That's the first thing I noticed when he started playing the first piece! Absolutely amazing, I memorise folk tunes all the time but this is totally next level.
You almost have to. In a lot of the well-known works for pipe organ, there's really too much going on at once, to play it by reading the sheet music as you go. I can't imagine anyone trying to play BWV 565, for example, without memorizing it.
I always assumed that by the time you can play something well, you can play it by memory. But maybe it's becauae I'm slow at reading music, and therefore need to internalize it bar by bar to play something fluently.
Absolutely stunning on every level. The little captions and animations are so effective and fun. The commentary was insightful and we all learned so much from James Mitchell! Gorgeous pieces, you can tell everyone was going all the way. And James memorized all the pieces????!?!?!!!!?!?!?!!!?!
Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your series! Was so much fun and I learned a lot about the organ myself. What a great set of pieces as well! I've even snuck them into a few cathedral services ;) If anyone in the comments has any organ questions, do get in touch, would love to help out if I can :)
I absolutely love watching you sing along to the pieces as you play them. It really shows the joy one can derive from playing music, and it's something we don't see often from performers.
I just love the fact that you've snuck themes from these pieces into cathedral services. Which parts of service do you find it easiest to "get away with" this kind of noodling?
@@MarkyD.Ingram Thanks for your interest in it! Book will be published by Oxford University Press and will hopefully be available for purchase in December, although production timings are still very provisional at this stage. I think OUP will probably start advertising it on their website closer to publication date. The book mainly looks at the organ through the music written for it, with music excerpts from Bach through to a lot of modern stuff (and possibly featuring a couple of pieces from this vid!). There'll also be an online companion website with video demos of stops etc :)
Hi all, just to say that, after longer delays than I expected, the book is finally available to pre-order from OUP! A couple of pieces in this video may even have ended up in the final book ;)
Zoe Martlew and Mikhail Johnson both have such a jolly-kindergarten-teacher energy... and then they make the most intense and serious and arresting pieces of this set. Beautiful stuff. Ben Levin's and David Bruce's pieces were both similarly operatic in manner/vibe-- makes me feel like Levin should compose an opera. And starting with Barnaby Martin's pure-comfiness piece is almost a trick, making the darker pieces more surprising after priming the viewer with that. Haha.
I am just overwhelmed!! SO AWSOME to be a part of this project David! I've been a huge fan of the series from day one, and for James Mitchell to not only play the heck outta our pieces, but to have them memorized?!! 😱😱😱That's wicked!!! I Can't praise this series enough! Your cinematography and editing style has been a real treat for me from the start and it just a testament that musical content can be nerdy, engaging, animated, quirky, educational, cerebral and sophisticated simultaneously!!! David as always, you're are the real article!! So honored!!!🤗🤗👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿🙌🏾🤩🤩🙏🏿
I loved your piece, Mikhail! It's always great to give people a chance to hear registrations they may not associate with the organ. Thanks for contributing to this!
I like that two of the manuals are called Great and Swell - it suggests that, if one were to add more manuals, they’d be called things like Super, Fantastic, Copacetic, and Neat
The swell is so named because the pipes are kept in a box with shutters that open and close, controlled by a pedal so that the volume can be controlled by moving the shutters
I've never seen anything like this video before. What a delightful, original, well-paced, imaginative, refreshing and intelligent production - hearty congrats to all. I came to this as one of Mikhail's former piano professors and I did think his piece was startlingly fresh and creative and made me want to hear more. Loved the commentary on it by the others. But I loved ALL the pieces and how wonderfully distinctive they were - which tells us that the project was brilliant in its concept. What a treat.
Thanks so much Dr. Westney for checking this out! and for your kind words. This series in itself is a huge hit and you should take a look at the other episodes. It's really an amazing feat what David has done with bringing composers and performers together, it's as you said: BRILLIANT!!
I love Ben's way with words. "I thought it would be like a piano that sounds like Count Chocula." He sees everything as an image doesn't he? Maybe that's why he's such a great composer.
I'm an organist, and this was a huge delight! To capture those 32' sounds, I'm really happy my headphones go down to 15 Hz :D Someone who wanted to hear more awesome organ timbers can look up improvised variations by Pierre Pincemaille or Pierre Cochereau. Love the timestamps too-thanks, David!
@Richard Harrold Thanks for this information! I was going by what was said in the video (I think by Zoe). Maybe James was using one of the stops you were talking about that produces every other harmonic in the harmonic series for the 32' stop. Is that the same thing as a resultant, or am I conflating two separate kinds of stop?
As a professional organist myself, this was such a joy! Delightful to see the instrument get some well deserved attention, and even more delightful to hear some out-of-the-box ideas from brilliant composers not confined by the traditionally inculturated organ compositional styles. Very cool. Inspiring. And James - well done!
Indeed, based on the music I've heard from it I was a bit 'meh' towards the instrument. This video won me over to the organ. Amazing range of everything.
