Organ and Narration

[Corno Dolce]

Aloha Dear Ones,

Here's *Alice In Organland*, a take on *Alice In Wonderland* - The narration is in French but if one is familiar with the original story, one can extrapolate and let the organist's *reading* and organistic coloring of the story may give one another fanciful interpretive insight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZHiB...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sayba...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv1Rh...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7jVc...eature=related

[acc]

Thanks for sharing the Jean Carroll — uh, I mean Lewis Guillou... anyway, thanks for sharing!

My personal opinion: I find Guillou much more interesting when he does this than when he plays Bach.

[acc]

Here is another one by Guillou I like a lot (no narration here), kind of a "Messiaen on steroids":

Hyperion, or the Rhetoric of Fire

• Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRgh6AfpoGo
• Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23qtVZ6OTs4
• Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbsXS8UpOzE
• Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNapqYsPM4w

(I'm much less fond of his recent Révolte des Orgues. Has anybody else listened to it?)

[mathetes1963]

Not a "huge" Guillou fan, but I do know his Hyperion. I'll have to listen to the 'Alice" material later, I can't access Youtube @ work.

BTW, speaking of narration:

I've always thought that an interesting approach to the Reubke Sonata on the 94th Psalm would be for a speaker to read the verses corresponding to each section of the music. Really like to see that done sometime...jest a thawte....

[Corno Dolce]

Aloha acc,

I have listened to his *Révolte des Orgues* - I'm not at all fond of it, tbh...

His *Hyperion* has grown on me.

Cheers,

CD

[rovikered]

BTW, speaking of narration:

I've always thought that an interesting approach to the Reubke Sonata on the 94th Psalm would be for a speaker to read the verses corresponding to each section of the music. Really like to see that done sometime...jest a thawte....

I prefer to listen to music unalloyed by extraneous sounds. Spoken introductions are often welcome and informative, and sometimes edifying. Talking with or over the music itself, or interrupting it with short bursts of narration is, for me, a distraction.

[mathetes1963]

I prefer to listen to music unalloyed by extraneous sounds. Spoken introductions are often welcome and informative, and sometimes edifying. Talking with or over the music itself, or interrupting it with short bursts of narration is, for me, a distraction.

I didn't mean to imply that such interpretations should be the norm...I just thought it would be an interesting way to present that particular work, under certain circumstances. I do like the Reubke as it is; the recent performance of it during Todd Wilson's recital in Charlotte was not less than thrilling.

[acc]

I do find Mathetes' idea intriguing, but I also share Rovikered's concerns: it's not clear how well it will work if the composer hasn't planned for it from the outset (Guillou, for one, obviously has planned, in a way not unlike Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf").