this wonderful piece by Poulenc, and the glorious recording of it made by Biggs and Burgin on the Aeolian Skinner organ in Boston's Symphony Hall.
The Franck recordings presented here are among the most satisfying performances I have heard of the works, and the sound is very good for the era, which was capable of producing quite wonderful recordings.
The Poulenc was recorded in 1948 and issued on a Columbia 78 set; Biggs and Burgin performed the symphony at that time in Symphony Hall, Boston, which makes me suspect that the Columbia Symphony, in this instance, is in fact the BSO, which was under contract with RCA. The Franck was first issued in 1950 on this LP, Columbia ML 4329
Larry - I enjoy Biggs as well, having had a number of his records for most of my life! I came across this very same item myself not long ago. I haven't listened to it yet; now I will do so via your recording. Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this! Love the Poulenc!
ReplyDeleteBuster: Hope you like what I did with it, not much, really, a few light filters, but then, also some judicious (I think) reverb, as the filtering seemed to me to have dried things out. Let me know what you think
ReplyDeleteJason: Glad you liked it. I like it too, and I think the Prelude, Fugue and Variation of Franck is heartrendingly beautiful.
I am with you, Larry, as you know, as a life-long Biggs advocate. Today one has to resort to that cute and ballsy kid, Cameron Carpenter, to find that kind of audible joy (visible too on Carpenter's videos) in music-making at the organ since Bigg's time. If rhythmic vitality and drive are "vulgar", then I am all for vulgarity of such grand inspiration as that of E. Power Biggs, the best organist ever to record, so far as my experience goes. Viva Biggs!
ReplyDeleteAs for the sound quality, Biggs pushed his engineers harder than most keyboard players did for Columbia, a firm whose engineers needed such prodding. I wish that such other keyboard players for Columbia as Oscar Levant had been equally demanding! (Maybe they were but just did not know how to get the results as Biggs, whose very first recordings were a set of 78 r.p.m. discs for the the audiophile label of the time known as Tetrachord Records; I have that set and it is amazing, for then or for later. Anyway, Biggs' recording are all and always essential, quite apart from such technological considerations.
Hi Jerry: Well, yes, we've been on the same page about Biggs for many years. Thanks for your vote of confidence.
ReplyDeleteAnother nice post. Do a Google search for "roman szulc boston" and you will get a hit: "Google Books" "Boston Symphony Orchestra: an augmented discography" By James H. North, James Levine. P. 267 shows with the Poulenc Concerto with Biggs, Burgin & the Boston Soloists, recorded on 1 Dec 1949. There are also CSO/BSO references for the Hindemith organ Concerto and some Bach Organ works.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the discographic information. I really must get that James North book; it's been useful a couple of times now on the blog.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is so wonderful! Thank you so much for all the work you put in it, it's really appreciated!
ReplyDeleteany Erik Satie would be awesome...
LP's & 78rpm:
ReplyDeletehttp://homepage3.nifty.com/matsumo2/english/e-index41.htm
I'll check what Satie I have that might be of interest. I will be put in a fairly lengthy line, though; there's a stack of stuff I want to get to.
ReplyDeleteThanks!! gracias! I love Power Biggs and looking for Haydn organ music by Power Biggs anybody have them? thanks again
ReplyDeleteGracias y Viva Biggs!
ReplyDelete