As an organist and composer, I’m always trying to promote the flexibility and color possibilities of the organ, and videos like this are so important for bringing to light an instrument that is so often overlooked. Brilliant pieces all around, bravo everyone!
I'd been hoping for this episode for a long time. The pipe organ's such a great fit with the "5 Composers" format. It is, at the same time: a big instrument in every way, an orchestra-in-a-box which can support big arrangements; a fairly unusual subject, one that many composers and arrangers haven't already done work for; a very important part of Western musical history; and relatively easy to get hold of-you just need one organist with an obliging employer, not a whole orchestra or ensemble of musicians.
David you are incredible! As well as BAD ASS composer, you ROCK as film maker, editor, production manager, location scout, inspirational presence, and some, and it is SUCH an honour to be part of this fantastic show with such wonderful musicians: i love how varied everyone's approach is to the Awesome Beast that is the Organ. And James, hats off. You have done a BEYOND phenomenal job for all of us. And your pedal playing footwear style is beyond compare. 💖💖💖
This is exactly why I love organ music. I’ve recently started listening to more of Messiaen’s organ works and the sound is intoxicating. Ben got it right saying the room is the instrument.
The fact that Ben describes organ as "piano that sounds like Count Chocula" and talks about when the wizard wrote Over the Rainbow with a straight face makes me love him even more. Didn't know that was possible.
Great work from all the five composers such varied material and all well worth the listen - but the biggest props by far must go to James, what a beast! The way he plays is superb - and I find that organs often can sound hamfisted and clumsy, and this material wasn't simple by a long shot - but he seemed to play the organ like he was driving a race car! His expressions were a great part of it too, would love to hear more of his playing, especially on this marvellous instrument!
Zoё's writing is just incredible. Not only that she surely has the "organ DNA" as she mentioned in her introduction to the piece, but so far I haven't seen anything so original and yet so full of references at the same time. Wonderful begining and overall very enjoyable work with intervals, sort of mystical and unconcious middle part with beautiful rythimc choices, also an incredible usage of the instrument itself (very deep and very high notes at the same time)... Just shockinglky inspiring and beautiful at the same time. I feel like after James performed the piece (by the way let's not forget about him, his playing is just at an unbelievable level) a whole new galaxy was created somewhere in the depth of our universe
I went to the King's School and morning chapel was in Gloucester Cathedral. I have mixed feelings about my time there, but one of the absolute pleasures was getting to listen to this organ playing on a near-daily basis.
David, ever since I discovered your channel, and especially these 5 composer videos, they've been such a giant source of inspiration and joy in my life. Literally life-changing! Being a conservatory musician currently, I'm wanting to dream of perhaps even being able to participate in some of these great projects myself some day, haha; I'm certainly super inspired! I'm always eager to enjoy the next amazing musical project you guys come up with, keep up the absolutely amazing work!
Interesting that there’s something of a trend in representing space by: mostly pure sounds with limited detail in the upper harmonics, low and super low drones, detail mostly high and often in two mostly parallel voices, freely switching between disjunct atonality with brief ventures into triadic harmony, frequently whole tone and modal clusters in the mids Lots to learn from everyone!
This was such a great episode. This one really showed the power of the format, letting the composers and the public to get to know an unusual instrument. I loved this idea that James was skyping w the composers, to where James even listened to their work and interpolated suggestions from that, or like, in the case of Zoe, knew how to let the composer take care of all the stops and whatnots. Shows a lot of empathy, intelligence and just overall love for the instrument. Thanks to everyone involved!!
Zoe and Mikhail's pieces nail the vibe for me. They captured the bleak, cold horror but also the beauty and intensity that I think of when I think space.
Through some sort of serendipity, this is the second organ based video I've looked at this evening. I'm suddenly a lot more interested in get than anyone really should be. And those socks! To die for!
David, quite aside from the musicality, the generosity, the comradeship - and the organ! - this piece is extraordinarily joyful. I'm sure you didn't time it to cheer us up in these dismal times (?), but it has certainly worked for me.
Wow! My home town! We visited the cathedral for the first time in ages just last week. I heard Messaien's "Nativitie" there in the 80s, and actually managed to get to play the organ for an hour or two under the auspices of the then organist John Sanders sometime in the late 70s.
I love how an instrument of this age and history that even the ancient greeks knew is so fitting for contemporary music. The set of sounds, some of them familiar, some more on the strange side - lots of them not to find in any orchestra and also the possibility to use even the tiny 1' pipes as solo registers for strange, very high notes makes it perfect for this job.
I was privileged enough to sing there for a couple of years in the youth choir. The organ always had the power to take your breath away… even while the super-long reverberation sang your voice back to you… I thought I recognised the ceiling form the thumbnail, so was thrilled when it was my ol’ place… A joy of a video!
My favorite organ compositions are melodic, but there's very little opportunity to develop melodies in just one minute. So I think the compositional choices made here make sense in that context. It struck me how everyone saw themselves painting a canvas, rather than on a journey.
