Now Thank We All Our God arr. Virgil Fox www.thejoyofmusic.org

[homoignobilis]

Diane Bish is the best looking and best- and most gifted- pipe organist we have alive today. She's just plain fierce. Kind of like Bach was in his day: Anyone who heard or saw him play was both enraptured and terrorized. He got fired from one job as the kappelmeister for physically and emotionally terrorizing the choir boys, especially one child who ran home with bleeding ears to his father who happened to be the head of the church committee. His comment: "He sings off-key."

[ChrissysVideokids]

This is so GREAT!!!!!!

[noteworthy99]

Agree absolutely about the accoustics, it's so fast that many notes are a blurred jumble. Virgil could play like this but when he did it was not good listening, he did it to entertain. If you want musicality don't use this as an example.

Hope she caught her train !

[penguinflag]

I actually have this piece as done by Virgil Fox, and I feel like Diane does a much better job- I like it faster; it's more exciting!!

[PointyTailofSatan]

The person that designed that console is an idiot. The stopboard layout is so bad....

[cornwallthedragon]

@PointyTailofSatan The console was designed by the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis and the manufactuer, Gabriel Kney. Andrew Davis is also an organist and will sometimes be seated at the console while conducting the orchestra. May be a bad design but practically designed.

[AEQIk21]

Half of the negative commentaries on this video are the exact reason why the general public and young people (above all in western societies) are no longer interested in the organ (or most classical music for that matter). Congratulations...

[DLLMWL]

I've never seen an organ console like this one. It looks more like a computer printer than an organ. Any info on this instrument?

I love this piece, but Dianne Bish is rushing like she's either late to dinner or has to pee. The tempo of the piece needs to be more in line with the instrument and acoustics of the room. Otherwise, it just become a wall of sound. No doubt that she's a very talented player, but she was in a hurry on this one.

[dustermouse]

She needs to lay off the energy drinks, she is playing way to fast!

[march131958]

@dustermouse , I agree with you. No feeling. She sounds the same when she rewrites something. Yes,she is talented but lay off the heavy handed left hand.

[ajaydamier]

This was horrific.

[silverstartrucker]

Ridiculously fast, she ruins it...

[cumesoftware]

@silverstartrucker If is as if she was typewriting.

[deutschphilippinen]

wow!!

[cumesoftware]

It looks like she is writing at the computer allright. Too fast to enjoy the piece! And she uses too many stops at the end that my ears can't handle!

[4iwilllive]

can you play oh susanna on organ

[Lackdi54]

faudrait peut-être arrêter tous les gestes inutiles, qui ne sont là que pour faire le cake.... : marteler le pédalier ça sert à part le flinguer (on dirait pas, mais si...), et puis la cadence finale, c'est le genre de truc que tu loupes pas : la mère Bish elle préfère envoyer un gros pâté qui fait bien tache à la fin...

[Deathss81]

The love for music has no age and this is confirmation.

[mikedc2020]

enchamade, you answered your own question.. "She wants to impress..." Flashy, but not very musical or pleasant to listen to, but fun to watch.

[ECKeefe]

Seriously Dianne... Slow it down!!

[organEd]

It amazes me just how effortlessly she plays this. It is very fast, accurate, and well phrased, but she doesn't look hurried or stressed - but performs it looking relaxed.

[DETROITBULLET]

Shes like the Rock star of church organist ! Hurray Diane

[0627nmp]

I know it is played fast, but I LOVE IT. She plays the words like I would sing them so it isn't off to bad. The crescendo in her registration is the best I have heard so far. Which isn't many but I digress.

[JohannusFan]

Verrry bright organ!! (reeds??) Dianne does play the piece a bit zippy, but I kind'a like it. Maybe a tad slower - but one thing I've noted is she has a very high note accuracy. Truly a quality organist. Good stuff!!

[vinniecaruso]

"When it's played with color, and with guts, and with great honesty, then the organ takes on its full meaning."--Virgil Fox

I'd say by Fox's statement, Diane does this piece justice.

[iandavidhenderson]

I have listened to this and watched this over and over. I am totally awed by it every time. What a treasure to have the phenomenal Diane Bish on this glorious intrument. Thank you profusely for this posing.

[jv04jm]

@iandavidhenderson I watch it over and over too! it's absolutely amazing! Man I wish I was in the Roy Thompson Hall when this was playing. Those blazing chamades and the growl of the 32' reed! mmmmm Is this the Mr. Henderson from St. Catharines/Thorold area?

[morrisrobert314]

I love the faster paced stuff. It just makes her that much better a player!

[umroo2014]

a little fast, but she makes it her own.

[karlakor]

This is a terrific arrangement by Virgil Fox! I wish I could come up with something half as original and exciting as this!

[JoRoAM1]

I agree this is a ltitle fast paced for my taste..I am learning it and you bet I am slower!!

[silverstartrucker]

Far too fast. Diane should listen to Virgil Fox playing his own arrangement. Perhaps Diane was dying for a pee and desperate to get to the loo

[Episcopalcriticiser]

@silverstartrucker Great! I really had to laugh. When I'm sitting on the organ (or the piano) and am playing a really great piece like this one, it could happen that I play really fast when I have to pee, because I just don't want to interrupt this great music. So I think you give the correct answer for the question why she plays so fast.

[ARFRC1]

@Episcopalcriticiser

As an AGO National Councillor, I too have a funny story. I recall at an organ recital, I was playing at the Cathedral of Madeline in SLC UT. I was 14. I had the most horrific rash on my derriere & was performing the Toccata, Adagio, & Fugue by Bach, the itch was so bad that I got up in the middle of the piece & went to restroom. Came back told Audience I had a "Call of Nature". My late father said the crowd was in shock as I got up & left, but laughed after explanation.

[1MrBadineriebach]

She is "always" playing tof fast,is this america or so what?,big,bigger,biggest,fast,­faster,.......

Tip for Diane:please follow masterclass in Europe!,for example Paris?

[iandavidhenderson]

This is a super, super presentation of the Virgil Fox arrangement by Diane Bish on a great organ in Toronto. I would like to see and hear more of Diane on this relatively modern instrument.

[mkl62]

I am an ELCA Lutheran from South Carolina. I play the piano and organ. Today (July 25), I played this for Sunday School assembly.

[Festizzle]

@mkl62

Hello there, like you I belong to the ELCA. Unlike the other Lutherans we ELCAers are the partying Lutherans!!

[Owdfolkie]

Good, but I have to agree it's too fast...

[requiemguy]

Sounds great and I like the tempo...she looks like she's having a great time.

[crossbike]

this is the best interpretation I've ever heard. thanks God for the unique Diane Bish!

Chappeau! Greetings from Switzerland.

[strong1235]

I guess this is one time where "pedal pushers" would be appropriate attire?!!

[TrinityUMCOrganist]

Love that instrument. The stage console is a little strange, I'm not one for buttons, but the sound is nice, acoustic is great, and the tracker console is nice. Plus it's a very good piece.

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

Diane has given the world a great gift in her music. We should rejoice and be glad in it,,I do,and Virgil thought a lot of her and her excellent television series is still without equal. Blessings!

[Ghostkid202]

OMG!

[Organsk8er]

Faster than most I have heard...but she holds it "together" very well, especially that considering...and she certainly milks it for all it's worth with the slight ritards at the end of the phrases...a very, very musical performance, no matter what the speed!

[happyorganist]

I think her speed for this work is perfect

[organ66]

@happyorganist think so too!

[armorsecsys]

Ugly Console.

[cornwallthedragon]

@armorsecsys, remember that this console was designed to be used for when the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the time, Andrew Davis, would be a soloist along with conducting while seated at the console. So the console had to be built in a way where the performers of the orchestra could easily see the conductor. Ugly yes, but it serves a very practical purpose aside from being pretty high tech.

[silverstartrucker]

Too fast, but otherwise OK...

[vindic4479]

@silverstartrucker

G.Danda plays it a little slower and better.

