5 COMPOSERS 1 INTENSE CATHEDRAL ORGAN
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
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0:00 Introduction
2:55 Barnaby Martin Intro
3:48 Barnaby Martin : Inter-twinkle
5:51 Barnaby Martin Reactions
8:33 Zoë Martlew Intro
10:00 Zoë Martlew: Starlude
11:32 Zoë Martlew Reactions
13:48 Ben Levin Intro
15:28 Ben Levin : Small Animal PNG Attachment Open Wide from my Star's New Hand
16:56 Ben Levin Reactions
19:12 Mikhail Johnson Intro
20:43 Mikhail Johnson : Si Di Staar Deh!
22:08 Mikhail Johnson Reactions
24:56 David Bruce Intro
26:24 David Bruce : How I Wonder What You Are
27:48 David Bruce Reactions
29:50 Outro
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.
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 :)
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!
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! 🤩🤩👏🏿👏🏿😁
@@mikhail2406able 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.
Zoë: 🤩☀️🌻✨
Zoë’s piece: 😡💀☄️
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.
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.
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 !
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 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 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.
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
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
@@AlessandroSistiMusic there are no 32s at Gloucester. There's a half-length reed that just produces the even-numbered harmonics of the 32ft series, and a set of mutation stops to fill in the odd-numbered harmonics. The 32ft flue added by Willis was chainsawed by Ralph Downes in 1970.
@@richardharrold9736 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 a Resultant is a flue stop which plays a 16ft with a 10 2/3 (on bottom C), an interval a fifth apart, to produce a 'fake' 32ft flue purr. It's a weird acoustic illusion. The success thereof hinges on how well the two blend - if you just play the same rank in fifths, the 10 2/3 (I.E. the third harmonic in the 32ft series) will be much too loud. Instead, it is common to find the fundamental borrowed from a loud, big scale Open Wood, and the Quint off a softer, smaller scaled, stopped wood Bourdon. The Quint is even occasionally provided with its own independent octave of 10 2/3 pipes, and one example of that I know also has those pipes enclosed within the Choir box.
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! 🤩🤩🤗😌
@@mikhail2406able 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.
@@terrancat what have you heard from it?
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's was like right out of Messiaen's book.
and Mikhail's was so Ligeti.
That's EXACTLY what I thought about Zoe's.
Ben's playing instructions are always the small highlight of these videos for me lmao
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. 💖💖💖
Starlude is perfect symphonic writing for the organ.
Zoe and Mikhail definitely understood the possibilities of the organ the best. Awesome pieces from all!
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.
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
The organists socks are showning his committment! Awesome performance.
I met james at university and thought he was such a good egg. Glad to see he's doing so well
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!
James' socks are so extra, love it
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.
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.
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!
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.
"The room is the instrument" Ben Levin gets it!
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! 🤩🤩🤗
Barnaby Martin is fantastic !
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!
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.
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've played on this organ multiple times for student recitals - gloucester cathedral has a lovely organ
I'm glad that the series is continued.
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!
“… 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?!
"Starlude": its sound reminds me of the idea of the organ being the original synthesiser
Additive synthesis. All those stacked harmonics.
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, 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.
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!
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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.
Barnaby's composition suffered only in one respect: the time limit. It struck me as wanting to be a 4-7 minute long piece instead of 2; his development across the dynamic range deserved much, much more time to grow more naturally than he was afforded. The opening of the baffles in the first half felt rushed when it happened, and I'd love to hear a version of this where he wasn't constrained by the challenge format and the need to compose for a collab video.
The same for Mikhail, the concept felt like it wanted and deserved a lot more time and, dare I say it, to develop and breathe. Excellent, both.
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 could listen to each of the composers talk for hours, I love how enthusiastic they all are about 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.
Incredible as always, awesome to hear these!
This was thoroughly inspiring; thank you!
Zoë: God knows what the wife would have thought of a 16-foot organ pipe sticking up into the bedroom.
If I were drinking something, I would have spit it out laughing at this.
My thought was "who knows, maybe it was her idea." rumble rumble rumble
It's when you try and fit 32 feet pipes you should really be worried.....
I adore this series, thank you David!!!
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.
Mikhail's piece was so fantastical textural. I loved all the pieces but his stood out to me!
😁Thanks so much for listening!! 🤗😌
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.
These videos are always so great ❤
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 love these composers/theme videos. Wonderful! Inspiring!
Please keep doing these! Thank you!
i love that zoe put in a stockhausen quote hahaha
Love this series! Goosebumps and mind-blowing every time!
Great pieces, all of them, and an excellent idea to involve the organ.
That first piece has me smiling all the way through!! so good!
Stunning! I was very inspired by this. Each piece sounded so different, but yet they were all so good!
Amazing video!( As always)
Looking forward to getting James' book!
I didn’t want these to end, the organ sounds absolutely incredible
There are all so good. Love the music that comes out as a result of these videos
I love that you did this video! The organ needs more composers for it.
Damn, Bruce! The sounds, the visuals... this series gets better and better!
Such a fun experiment. Loved it. The space is definitely part of the instrument
What a great job in the creation of this video Bruce! Thank you for doing what you do.
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 freaking love these episodes! Not much more needs to be said. Simply stunning.
My favorite series on UA-cam delivers again!!
This kind of videos with this amazing talented composers are one of the type of videos I enjoy the most. Awesome job
Love those videos so much!!!
Wow! This is my favorite in this series yet!!! Really amazing talent and perspectives! I hope we'll see Zoë and Mikhail again!
I love this series very much. Another great entry
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 these videos, every part, the discussion of the creative process, the performance, and the analysis! Terrific and not appreciated nearly enough.
Love love loveee this show...I really appreciate the idea, the creativity, and everything!!! Everyone also have an amazing personality! Love it!
I have no words, only tears of joy! Thank you for bringing this unique collection of ideas to us
LOVED this episode and this series, I always enjoy hearing people’s pieces and trying to figure out what I would compose for each challenge. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing what you do next ☺️🎶❤️!
Wonderful video. Diverse, inspiring pieces, wonderfully played, beautifully recorded. Thanks so much to all involved.
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!
I just now took the time to watch and listen, and how I regret waiting so long.
Thank you Bruce & collaborators.
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!
Anoter great video, thank you David Bruce!
Can't wait to get home and listen to this on my hifi system! Thank you for your great work guys!
I went to visit Gloucester cathedral last November! It's an absolutely stunning building with so much incredible history and architecture, and I fell in love with the organ even from afar; wonderful video, as always!
Wow, beautiful, fantastic..I wasn't expecting alot of bass playing ideas. But, I got alot to explore and practice, especially for my extended range instruments..Thank you!!!