E. Douglas Jensen - this is a free amazing video - if you don't like it I am sure a refund can be arranged for what you paid for it. DocBower - thank you spending hours putting this together. Don't let critics like this get you down. descendite ne illegitimi
+IIIJFRIII If you want to hear other incredible world go to Google and listen to Ben van Oosten playing the Widor symphonies. There are also 2 Guillmant Concertos and Vincent Dupois renditions of Franck.
Peter has captured the color,power, and opulance of the Masters great work with the only instrument on earth able to rise justly to the musical occasion.I was as moved as when I heard Virgil Fox play the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolda upon this masterpiece. David Snyder, Lumierist Creator of Heavy Organ Touring Production
+David Snyder Lumierist The Wanamaker Organ is now in the best shape it has ever been. I wish Virgil and Keith could see, hear and get their hands on it now. Keith Chapman really fought on a daily basis with mechanical problems over there. Oh course, Keith just "soared over all of the problems" and did a wonderful job. Anybody who played there during that time like me can say without question, that it's like the difference between night and day. Everything works!
Peter needs to make another recording of this amazing instrument again, and soon! Perhaps an all-Wagner transcription CD? The instrument has never sounded better since probably Rodman Wanamaker's time...perhaps better. Just amazing how Peter's playing can raise the hairs on the back of your neck, especially with the final Sigfreid leitmotif. He definitely has a rare gift.
BAISIN Christophe It actually has SIX manuals, you can just barely see the 6th under the music rack. It is the largest fully functional pipe organ in the world.
I really enjoyed this. I love Wagner and was singing along in my mind. Some of the "fire motif" could have been slower and maybe more brassy, but it was really a joy to listen to.
The Wanamaker Organ is arguably the finest example of the American Symphonic pipe organ, designed for playing orchestral transcriptions like this piece. I especially like Mr. Conte's Wagner transcriptions, and wish that he would record a DVD of same under concert conditions, now that the majority of the restoration work is complete. I also wish there was a way for Macy's to eliminate all the incessant beeping and buzzing equipment noises during store concerts. They are very distracting!
This was a difficult video to shoot. I was on the back (north) side of the grand court about 100 feet from the console, not the best lighting, no tripod, and getting tired from hand holding the camera for the whole concert. The resolution also drops because of the camera shake reduction. The ONLY way to experience the Wanamaker organ is in person! The audio doesn't even begin to do it justice. If you are in Philly, stop by Macy's at noon. You won't be disappointed.
What are you talking about? This organ and Wagner are a combination truly made in Valhalla - add in Conte's talent for orchestral playing and you simply have perfection. Wagner, had he lived to see and hear it, would have adored the Wanamaker organ as a platform for his music. I might just suggest though that they could do with another console to enable two-player arrangements of the biggest orchestral works...
Poor quality video even at HD, but the best from this series of posts. Worth watching but it's better to just listen to (and download if you wish) the audio. Thanks docbower for sharing.
This is Peter's own transcription. I have restored the Lemare transcription and you can see details on michaelsmusicservice. Peter does a terrific job!
This must be an "incredible experience" for every organist, to play music in such a noisy place and to know, that nobody (ok, a few people) cares about the music, because the main point is to get some nice shoes or jeans... I wonder only, that nobody complains, that the music is too loud and he cannot answer his cell phone... But yes, nice music :-)
Based on my experience of going to the Christmas recital this year, there's somewhere between 100-200 people that show up JUST to listen to the organ. Anyone who goes to this store already knows that there's an organ in it, and the schedule (along with event information) is posted in the Grand Court, so no one has a right to complain either way if they show up there while it's being played.
+l000kin It matters not whether they object. Let them visit when it is not playing. More people should learn to appreciate classic organ and orchestral transcriptions like this one. There are certainly many examples of the star wars, pirates of the carribian and others themes on Utube. Damns, this thing is magnificent. I built the largest church organ in Asia but unfortunately it is in a church that is nearly dead.