I know! That's one of my favorite things about these 5 Composers 1 Theme videos. All of the composers have such respect for each other's work, even if they don't know them or their particular genres well.
Very very interesting from all 5 composers... However, I feel that Mikhail Johnson just nailed it an order of magnitude above others..... There are Messiaen-esque textures and hints of Jehan Alain fanasies there and a world of other modern/eclectic quotes, also. A big bravo!
This truly made me reconsider the possibilities of the instrument, it achieves richness in the texture and widened of the sound otherwise obtainable only with huge orchestras or electronic music! James was absolutely incredible, he really showed his passion!
Your 5C1T sessions are always fascinating, hearing how differently composers can approach a single theme. You posted this at a good time for me, since I've been working on several organ pieces. I'm looking forward to James' book!
Ahhhhh this was probably my fav of 5 composers series. Incredible pieces and I got a severe retro sci fi thing from most of them. Mikhail in particular was so creative. I'm refreshed, inspired to write and reinvigorated all at once.
i can’t explain how much i appreciate these videos. All who are involved are so wholesome, helpful, pure, talented, smart, kind, & all things i adore. such a wonderful surprise.
It was really cool hearing the Puccini hat-tip, and for Ben to be ENCOURAGED to be Ben. Little moments that struck me. That first piece, though: that was like a religious experience. Absolutely moving. Bravi.
all very great stuff. i felt the most resonant with zoe martlew's, the changes and exploration of different colours. i loved that. other than that i can't really say too much and that's because Ben Levin always understands and explains what i hear and feel better than i do. loved all the pieces and all the commentary but these were my favourites in both disciplines.
Thank you so much for this unexpected 5 composers video! As an organist it's extremely refreshing and inspiring to hear these compositions - so imaginative! I wish I was allowed to play all of these amazing pieces on Sunday :-)
I don't know why but to me mikhails piece was really interesting, because everyone is talking about space, pun intended, but it also feels claustrophobic, like a vacuum
😁😁😊Thank you so much for your thoughts and kind words. I am always intrigued by what a listener perceives from the music.... that the part i find so cool.
Barnaby: Very ambient, “sounds of the universe” feel here, and I can definitely hear the Zimmer influence. Zoë: Dracula…in…spaaaaaace! Lots of twinkling and shimmering too, just like the night sky. Ben: Whimsical, as if you’re a creature meant to live among the stars naturally, rather than having to travel by ship. (Though I would expect nothing less from Ben Levin). Mikhail: Like listening to a star being born. This would fit right into Fantasia. David: What Cthulhu sings to his children to comfort them.
Great episode! It really demonstrates the diversity of the instrument very well! I'm glad there was so much done with textures and dynamic range, rather than focussing on the huge-ness that the instrument is capable of. Mikhail's piece gets my bonuspoints for inventiveness!
So many totally different approaches. Awesome work from everyone, especially James. Fascinating to watch the organ performances, and then see the music afterwards, hearing things, snippets of Twinkle Twinkle and the other themes, and then seeing how they are melded together.
Great video once again. It’s funny that you made the theme star related because I am also composer studying in NY and I just finished an organ piece where each section tried to capture the image of an object in outer space. The organ has such an ethereal and celestial quality to it.
I was hoping an organ "5 composers" would happen one day! Absolutely love it! Mikhail absolutely nailed it for me! Seems very much in the style of Dan Locklair, especially in the sustained/dissonant pedals. Gotta love the 32' stops as well! And James, in true organist fashion, seems to nail it without the sheet music!
Outstanding episode!! All of it; the production, editing, insights and, of course, the co-stars of the show, James and that FREAKING ORGAN were phenomenal!!! Kudos David!
God, I love music so much. Also, this concept reminds me of Tausend Sterne sind ein Dom (1000 Stars make a cathedral) by Siegfried Köhler. He was imprisoned in the Soviet Union after WWII, for bring a Nazi obv (so no sympathy from me). When he came back in 1946, the Frauenkirche in Dresden was destroyed, so he wrote a christmas song about light after dark, and silence, and peace, and without religious imagery. This resonated with the East German government, but also with the East German people. It's still a very popular Christmas Carol in East Germany today. I don't know if Köhler purposefully referenced Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (which is a song about Santa in Germany, anyway), but I can hear it now.
These pieces are stunning! It's so hard to sound clean on an organ, and all the pieces just nail it! For me, this is a totally new sound on the organ. Please, write these etudes as full pieces! 😍 It would be a stunning live show! Btw, all the edit, recording, and especially the organist does such a great job!❤️ I loved to listen to it, watched it from top to bottom 3 times right-away! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
I love your commentator/composers! They're so free in expressing their appreciation! 10:10 "Cap'n I dunna think the engines can take any more" Good use of the Vox Dilithium 8' stop, BTW 15:00 Bless Ben. He's so young. He doesn't know it was Harold Arlen, not the Wizard of Oz ☺ I would have expected to hear some stacatto passages that allowed a long echo decay after bursts of chords. That would take full advantage of the incredible liveliness of the hall
I think it's kind of amazing how expressive and emotional James' organ playing is. It's interesting to see him speaking about the pieces as well, and interesting to see how different his emotional affect is in speech vs. music.
