Messiaen L'Ascension, for solo organ Part One

the pedals are way too weak. Knowing of the lack of power, couldnt he have used all pedal stops?

love the ending when the pedal comes in, is the 32" used here at all ? any1 know
thankz

Yep it's being used but the 32' Pedal reed is not particularly effective - the scaling is not up to it, or rather the removal of the roof within the organ (which used to project the sound of the Pedal department forward into the auditorium) has handicapped thus and the whole Pedal department. In contrast, the Great reeds situated to the right of the organ case are totally ott, and will scare you to death if you sit anywhere near them!!

haha very gd thank you for that i was just wndering thts all
is there a video on youtube of this organ on full force? like everything going pipe wise

Ummmmmmmmmm....anyone interested in talking about the MUSIC, rather than the instrument the music is played on? Messiaen was quite an outstanding composer, not only of music for the organ, but of vocal, orchestral and chamber music, as well. Look up other works by this man, and his oeuvre will blow you mind...

Latry recorded the complete works of Messiaen at notre dame. you can find it on itunes. in fact, i downloaded this piece awhile back.. it sounds incredible :)

Noone can ever know what Willis would think about this instrument!

In any case, since the installation of "flying saucers" a few decades ago, the over-resonant acoustic of this gigantesque elliptical building has been greatly modified.

I would much prefer the organ of Westminster Cathedral to this instrument because this instrument has no character - its just very big and very loud. The origonal Father Willis must have sounded superb, but now, it has been really butchered. Such a shame.

Like so many other masterpieces from the romantic era........

I can tell u 2 facts About this organ.
When Mander Organs Come to Rebuilt the organ Inside. They was told that they wanted the organ Brought Forward more to the chamber Of the concert hall and the pedal reeds Pushed back. Mander Did this but was not happy. The reeds ware made more High Pressure Great and swell was. Solo was made more Power Behide the Tuba and meny other reeds. Before enyone touched that organ Father willis would of been mad the way it is done and sounds now. God rest his soul