[0627nmp]

I wonder what Virgil thought of Diane?

[organEd]

@0627nmp , He and Ted Alan Worth thought highly of her. She is mentioned in his book "The Dish".

[0627nmp]

@organEd thanks

[praestant8]

As many have said the stop action is electric with solenoid actuators on the sliders and of course modern combination action. On the mechanical key action are electric solenoid pulldowns for the movable console. Naturally a computer interface between the electric console and the organ proper.

[patagiarius]

Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus!

[pw4489]

Deus non est; musica magnifica est.

[patagiarius]

Deus maior est!

Musica sine Deo imperfecta est.

[l09anv1011n]

that would be so much fun to play :D

[dacatholicbandorgan]

Perfect speed!

[dispatch4014]

i performed this piece last sunday for a prelude and got a standing obation. it was awesome!

[happyorganist]

the word is ovation

[cmoore479]

It is in sequence with the hymn "Now Thank We All our God." Just a deeper observation.

[Dekanatskantor]

*lach

und immer schön den fuss abstellen. was ist an bish so toll? ihre interpretation oder ihre klamotten, oder werder noch?

[enchammade16]

I love Dianne, but why is everything in light/warp speed, speed. Everything she plays is so fast. I understand she wants to impress, but going so fast on everything she plays, means you loose so much of the piece. I wished she would slow down, and enjoy the piece, and the chords that Virgil wrote in, and many other composers wrote in. There is no need to go so fast.

[happyorganist]

I like it the way it is

[silverstartrucker]

I do agree with you about the break neck speed.

[organisten]

@enchammade16 claptrap. Listen to some of the other "slower" performances. No thank you. You have them; I prefer this. Wonderful.

[dolofonos]

@enchammade16 While I don't know how she feels about tempo personally, I will say that great speed is what the people call for--perhaps those with less training in music who are awed by the work as a whole but not its intricacies. I will say that Mozart is reported--or wrote, I cannot be sure--to have complained of people requesting him to play too quickly . . . when one does, it is unfortunate for those of us with like taste.

[Towncarguy52]

@enchammade16 blah blah blah........ Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

[tactilex]

The senset that this is too fast might come from the Youtube sonics. For a chorale, the question of speed is determined first by the singing line. In this case, it is beautifully played, as though a soloist or choir were singing the cantus.

[happyorganist]

agreed!

[Orgelapeldoorn]

sounds ok, but a bit too fast. And hold the hands on the keyboard!

[jpwmusicman]

Amazing! Diane Bish is truly the "First Lady of the Organ."

[silverstartrucker]

Slow down Bishie...

[ve2so]

Look at her hands! Just like a young lady ! So Ladies, stay away from the kitchen!!!

[laplacae]

haha...she loves to cook!

[laplacae]

haha...she loves to cook!

[passacaglia28]

I love Virgil Fox's arrangement. She does this piece justice. VF would be proud. I have this piece on his Encores CD. Five stars!

[cmoore479]

Me as well. What a Nintendo of an organ :)

[passacaglia28]

Well said.

[Mojeans04]

Agreed!

[framer4157]

wow! never heard a corvette console before.

[DAOFB]

Gott, das war ja auch mal in der Mode so haessliche Spieltische zu bauen xD Und die Aussage: "plays almost like a computer" ist fuer ne Orgel auch nicht unbedingt ein Kompliment :)

[TheObliterator92]

She played it a bit fast though.

[hubertjudge]

Brilliant version!!!!!!!!

[Organbest]

Fantastico!! Complimenti!!

Io ti amo!!

[moller11739]

My favorite organ piece!

[ARFRC1]

Wonderful!!

On behalf of the American Guild of Organists, thanks for this post.

I never heard much of Virgil Fox, other than one of his CDs. Both Diane and Him have received countless awards and recognition from the AGO.

They are very talented organists and this gives US younger organists, like myself, inspiration.

As a Regional Councillor of the American Guild of Organists, thanks for this post.