Just realized that the phrase "pulling out all the stops" comes from playing the organ! Might seem obvious, but it wasn't I heard James talking about the stops that it came together for me.
What a fantastic project! 😍 Amazing composers, stunning compositions and expertly interpreted. And an enormous promotion of the queen of all instruments. The amount of creativity and mastery in this video is breathtaking. Outstanding job!! 👏💪😘
That was amazing! I would love to mix Pink FLoyd's "Astronomy Domine", shooting stars arpeggios of Nick Drake's "Hanging on a Star" with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star into a piece with the darkest Jupiterquakes sounds to the shiniest quasar produced by a cathedral sized pipe organ. So inspiring that i will have to listen to whole galaxy of star inspired songs right now!
I've been hoping I would get to see an Organ piece that calls for the use of speicifc stops, so I could see the way it's notated. Awesome Pieces and Performances as always!
Once again: James memorized all the pieces?!?!?!?
That's the first thing I noticed when he started playing the first piece! Absolutely amazing, I memorise folk tunes all the time but this is totally next level.
When your week involves playing five different services in half a dozen disparate musical styles, you tend to learn fast.
You almost have to. In a lot of the well-known works for pipe organ, there's really too much going on at once, to play it by reading the sheet music as you go. I can't imagine anyone trying to play BWV 565, for example, without memorizing it.
Awesome!
I always assumed that by the time you can play something well, you can play it by memory. But maybe it's becauae I'm slow at reading music, and therefore need to internalize it bar by bar to play something fluently.
Absolutely stunning on every level. The little captions and animations are so effective and fun. The commentary was insightful and we all learned so much from James Mitchell! Gorgeous pieces, you can tell everyone was going all the way. And James memorized all the pieces????!?!?!!!!?!?!?!!!?!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that - JAMES MEMORIZED ALL THE PIECES! Thanks Ben, you're a legend.
@@DBruce That part is just ridiculous.
Writing for pipe organ is more like writing for orchestra, than writing for piano. Granted, there are some constraints.
Hi Ben, I like your new room!
Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your series! Was so much fun and I learned a lot about the organ myself. What a great set of pieces as well! I've even snuck them into a few cathedral services ;) If anyone in the comments has any organ questions, do get in touch, would love to help out if I can :)
Congratulations on the stunning performances James! Can't believe I personally know this superstar! 🤩👏
I'm actually very interested in the book any information would be very appreciated.
I absolutely love watching you sing along to the pieces as you play them. It really shows the joy one can derive from playing music, and it's something we don't see often from performers.
I just love the fact that you've snuck themes from these pieces into cathedral services. Which parts of service do you find it easiest to "get away with" this kind of noodling?
@@MarkyD.Ingram Thanks for your interest in it! Book will be published by Oxford University Press and will hopefully be available for purchase in December, although production timings are still very provisional at this stage. I think OUP will probably start advertising it on their website closer to publication date. The book mainly looks at the organ through the music written for it, with music excerpts from Bach through to a lot of modern stuff (and possibly featuring a couple of pieces from this vid!). There'll also be an online companion website with video demos of stops etc :)
All the pieces were amazing, but the keyboard socks were the breakout star of this vid.
Keyboard socks vs. Ben’s UFO sweater!
All church organists rock top-tier socks, it's a fact of life.
Thank you so much for asking me to join this amazing series David!! I had the best time, and James - you're a wizard.
Thanks for being a part of this Barny!
Barnaby!! So awesome to hear your work! Such clever writting and juxtapositions! 🤩🤩👏🏿👏🏿😁
@@jamaicanpianistcomposer Thank you so much Mikhail - I LOVED your composition. It was so interesting and colourful.
I didn't know you're so handsome! You should show your face more.
Hi all, just to say that, after longer delays than I expected, the book is finally available to pre-order from OUP! A couple of pieces in this video may even have ended up in the final book ;)
Awesome, can't wait to check it out !
Zoë: 🤩☀️🌻✨
Zoë’s piece: 😡💀☄️
Relatable xD
Zoe Martlew and Mikhail Johnson both have such a jolly-kindergarten-teacher energy... and then they make the most intense and serious and arresting pieces of this set. Beautiful stuff.
Ben Levin's and David Bruce's pieces were both similarly operatic in manner/vibe-- makes me feel like Levin should compose an opera.
And starting with Barnaby Martin's pure-comfiness piece is almost a trick, making the darker pieces more surprising after priming the viewer with that. Haha.
Thank you so much for your kind words!! 😂😂😁 Such a brilliant project wasn't it!
I had to listen to Zoe's again to get past my jarring shock. Glad I did because it's a beautiful piece.
