Jean Guillou plays the well know Fugue in D major of Johann Sebastian BACH with a dazzling technic on the fabulous Van den Heuvel organ in Paris, St Eustache !
Yes, I read comments below like '..this man is crazy.,..' He is extremely gifted and has the most profound insight. An absolute Master. We are blessed that we can listen to him. Thanks RU-vid!!
Had the honor and pleasure of meeting him last week in Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas at the University of North Texas. What a joy to hear him play and be a part of his master class audience. Still going at age 78! A memorable event!!
As did J.S.Bach, Jean Guillou always have fun surprising his audience with new sonorities, new sounds during the same piece. Few organists have the creativity or go to the effort to do that. That's why his music is captivating, magic and makes the organ the most beautiful; "the king of all the instruments".
Guillou's registrations and playing are, perhaps, unconventional when one thinks of the restraints placed on the instrument by academicians, but clearly he is a master both as a composer and musician. I am captivated by his trailblazing ideas for an instrument that is on the decline in American circles. In my opinion, he brings a breath of fresh air to the stuffiness of it all, in much the same way that Virgil Fox and others did. Note perfect performances tend to be very boring. Guillou = life.
Il n’y a pas d’organiste actuel qui puisse dépasser l’art de Jean Guillou sur la registration, l’interprétation, la mise en valeur des plans sonores. C’est un coloriste musical !
I really wish I could understand French, because I love this interpretation of this piece. This man is a master! Sure we can all make mistakes here and there but you really need to look beyond that and see what his interpretation was, I'm sure I don't play it the way purists want it played but forget them, it's 2012!
Jean Guillou a beau avoir été vu comme dépassant les limites par certains dans son originalité, mais il restera toujours avant tout génial! (et sympathique, comme on peut voir sur cette vidéo!) JW
Ce document se place en prolongement du passionnant ouvrage sur l'orgue de Jean Guillou. J'apprécie particulièrement cette analyse autant technique qu'artistique d'une oeuvre, les deux amenant une interprétation réfléchie et donc enrichie. Merci encore, Monsieur Guillou, pour ces contributions (mais je n'arriverai jamais à jouer du pédalier comme vous ....!).
I love this fugue. the subject is fascinating, these types of fugues are rare for Bach but they are always interesting. Yes this guy he probably crazy but he is a great organist. I enjoy his playing alot.
He is of the French Symphonic School of organ technique and interpretation. I enjoyed it because he adds a lot of French character to Bach. He took Bach's fugue and made it his own....how he feels it in his head. This man is a genius even if this is a less than "historic" performance.
Me too! He maybe appears strange musically, but he creates his own interpretation of music and I'm in the way of understanding it! But it takes a lot of time for that!!!
yes, maestro543. there are lots of idiots out there. they cannot even appreciate the incredible beauty of this organ and the Master who plays it is like a lover to the organ. So, it is hard to go to RU-vid and discard somehow these stupid comments, because it hurts.
Yes, the hesitations or delayed beats in the countersubject are a little offputing. It might be because of the way the sound is perceived by the performer in the echo chamber of this large space and/or because of the sound delay from the pipes to the keyboard. The sound of the Baroque, though, is much more of a joyful noise than we take for granted with today's more sterile approach to music.
I first heard maitre Guillou during the inaucuration concert of the Van den Heuvel organ in the concert hall of Geneva. He played mainly his own compositions, wich I liked. Bought the CD. Certainly virtuosity - look how many keys I can strike per second - but for me the monumentality, the construction, the suspense (the suspension) of the compositions of Bach is lost. Try Choplain! on RU-vid.
I am not posting my video of this piece to suggest that I do it better. I've just never posted any videos before and I thought this would be a good way to get some helpful feedback. Thanks :-)
yeah, It's like he's trying to rush through it to get it over with. So many Bach pieces sound much better when played at a slower tempo. There are a number of good examples of this piece played at slower tempos on RU-vid. Still, if I could play that fast I'd be pretty damn happy with myself.
Fun piece. His timing is off in my places. Or is he affected by a delay in the organ? (That really upsets my playing since I am not used to it and I listen to myself.) Still a nice performance. Would like to hear the whole work.
«Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.» «If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.»
I shouldn't even talk to you. But I must say that if you cannot tolerare the brillianace and lucidy of him, then you are sick. So, be sick until you break up.
but you didn't answer my question. What are you? Can you go inside of yourself and honestly appraise your self and come forward with a straight answer, and even it is bitter, you must accept it.
I don't think it's a play back trick. this performance is rithmic unstable. the theme and the counter theme are not well separated sometimes since first measures.
Werner Gubser Es ist kein richtig ! Mich, ich hasse mein franzosich, Ich liebe Englische und italienische sprache ! We are not so proud of us like you said ! I am happy to live in France but i am sad to see how France is ridiculised beyond the world by a stupid and weak government and people everywhere !
+Werner Gubser Ich denke das Sie nichts zu dieser Video verstanden haben. Es ist eine historische Introduktion zum Organ. Es hat nichts mit schwatzen zu tun. Vielleicht können Sie ein wenig Respekt vor diesem Genie haben.
@Rankett16 You are absolutely right! I dont like his performance either! It seems he wants to impress with speed and somehow mask sloppyness. He doesn't understand the charakter of Bach or the way his work is suppose to sound... Reminds me of a circus organ on a country fair...
Sorry, my dear Jean. One must listen to the room. As you know, each room will be different. In short, you played it too fast. The clarity was lost. Registration is important, but clarity of phrases is even more important. Your point is accurate but not well express the way you played it…. or the way it was recorded. "Why?" Maybe, you were in a hurry for lunch. After all, there are something more important than "lessons." Listen. Sent with love. CVD.
Hi Dear Bestien, as you know the notes are on the page… the music is in the ear. More often than we might think, we (as organists) don't really listen to the room. We're just trying to get all the notes and registrations and the change of pistons... in the right order. God help us. ("Please!") And bless you and all you love… upon this Easter/Isthar Tide, 2015 AD. Sent with love. CVD.
It's all there, but frankly it sounds "jittery"-- spastic -- almost to the point of arrhythmia .And he TALKS too darned much, I'd much rather hear Peter Hurford, Andre Marchal, Diane Bish, Helmut Walcha or Virgil Fox or Marie Claire Alain.
