Virgil Fox Legacy | Franck | Piece Heroique

[railfanatic844]

AH! STACATO! GOD HELP US ALL!

[ms54302]

Part 2. There is nothing wrong with what I have advocated either. It takes great talent, coordination and musicianship to play "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Cameron Carpenter makes it a thrilling musical experiences. Fox wasted his playing much of the time, seeking to overwhelm the audience with the "wow" factor. Sure there were some fine musical recordings, but as the years passed he grew more flamboyant and less interesting. Such a sad waste of an enormous talent.

[ms54302]

Part 1. A typical Fox performance. It uses a score by a master as a springboard for self-indulgence and showing off. Fox, Carlo Curley and Cameron Carpenter are undoubtedly blazing with talent, but they should stick to movie themes, theater music and improvisations and leave the classical masters alone, since their playing give audiences a false impression of masterworks. There is nothing wrong with what I have advocated either. 

[GJmusique]

whether or not you like this performance is a matter of taste, but many people forget that before the performer can make his own arrangement/interpretation, he needs to be able to play it correctly first!! So it's not that VIrgil can't play it as it's supposed to, he deliberately chooses to play it differently... and that takes a lot of courage. If no organist would take any risk and play it his own way, our musical world would become terribly dull!

[Aeoline91]

Das Grauen an sich!

[TGarzarel]

I'm sure he could play this correct in an acedemic sense. But Virgil Fox often played to audiences who are not used to classical music, and tried to attract them by modifying the pieces (usually speeding them up and making them sound more dynamic). He did this a lot with Bach organ music as well.

[organopleno]

this is the most horrible interpretation, i have ever heard. i cannot image, that a person can play franck in this way.

thanks god there are organists like latry and roth!

[Frost69]

@organopleno - Me either

[rts100x5]

a "showy" performance by Mr. Fox but technically sloppy ,hurried and uninspiring. The  interpretation at 6:00-6:25 is just awful.

[organdude2001]

North Phoenix Baptist Church, Phoenix AZ. The organ was designed and installed by Austin Organ. The church was built differently than what Austin had received in specification. The fucking baptists were more concerned with carpet and being cheap on building the chambers correctly. Austin voiced it the best they could, but the scales were way off. ONly the fucking baptists would screw up a nice organ. They probably don't even use it now, just guitars and drums......

[MrDomi77]

Arrêter le massacre ! ce joueur de foire n'a rien compris à l'orgue romantique français, aucune âme, aucune inspiration

Vive Jean Guillou et le feu Cochereau !

[Draekin110]

Quel gâchis ! Minable !

[samfishman09]

bernie?

[polsterj]

This is... undescribeable bad! Feeling? Acoustic? Good Organ? Nothing! Ok, when he wants to make a good show - I can't stop him. But he shouldn't abuse the french organ school for it!

[tastenmensch12]

horrible and ridiculous!!

[badon20]

Where is this organ located? And we all need to stop arguing about the fact whether Mr. Fox was talented or not. It's an opinion that each of us holds. In my opinion he's one of a kind.

[caliopterix]

Oh please, stop the criticism. That's just silly. No one can play like Virgil. Ignorant slobs!

[polsterj]

Das ist ja grauenhaft! Wie kann man Franck nur mit so wenig Gefühl interpretieren, mal angesehen von dieser schreckichen Akkustik? Mich nerven echt alle diese dummen Benutzer, die ihn wegen seiner sinnlosen Show und seinem maschinenartigen Schnellgespiele so verehren und es wahrscheinlich auch tun würden, wenn er sich bei Alle Meine Entchen verspielt.

[AufsMaul22]

@polsterj

als ich mir die kommentare durchgelesen hab, dachte ich das auch. fakt ist aber, dass er, wider erwartungen, das stück viel gefühlvoller spielt, als es den anschein hat. sicher, ich stimme dir zu, seine artikulation ist für ein romantisches stück um ein vielfaches zu grob, aber er schafft es de facto das stück so zu spielen, wie franck es notierte... respekt würde ich ihm dafür aber eher weniger zollen, holzhacker sind nicht die besten organisten o.O

[framer4157]

hEY ORGAN MAN i HAVE NEVER HEARD OF YOU. dO YOU HAVE ANY VIDEOS OF YOU PLAYING THIS PIECE. I bet not. Don't bash Virgil unless you become more talented than he is. Which will never happen. I first heard this man when I was 14 and I am now 50 and I have never heard anyone more inspirational. So learn from the master or stick to checkers.

[MEPPO06]

Why on earth is this man such a cult figure? This is awful, awful - almost laughably bad.

[Virgilisthetop]

Because he can COMMUNICATE with his music. Something that purists can't even dream of doing. It was his interpretation and a good one at that. Don't be locked in to only one way of hearing the piece. Virgil brought so many to love classical music and the organ and we ALL should be grateful and also work to be better musicians like he was.