Ben should absolutely compose an opera. It'll be grand as hell and I think his composing style really suits an opera vibe.
@@DrDingsGaster i would listen to a ben levin opera until my ears bled.
I am just overwhelmed!! SO AWSOME to be a part of this project David! I've been a huge fan of the series from day one, and for James Mitchell to not only play the heck outta our pieces, but to have them memorized?!! 😱😱😱That's wicked!!! I Can't praise this series enough! Your cinematography and editing style has been a real treat for me from the start and it just a testament that musical content can be nerdy, engaging, animated, quirky, educational, cerebral and sophisticated simultaneously!!! David as always, you're are the real article!! So honored!!!🤗🤗👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿🙌🏾🤩🤩🙏🏿
Great to have you be a part of this Mikhail!
I loved your piece, Mikhail! It's always great to give people a chance to hear registrations they may not associate with the organ. Thanks for contributing to this!
@@AlessandroSistiMusic Thank you so much for your kind words!!🤗🤗 I just love the organ and look forward to writting more. It was such a dream!
your piece ♡♡♡
Your passion for and understanding of what the organ can do really came through in your piece - awesome work.
I like that two of the manuals are called Great and Swell - it suggests that, if one were to add more manuals, they’d be called things like Super, Fantastic, Copacetic, and Neat
Bottom to top: Choir, Great, Swell, Solo. You can also have Positive, Resonance, Bombarde, echo, etc.
There's an old joke in the organist world that's along those lines.
The swell is so named because the pipes are kept in a box with shutters that open and close, controlled by a pedal so that the volume can be controlled by moving the shutters
@@patrickmeyer2802 ya, that was juss my lil joke ^_^
@@shiningarmor2838 I like to think I have invented that joke independently ^_^
We organists need more repertoire like this. Please keep writing for us!!!
Agree, I also Like this kind of compositions. There are many interesting modern Repertoire out there :) Messieaen, Schlee, Susteck...
I've never seen anything like this video before. What a delightful, original, well-paced, imaginative, refreshing and intelligent production - hearty congrats to all. I came to this as one of Mikhail's former piano professors and I did think his piece was startlingly fresh and creative and made me want to hear more. Loved the commentary on it by the others. But I loved ALL the pieces and how wonderfully distinctive they were - which tells us that the project was brilliant in its concept. What a treat.
Thanks so much Dr. Westney for checking this out! and for your kind words. This series in itself is a huge hit and you should take a look at the other episodes. It's really an amazing feat what David has done with bringing composers and performers together, it's as you said: BRILLIANT!!
I love Ben's way with words. "I thought it would be like a piano that sounds like Count Chocula." He sees everything as an image doesn't he? Maybe that's why he's such a great composer.
Ben could say literally anything and I'd be like "hmm yes how insightful"
And the funny thing is, his strange metaphors will make sense whether or not he explains it.
It's always a good day when there's another David Bruce "Composer-Theme" video.
I'm an organist, and this was a huge delight! To capture those 32' sounds, I'm really happy my headphones go down to 15 Hz :D
Someone who wanted to hear more awesome organ timbers can look up improvised variations by Pierre Pincemaille or Pierre Cochereau.
Love the timestamps too-thanks, David!
Timbres not timbers
@@AlessandroSistiMusic 'Timber' - Thoughty2
@Richard Harrold Thanks for this information! I was going by what was said in the video (I think by Zoe).
Maybe James was using one of the stops you were talking about that produces every other harmonic in the harmonic series for the 32' stop. Is that the same thing as a resultant, or am I conflating two separate kinds of stop?
@@AlessandroSistiMusic Are you saying organs don't have timber in them?!?
@@vadim4252 😜
Zoe's sounds almost like a freaking synthesizer
It's quite amazing what the organ is capable of doing
I’d argue the organ is the first synthesizer
Mikhail's piece is so killer it gave me shivers, the space between the bass and the bright melody is so intense
Thanks so much. That's really kind of you! 🤩🤩🤗😌
@@jamaicanpianistcomposer This is definitely an instrument you need to write for again. If I had to declare a "winner" in this one, I'd pick yours.
@@mal2ksc Haha thank you so much! I just really love the instrument and i look forward to writting more indeed!!!
As a professional organist myself, this was such a joy! Delightful to see the instrument get some well deserved attention, and even more delightful to hear some out-of-the-box ideas from brilliant composers not confined by the traditionally inculturated organ compositional styles. Very cool. Inspiring. And James - well done!
Indeed, based on the music I've heard from it I was a bit 'meh' towards the instrument. This video won me over to the organ. Amazing range of everything.
As an organist and composer, I’m always trying to promote the flexibility and color possibilities of the organ, and videos like this are so important for bringing to light an instrument that is so often overlooked. Brilliant pieces all around, bravo everyone!