In so many ways, Wagner is the root source of so much of what movie music is today. But in Wagner, the orchestra is as much a character, a Greek chorus, as any of the singers, and explores the innermost thoughts of the characters in a uniquely powerful way.
As for all the negative comments on Peters transcription of this monumental work, I only have this to say. WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO CRITIQUE THIS MANS WORK?!?! We cannot even reach the hem of this mans trousers let alone say how we would interpret it differently. Have you spent your entire life to attain this post? Have you been educated in the lost art of transcription? I think not! Only when you are appointed GRAND COURT ORGANIST, can you even talk to Peter where he erred in his playing!
Mark Demmin II, The Vintage Voice Mark, with the religious upbringing I had, I can only say that your name is David, and your response to the idiots who complain about Peter are the Goliath's you have slain in their sheer stupidity.
+Mark Demmin II, The Vintage Voice I honestly think this is the most amazing piece of music I have ever heard in my entire life. I always wanted to play the Organ, and this is just so amazing I can not even tell you in word how in awe I am at this. I have been listening to this about 5 times a day for the past week. I think this is my favorite thing to listen to. I have been looking at all the organ videos I can find, I don't think there are many people in this world who comes close to this, and he's not even on the wiki of best organ players. This guy is fucking amazing. He's been the head guy there for over tens years I think, he must be doing something right.
Here's an awesome new one of Peter and 'Pipe Dreams' radio show host Michael Barone showing off some newly available stops on the Wanamaker organ. vimeo.com/67999249
Thanks so much for recording this. Would it be possible to post the complete version again or can you tell me where I can get a copy of that? Even just the audio. It's fantastic!!! thanks
Dynamics a little disappointing: quiet bits rather loud, loud bits only a little louder. For example what is, with an orchestra, a huge 'bang' at 1:26 here seemed hardly noticeable.
I would be totally lost playing this beast! I have played a 2 manual at church. I wonder how much time you are allowed to practice and then play a song. It can take time to put together a registration with that selection of stops. But hey, I'm not a professional, just an old has been country church organist.
One of my favorite Wanamaker performances. But very recently, this clip got truncated from its original 16 minute length down to 3:15 in length. What the what?
I know, right?! That is very strange. I watched this video a couple times before it got shortened, and then, a few days after the last time i watched all 16 mins. of it, I went to show the last few minutes of it, with the pretty flutes and tremolos to my parents... only the end wasn't there!!!
+Dante Casora That's the "Centennial Tuba" which was added for the 100th anniversary of the instrument. It's an E.M. Skinner 25" wp Tuba Mirabilis from the former organ at Grace Church Lower Broadway in NYC. In my opinion, it's one of Skinner's best Tuba's
Jimmy Donnelly Probably. I can't imagine trying to mic that thing, given how huge it is, especially since it's in a department store. I would LOVE to hear it live.
Nothing to do with the video quality - it just shows that there are some pieces of orchestral music that can't be satisfactorily transcribed for organ.
The background NOISE is inexcusable!!! The worst recording of ANYTHING I've ever heard! Organ and performer are wonderful - - - Back-noise is HORRENDOUS!!!!!
You know this is a public place. It's not in a private venue. It's kinda hard to make everyone stop what they are doing and be quite. Besides looks like the video was taken with a cell phone or small video camera with built in microphones. So, please enjoy the music for what it is, I know I did.
Impressive, BUT just what is the point of such immense size? Sound clarity must be compromised with such a huge organ since the distances from the pipes to the listener vary so much that the sounds do not all reach the listener at anything like the same time. It really makes no sense. Moreover, organs are high maintenance instruments and the cost of maintenance increases with the size. The result is that huge instruments are more likely to be on poor condition except briefly after a huge amount of money is raised to overhaul them.