[EchoCannon89]

"Why on earth is this man such a cult figure?"

Why are you so stupid? were you dropped on your head as an infant, did you eat lead paint chips? Why is the sky blue? Some questions will never be answered!

[organistspectacular]

Hey Organman,

Because he is Virgil Fox and YOU are NOT!

[Musehroom]

eugh!!!!!!!!

[organman52]

This is the most atrocious performance of any piece I have ever heard. Who the hell is ANYONE - even if he is named Virgil Fox - to mutilate the music this way? The master Franck would laugh at this pathetic clown.

[Virgilisthetop]

You are apparently the pathetic clown. I'm sure you're only bashing Virgil because of your own insecurities and inability to play.

[organman52]

If you only knew what you are talking about. In any case, what exactly do you admire about this performance ?

[K3yP1ayer]

I have some old recordings of Liberace and of Fox, too. Both are the type of performer who I usually enjoy listening to as long as I don't have to watch them. In particular, Fox's performance histrionics are repulsive and remind me of a college friend, who when he had too much to drink, would show how a spider looked in orgasm. That said, I truly enjoy listening to Fox play Bach, and I have used his arrangement of Saint-Saens Symph 3, Mvt 2, for church preludes.

[mjlw9]

After reading about the world's largest pipe organ in the WSJ on October 9, 2008, I quickly found this website and was just astounded to hear one of the greatest organists in the world, Virgil Fox, playing Bach on the largest organ in the world while I was seated at my computer. He certainly was a showman but he was also an astoundingly great organist. What a wonderful treasure of royal sound to offer to the public, free of charge!

[BansaiMont3l]

nice registrations wtf lol

[sngtenor]

One must also take into consideration the acoustics of the room the organ is in. It is much, much more than the instrument itself. This room sounds pretty dead from what I can tell. You could take the same organ stops and play this piece in Cathedral of St. John the Divine with their famous 8 seconds of reverberation and the sound would be totally different. Virgil Fox was truly incredible and in my book he is a legend.

[LAN748]

No feelings, no nothing... that's bullshit!

[GJmusique]

@LAN748

"Feelings" equals acoustics?

I hear a lot of emotion.

Btw. he's playing it flawlessly from memory. That alone deserves a lot of respect. Usually I would advocate these kind of commercial circus organists, but in this case.. it's not that bad at all.

Just my $0.02

[graant71]

I have several of his records, and they are really much better than this kind of show with people laughing at him.

[haholol]

this is HORRIBLE! what is he THINKING with his registrations??

[Rockyrog]

It's hard to believe that ANYbody could find anything wrong with ANY way that Virgil Fox played. Virgil Fox was one of the GREATEST ORGANIST that ever took breath! When I think of Organ playing at it's best and most perfect, I automatically think of FOX!!!

THE VIRGIL FOX!!!

[Caocao8888]

I AGREE!!! Virgil FOX and LIBERACE are both the GREATest. Isnt it GRAND?

[blackberriestastegoo]

omg... you people make me sick. neither virgil fox and liberace deserve to be called musicians

[Caocao8888]

Sir, I'm sorry that you missed the sarcasm in my comment about Fox and Liberace. Why in the world do you think that I used those ridiculous caps?! Caocao8888, BM, MS, DMA

[blackberriestastegoo]

oh. there are so many weirdos that do type like that here on youtube so you just never know... but good to know that you were being sarcastic! :D

[RonN448]

I have loved watching and listening to Virgil Fox since I was about 14 years old, and I'll be 60 next month. I saw him in-person three times: In Kankakee, IL, Naperville, IL, in the Field House of North Central College where he played his Allen Organ, and finally in Milwaukee, WI shortly before he passed away. He was born on May 3, 1912 in Princeton, IL, and passed on Oct. 25, 1980 from cancer. Sadly, I never heard him perform live on his Rodgers Touring Organ.

[organ1029]

Was it a Rodgers? I thought it was an Allen.

[organ1029]

Sorry my other comment didn't post in the place I wanted it. I was talking about the organ, Rodgers or Allen.

[adhtz21]

Furthermore, this aaron whatevre his name is claims to be 17. Virgil Fox died in the 1960's or 1970's as I recollect.

[polgarfan]

Virgil Fox died in 1980.

[adhtz21]

Furthermore, this aaron whatevre his name is claims to be 17. Virgil Fox died in the 1960's or 1970's as I recollect.

[adhtz21]

What a buffoon to say Virgil Fox is a friend of his and he has asked him. This great and brilliant, talented man sadly died many years ago. A small piece of research will uncover that.