I'd been hoping for this episode for a long time. The pipe organ's such a great fit with the "5 Composers" format. It is, at the same time: a big instrument in every way, an orchestra-in-a-box which can support big arrangements; a fairly unusual subject, one that many composers and arrangers haven't already done work for; a very important part of Western musical history; and relatively easy to get hold of-you just need one organist with an obliging employer, not a whole orchestra or ensemble of musicians.
Zoe and Mikhail definitely understood the possibilities of the organ the best. Awesome pieces from all!
David you are incredible! As well as BAD ASS composer, you ROCK as film maker, editor, production manager, location scout, inspirational presence, and some, and it is SUCH an honour to be part of this fantastic show with such wonderful musicians: i love how varied everyone's approach is to the Awesome Beast that is the Organ. And James, hats off. You have done a BEYOND phenomenal job for all of us. And your pedal playing footwear style is beyond compare. 💖💖💖
This is exactly why I love organ music. I’ve recently started listening to more of Messiaen’s organ works and the sound is intoxicating. Ben got it right saying the room is the instrument.
The fact that Ben describes organ as "piano that sounds like Count Chocula" and talks about when the wizard wrote Over the Rainbow with a straight face makes me love him even more. Didn't know that was possible.
Great work from all the five composers such varied material and all well worth the listen - but the biggest props by far must go to James, what a beast! The way he plays is superb - and I find that organs often can sound hamfisted and clumsy, and this material wasn't simple by a long shot - but he seemed to play the organ like he was driving a race car! His expressions were a great part of it too, would love to hear more of his playing, especially on this marvellous instrument!
Also I'd love to have Zoe commenting on every piece of music I listen to from now on :D
I met james at university and thought he was such a good egg. Glad to see he's doing so well
Zoё's writing is just incredible. Not only that she surely has the "organ DNA" as she mentioned in her introduction to the piece, but so far I haven't seen anything so original and yet so full of references at the same time. Wonderful begining and overall very enjoyable work with intervals, sort of mystical and unconcious middle part with beautiful rythimc choices, also an incredible usage of the instrument itself (very deep and very high notes at the same time)... Just shockinglky inspiring and beautiful at the same time. I feel like after James performed the piece (by the way let's not forget about him, his playing is just at an unbelievable level) a whole new galaxy was created somewhere in the depth of our universe
I went to the King's School and morning chapel was in Gloucester Cathedral. I have mixed feelings about my time there, but one of the absolute pleasures was getting to listen to this organ playing on a near-daily basis.
David, ever since I discovered your channel, and especially these 5 composer videos, they've been such a giant source of inspiration and joy in my life. Literally life-changing! Being a conservatory musician currently, I'm wanting to dream of perhaps even being able to participate in some of these great projects myself some day, haha; I'm certainly super inspired! I'm always eager to enjoy the next amazing musical project you guys come up with, keep up the absolutely amazing work!
I'm glad that the series is continued.
Ben's playing instructions are always the small highlight of these videos for me lmao
I've played on this organ multiple times for student recitals - gloucester cathedral has a lovely organ
Interesting that there’s something of a trend in representing space by: mostly pure sounds with limited detail in the upper harmonics, low and super low drones, detail mostly high and often in two mostly parallel voices, freely switching between disjunct atonality with brief ventures into triadic harmony, frequently whole tone and modal clusters in the mids
Lots to learn from everyone!
Starlude is perfect symphonic writing for the organ.
“… make the section grow into big mommy organ” 😂 that poor sweet organist I hope he didn’t have to read that why you do him like that Ben?!
This was such a great episode. This one really showed the power of the format, letting the composers and the public to get to know an unusual instrument.
I loved this idea that James was skyping w the composers, to where James even listened to their work and interpolated suggestions from that, or like, in the case of Zoe, knew how to let the composer take care of all the stops and whatnots. Shows a lot of empathy, intelligence and just overall love for the instrument. Thanks to everyone involved!!
Zoe and Mikhail's pieces nail the vibe for me. They captured the bleak, cold horror but also the beauty and intensity that I think of when I think space.
Zoe's was like right out of Messiaen's book.
and Mikhail's was so Ligeti.
That's EXACTLY what I thought about Zoe's.
I could listen to each of the composers talk for hours, I love how enthusiastic they all are about music
Through some sort of serendipity, this is the second organ based video I've looked at this evening. I'm suddenly a lot more interested in get than anyone really should be. And those socks! To die for!
David, quite aside from the musicality, the generosity, the comradeship - and the organ! - this piece is extraordinarily joyful. I'm sure you didn't time it to cheer us up in these dismal times (?), but it has certainly worked for me.
Barnaby Martin is fantastic !
Wow! My home town! We visited the cathedral for the first time in ages just last week. I heard Messaien's "Nativitie" there in the 80s, and actually managed to get to play the organ for an hour or two under the auspices of the then organist John Sanders sometime in the late 70s.
I love how an instrument of this age and history that even the ancient greeks knew is so fitting for contemporary music. The set of sounds, some of them familiar, some more on the strange side - lots of them not to find in any orchestra and also the possibility to use even the tiny 1' pipes as solo registers for strange, very high notes makes it perfect for this job.