[Organsk8er]

Very musical performance of this piece, I like the slight ritards at the end of certain phrases...makes for a more dramatic feel than just playing it "straight through"...also, that's quite a thrilling sounding instrument! Interesting console, looks kinda more like a Kawai than anything else...lol...but a very thrilling sound!

[cornwallthedragon]

This organ was built around 1982, by Gabriel Kney, for what was to be the new Massey Hall but was renamed to Roy Thompson Hall. The organ has full mechanical stop and key action when the console on the second balcony level is used, but it also has electro pneumatic action when the movable console is used. It does have a very thrilling sound to it which I find unique to it.

[PipeOrganistSC]

I could tell it was a tracker organ. It sounds a bit chiffy

[cornwallthedragon]

Yup, it is a tracker organ despite the dual key action and dual stop action when either the console on the balcony is used or when the movable console is used. Gabriel Kney has done a great job with this very fine instrument.

[pipeup1]

Would be interested to know how an instrument with digital/electronic stops and a mobile console could be a tracker. I understand the term "tracker" to mean the stops are actually connected to the boards at the base of the pipes rather and that when swell to great is coupled, the keys actually connect. Can't see that would happen on this instrument?

[cornwallthedragon]

It get's tricky to explain when there's dual action involved here. However, I've managed to find a close up picture of the fixed console and from what I see is that the stop action is not mechanical but electronic. Same controls that are seen on the moveable console. Key action though is still mechanical. For sure with the moveable console, it is all electronic.

[pipeup1]

Ah I see! So the console being played in the clip does not/cannot have tracker action and only the keyboard on the fixed console is tracked. So its only 50% a tracker organ then?

[cornwallthedragon]

Yes! The moveable console is only electric stop and electric key action. The fixed console is electric stop action and mechanical key action. Either way it's still a very nice instrument.

[caysonstaples]

I love that word..."chiffy"

[sistahsharon]

daaammmmmn she is so good.

[vinniecaruso]

Does anyone have this sheet music they'd be willing to send me? I'd appreciate it a lot.

[dispatch4014]

Absolutley magnificant! I love it! We organist should really respect the talents of this woman and of virgil fox! Brilliant!

[tamiasthechipmunk]

Indeed I believe Ms. Bish and Virgil Fox have had unimaginable impact in making the masses aware of the wonderful sound of the organ. I have nothing but shear admiration for these two individuals.

[theblackhand2]

This is such a beautiful piece. The more I hear it the more puts a smile on my face. Being performed by Diane Bish is the the proverbial icing on the cake. 5/5 and faved.

[cornwallthedragon]

I've been hoping that someone would upload a video of Diane Bish playing the Gabriel Kney organ of Roy Thompson Hall. The video shows off how easy it is to change stops on the mobile console. Nothing to pull, just press a stop to activate it and press it again to deactivate it. Note that this organ is a tracker instrument but also has electric action when the mobile console is used.

[MoneyManTC]

The Console is very similar to the one at my church. 1988 Petty Madden IV/96.

[cornwallthedragon]

This one at Roy Thompson Hall is a IV/104.

[vinniecaruso]

you gotta have some talent to make a virgil fox arrangement look like a practice piece. how amazing would a organ duet concert with diane and virgil be. what musical legends they are. and damn thats one fancy shirt to top it off

[DesireeDeFete]

The Virgil is really tricky! I do the Janet Linker arrangement, with a Virgilized style. Virgil and Diane...long may their legacies live!

[trackboi27]

I have both of the episodes of this concert on tape.......and in all the pieces she plays like a demon. Im sure one of her finest concerts, and I bet to this day every person in that audience remembers it as amazing.

[OrganistAnthony]

Cool Console!

[PJManfredi]

Actually it is played rather well. It is played fast, but if you listen to Virgil's recordings of it...he tends to take it at a fast tempo as well.

[AmericanCars101]

Amazing! I love it, thanks for posting!

[cromorne]

This is the version arranged by Virgil fox and is certainly accurately played, just a bit too fast. It's not designed as a baroque piece.

[praisethelord333]

this is not very good played and not very baroque.