[joeyboi87]

aaronfolwell, I think you should just keep quiet, dont speak so much rubbish because then you might find that some people will start to believe, for you guys that havnt spoken to aaronfolwell, he claims to be a concert organist although he cant play, he also claims to be friends with oliver latry and vincent dubois from the st sulpice cathedral. I added him on msn and he used other peoples recordings and claimed theyre were his own, hes a waste of time ignore him guys

[AARONFOLWELL]

That organ he is playing is not pipe organ its a rodgers 253 organ speakers are behide fake pipes i no that because iv played the organ he is playing at the moment i have asked Virgil Fox as he is a good friend of mine and he sayed its all digital so ill let u no on that . kk organboi69

[steelersfanhawaii]

Arronfolwell, there is nothing more awesome than the growl of the 32' contre bombarde in the pedal --- Awesome instrument --- awesome organist!!!!! In a month, I will have the chance to play a large four manual organ in the Philippines that has a full length 32' contre bombarde - REAL PIPES!!!

[tuberman91kills]

Doesnt sound Piazzolla to me...

[principale8]

Is this Franck or Astor Piazzolla ?

[Reesman95]

Cesar Franck

[misolre]

mamma mia AIUTO

[ISE65]

Ugly sounding organ. Ugly unmusical performance (like so many of Virgil Fox's).

[sgtslim50]

Thats because you do not have an understanding nor the ear for the instrument, and maybe it is because of the sound cuality of your computer.

[ISE65]

The sound quality of the recording is not the best, but even then it is obvious that this pairing of instrument and performer is not befitting of such a noble piece. If only Fox could have persuaded himself to redress the balance between musical interpretation and his own ego his 'legacy' would have been far more important. Shame, really, because he clearly had the technique. As it is, his legacy is a collection of idiosyncratic oddities such as this.

[pondght]

Igor Stravinsky once said ( something along the lines of) " The problem with music is that we are taught to appreciate it instead of love it." Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but LOVE IS BLIND.

[hagarus]

I have to say that the best version I have

heard is by Xavier Daresse, on the Notre Dame

organ at Touluse (sp?) It was on Nonsuch records long ago...

The album name was "French Organ Music of

the Late Romantic Period"

I don't know if it was ever cut to a CD.

[totallyamused]

As Virgil would say....."Oh Hunnie, that was great!"

[professorjmp]

One needs to remember that in Notre Dame de Paris, the acoustics are highly different from where this recording was made, and do therfore require a much slower tempo. Had he played with thtat tempo in this setting, it would have been an excercise in agony.

[pollekepetaatekop]

Is this a joke ?

Listen to this piece heroique played by Pierre Cochereau on the grand Cavaillé-Coll organ from the Notre Dame de Paris and you 'll hear a real piece heroique.

[graant71]

I have a cd of Virgil Fox playing César Franck's Cantabile and Chorale n.3, and they are played way better than this Pièce Heroique. All his LP/CD recordings are very well played, surely better than the pieces he plays on this and on other videos here.

The reason probably is that during public performances he liked too much to "show up" and so, in my opinion of course, he plays often without the accuracy that he has in his audio recordings.

[pmo1969]

Shame the piece isn't played with any feeling.... another Fox rehash!

[caddyorganist]

No feeling? I can't say that I've heard much of anything that Virgil played that didn't have feeling.

[irkibby]

agreed, Piece Heroique sounds far better when it's much slower than this, much more menacing

[organboi69]

I would like to reinterate a point made earlier that if this peice were played [slower] in a room with the accoustics this peice was written in, it would sound about like this. Be aware that often the reverb tends to make the peice sound "busier" and without the accoutics such as in the room this is played in, a faster tempo can often make up for that. I think a good tempo was chosen for the evironment this is played in.

[irkibby]

I have a recording of this which is miles scarier... . The stops used made the whole piece sound far far meaner and menacing. Is this a digital organ? don't they have a capacity to add a reverb to the notes played?

This still just sounds like he is rushing it because he really needs to go to the toilet. A bit slower would have been much better even if it had no echo.

[organboi69]

It is actually a real pipe organ...built by the Austin Organ Co. And I believe It is located somewhere in Arizona. Even if it were a digital organ, the "fake reverb" is something that even today sounds obviosuly fake and should be avoided despite the amazing quality of most of today's digital organs.

[contratromba858]

For the record, Cochereau (what some of you wrongly consider to be authentic French, but since some people seem to think so, we'll use him as the example) takes about 7:45 to complete the piece. Virgil....7:25. Not a very substantial difference, there.

[3NUNS]

Absolutely agree. A poor rehash at that. I had not seen this particular video before.

But had made an adverse comment - justifiable at that - on another Fox performance.

[dartagnan926]

Thanks for posting this. I was re-reading "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" and it made reference to Jim Williams playing this piece on Mercer House's organ to annoy his neighbors' dogs and I just couldn't get the tune in my head. Thanks!

[paranormaalutrecht]

piece heroique :) Cesar Franck... very nice...5 points :)