I was privileged enough to sing there for a couple of years in the youth choir. The organ always had the power to take your breath away… even while the super-long reverberation sang your voice back to you… I thought I recognised the ceiling form the thumbnail, so was thrilled when it was my ol’ place… A joy of a video!
Great job Mikhail on this project. You continue to compose great pieces from the time I've known you. Keep up the excellent work MJ! Big up!
Oh wow Eric!! So Good to see you on here, and thanks for checking this out!!!🤩🤩🤗😌 it was just such an honor to be a part of the project!
My favorite organ compositions are melodic, but there's very little opportunity to develop melodies in just one minute. So I think the compositional choices made here make sense in that context. It struck me how everyone saw themselves painting a canvas, rather than on a journey.
I really enjoy watching the support the composers have for each others' works.
I know! That's one of my favorite things about these 5 Composers 1 Theme videos. All of the composers have such respect for each other's work, even if they don't know them or their particular genres well.
Very very interesting from all 5 composers... However, I feel that Mikhail Johnson just nailed it an order of magnitude above others..... There are Messiaen-esque textures and hints of Jehan Alain fanasies there and a world of other modern/eclectic quotes, also. A big bravo!
Why thank you so much. that's very kind of you. I'm Happy you enjoyed it!
James' socks are so extra, love it
This truly made me reconsider the possibilities of the instrument, it achieves richness in the texture and widened of the sound otherwise obtainable only with huge orchestras or electronic music!
James was absolutely incredible, he really showed his passion!
Your 5C1T sessions are always fascinating, hearing how differently composers can approach a single theme. You posted this at a good time for me, since I've been working on several organ pieces. I'm looking forward to James' book!
Always amazing what the composers make of the same brief. No disrespect to any one but it was Mikhails I wanted to hear a lot more of.
Thanks so much for your kind words. 😁I'm thankful my piece resonated with you! 🤩🤩🤗
Wow! This is my favorite in this series yet!!! Really amazing talent and perspectives! I hope we'll see Zoë and Mikhail again!
Ahhhhh this was probably my fav of 5 composers series. Incredible pieces and I got a severe retro sci fi thing from most of them. Mikhail in particular was so creative. I'm refreshed, inspired to write and reinvigorated all at once.
"The room is the instrument" Ben Levin gets it!
Man, James really is the star of the show, such commitment to the pieces and his mastery really shows, that last shot on David's piece was beautiful.
i can’t explain how much i appreciate these videos. All who are involved are so wholesome, helpful, pure, talented, smart, kind, & all things i adore. such a wonderful surprise.
I love the "5 composers" serie, can't believe I missed this episode until now!!
It was really cool hearing the Puccini hat-tip, and for Ben to be ENCOURAGED to be Ben. Little moments that struck me. That first piece, though: that was like a religious experience. Absolutely moving. Bravi.
I didn’t want these to end, the organ sounds absolutely incredible
all very great stuff. i felt the most resonant with zoe martlew's, the changes and exploration of different colours. i loved that. other than that i can't really say too much and that's because Ben Levin always understands and explains what i hear and feel better than i do. loved all the pieces and all the commentary but these were my favourites in both disciplines.
Thank you so much for this unexpected 5 composers video! As an organist it's extremely refreshing and inspiring to hear these compositions - so imaginative! I wish I was allowed to play all of these amazing pieces on Sunday :-)
I don't know why but to me mikhails piece was really interesting, because everyone is talking about space, pun intended, but it also feels claustrophobic, like a vacuum
😁😁😊Thank you so much for your thoughts and kind words. I am always intrigued by what a listener perceives from the music.... that the part i find so cool.
Barnaby: Very ambient, “sounds of the universe” feel here, and I can definitely hear the Zimmer influence.
Zoë: Dracula…in…spaaaaaace! Lots of twinkling and shimmering too, just like the night sky.
Ben: Whimsical, as if you’re a creature meant to live among the stars naturally, rather than having to travel by ship. (Though I would expect nothing less from Ben Levin).
Mikhail: Like listening to a star being born. This would fit right into Fantasia.
David: What Cthulhu sings to his children to comfort them.
I really like these descriptions!! 😊😊
Great episode! It really demonstrates the diversity of the instrument very well! I'm glad there was so much done with textures and dynamic range, rather than focussing on the huge-ness that the instrument is capable of. Mikhail's piece gets my bonuspoints for inventiveness!
Why thank you so much!!!🤩🤩 That was very kind of you. This project really let me tap into the beauty of restraint.
@@jamaicanpianistcomposer You're most welcome!
Rather impressed that the organist was playing from memory! Zoe is so bonkers in such a great way❤
I have no words, only tears of joy! Thank you for bringing this unique collection of ideas to us
So many totally different approaches. Awesome work from everyone, especially James. Fascinating to watch the organ performances, and then see the music afterwards, hearing things, snippets of Twinkle Twinkle and the other themes, and then seeing how they are melded together.