+Frank Eggers Hi Mr. Eggers. the leather in an organ lasts for some 60 years. Pipes will last for 300 years or so if history does not lie. The wood chests - well - the oldest playing organ was built in 1395. The weak link in this organ was the wiring. It was double cotton fibre soaked in parafine. That was fine until the parafine dried out. Unfortunately instead of just installing new cables they converted it to electronic switching - Diode matrix systems. That will go obsolete. That is parts will be difficult to obtain owing to changes in electronic chips. But it will work. The big point is tuning. That in an organ of this size is an ongoing project. But it is worth it, wouldn't you say. the larger the organ, by the way, the more tonal variation you can have. Distance to the player does not distort the sound any more than it would to the listener.
+robert shaw Thank you for the interesting post. I wish you had named the organ built in 1395; it would be interesting to learn more about it. How much maintenance is required depends considerably on the climate and how well controlled the indoor environment is controlled. But when maintenance IS required, on a large organ it can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Too often the funds are not available and the organ, or at least parts of it, falls into disuse for many years until funds become available to overhaul it. WAY back in about 1975 I was at a performance of the late E. Power Biggs playing the huge organ in Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Biggs preference was for small organs, especially tracker organs. Before the performance, he commented on the organ. He called it "amusing" and said, "As I play this organ in Minneapolis, surely the sound is coming from St. Paul."; St. Paul is the adjacent city. The acoustic delay made it challenging for organists to follow a conductor when other instruments were played; it was necessary to be ahead of the conductor. Of course everyone is entitled to an opinion, but many people do much prefer smaller organs. And, when an organ is so huge, when several pipes are called upon to speak at once, the difference in time for the sound to reach the audience varies significantly according to the location of the pipe which some people assert detracts from the sound. So, that effect has to be balanced against the greater variety of sounds available when there are more ranks. Regarding electronic controls, I can see why some organ builders would prefer them; they can result in considerably reducing the amount of wiring and relays required but, as you say, if electronic components become obsolete replacement when failure occurs could be a serious problem. On the other hand, if the electronics consists only of simple diodes, the replacement problem may not exist. I wonder if the same problem will exist with today's over-electronified and computerized cars.
+Frank Eggers P.S. An organ which was installed at Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, MN, in about 1925, was replaced in about 1975 because it had become impossible to maintain. Some of the pipes had cyphers so those stops couldn't be used. One of the problems was that there was insufficient space to get to the problem areas to fix them. Whether the entire organ was scrapped or whether certain portions of it were saved I don't know. However, it does show that a poor installation can doom an instrument to an early retirement. The replacement organ was a Rafatti; at that time Rafatti was not well known. For the 32' stops it uses a large speaker rather than 32' pipes because of space limitation; I had strong reservations about that. I suppose now days a rotary woofer would be used.
+Frank Eggers Mr. Eggers - I can not at this moment provide the name of church or builder. I will tell you it is in Switzerland in a small church. Diane Bish plays it and this is posted on utube. NOW - there is a caveat - I do not know exactly if this one is that which was built in 1395 but she claims it is the oldest one. Thank you for your kind response. I agree that big organs do cost a lot to maintain BUT - If they are cared for properly and regularly, they can last for a long time. The big ones, like Wanamaker, sound so good, though I think 6 Vox Humanas are a little redundant.
+Frank Eggers This organ has been repaired to it's top condition, and technically has never played such music before in it's life, due to building damage after an earthquake, I believe. It was made in the 40's, and the earthquake occurred about 50 years ago. It has been repaired by very talented people just a few years ago, and it is so important because it is the largest organ in the world, not just the country. They have never had issues with this organ ever since then, and it is so unique, beautiful sounding, and historical. The large size was constructed in the 40's, and I believe the reason why was because of the size of the building itself, they decided to take advantage of the space they had. every pipe is important in these pieces, and not one of them is ever left out; 33,000 pipes.
With a question like this, it would do well to educate oneself on this majestic instrument, its storied history, its home of 110+ years, and its association with the mercantile trade.