Great video once again. It’s funny that you made the theme star related because I am also composer studying in NY and I just finished an organ piece where each section tried to capture the image of an object in outer space. The organ has such an ethereal and celestial quality to it.
I was hoping an organ "5 composers" would happen one day! Absolutely love it! Mikhail absolutely nailed it for me! Seems very much in the style of Dan Locklair, especially in the sustained/dissonant pedals. Gotta love the 32' stops as well! And James, in true organist fashion, seems to nail it without the sheet music!
Thanks so much! I'm happy the piece resonated with you! :)
Outstanding episode!! All of it; the production, editing, insights and, of course, the co-stars of the show, James and that FREAKING ORGAN were phenomenal!!! Kudos David!
God, I love music so much.
Also, this concept reminds me of Tausend Sterne sind ein Dom (1000 Stars make a cathedral) by Siegfried Köhler. He was imprisoned in the Soviet Union after WWII, for bring a Nazi obv (so no sympathy from me). When he came back in 1946, the Frauenkirche in Dresden was destroyed, so he wrote a christmas song about light after dark, and silence, and peace, and without religious imagery. This resonated with the East German government, but also with the East German people. It's still a very popular Christmas Carol in East Germany today. I don't know if Köhler purposefully referenced Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (which is a song about Santa in Germany, anyway), but I can hear it now.
Finally! An organ-episode! As an organist myself, I was curious when it would come.
I love that you did this video! The organ needs more composers for it.
Totally awesome. All five of them. That organ. That organist. That sound.
These pieces are stunning! It's so hard to sound clean on an organ, and all the pieces just nail it! For me, this is a totally new sound on the organ. Please, write these etudes as full pieces! 😍 It would be a stunning live show! Btw, all the edit, recording, and especially the organist does such a great job!❤️ I loved to listen to it, watched it from top to bottom 3 times right-away! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Never liked 'reaction' videos until now. So good to hear people talk about music right down to the nuts and bolts.
Shame the remit is for just one minute. The pieces all call out to develop further.
David's piece! The chord change into this chord at 27:26 OMG. It sounds huge.
I can't help but replay measure 27 to the end on Zoë's piece over and over again. Such a mind-expanding texture.
Wow these are always such incredible videos. The work and talent that goes into them does not go unnoticed!
I’d love to see YOU in one of these projects in the future!
This kind of videos with this amazing talented composers are one of the type of videos I enjoy the most. Awesome job
More people need to write for organ. It is truly one of the most wonderful instruments ever created.
I love your commentator/composers! They're so free in expressing their appreciation!
10:10 "Cap'n I dunna think the engines can take any more" Good use of the Vox Dilithium 8' stop, BTW
15:00 Bless Ben. He's so young. He doesn't know it was Harold Arlen, not the Wizard of Oz ☺
I would have expected to hear some stacatto passages that allowed a long echo decay after bursts of chords. That would take full advantage of the incredible liveliness of the hall
Each of your videos is a feast, and I have no musical education whatsoever. You deserve so much more UA-cam cred!
Mencion de honor para James, su talento, su dedicación y sus medias
I think it's kind of amazing how expressive and emotional James' organ playing is. It's interesting to see him speaking about the pieces as well, and interesting to see how different his emotional affect is in speech vs. music.
Just realized that the phrase "pulling out all the stops" comes from playing the organ! Might seem obvious, but it wasn't I heard James talking about the stops that it came together for me.
Love love loveee this show...I really appreciate the idea, the creativity, and everything!!! Everyone also have an amazing personality! Love it!
Stunning! I was very inspired by this. Each piece sounded so different, but yet they were all so good!
What a fantastic project! 😍 Amazing composers, stunning compositions and expertly interpreted. And an enormous promotion of the queen of all instruments. The amount of creativity and mastery in this video is breathtaking. Outstanding job!! 👏💪😘
That first piece has me smiling all the way through!! so good!
I just now took the time to watch and listen, and how I regret waiting so long.
Thank you Bruce & collaborators.
Such a fun experiment. Loved it. The space is definitely part of the instrument
I always thought of organs as church music, these pieces really made me rethink how I see the instrument
That was amazing! I would love to mix Pink FLoyd's "Astronomy Domine", shooting stars arpeggios of Nick Drake's "Hanging on a Star" with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star into a piece with the darkest Jupiterquakes sounds to the shiniest quasar produced by a cathedral sized pipe organ. So inspiring that i will have to listen to whole galaxy of star inspired songs right now!
Pink Floyd all the way brother 😎
Need some Blue Oyster Cult - Astronomy
Love this series! Goosebumps and mind-blowing every time!
My favorite series on UA-cam delivers again!!
I've been hoping I would get to see an Organ piece that calls for the use of speicifc stops, so I could see the way it's notated. Awesome Pieces and Performances as always!
Barnaby killed it, great job! I’ve never heard something this evocative just wish it could be longer.