Fanfare for the Common Man from St. John the Divine, NYC

Bill Randolph, assistant organist at the cathedral, shows off this amazing instrument's big reed stops. including the world-famous State Trumpet.
The recording was made in the cathedral choir -- 600 feet from the StateTrumpets -- so you get some of the sense of the vast space in this, the world's largest cathedral.

This version of Copland's fanfare was arranged by former cathedral organist Dorothy Papadakos.

New York's summer heat & humidity have obviously not treated the organ's tuning very well, & those big reeds are fiendishly difficult to keep in tune in the best of circumstances. An awe-inspiring sound, nevertheless.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• fanfare
• St.
• John
• the
• Divine
• pipe
• organ
• orgue
• orgel
• organo
• cathedral
• Copland
• Common
• Man
• New
• York

[gramps2matt]

I'm impressed that there is an organ transcription for this piece. A number of years ago when I had access to a church organ the best I could find was a reduction for piano. So blessings to the woman who did this transcription. I hope she publishes it 'cause if I ever have access to a pipe organ again I'll buy a copy.

[a55b47]

@gramps2matt Dorothy Papadakos was, until around 2002, the organist at St. John the Divine. I'm not aware of any publication of this particular transcription; I do know that she recorded several CD's (still available) featuring her compositions & improvisations. Last I heard, she was living & working in Wilmington, NC.

[sailormann1]

Are those Tubas really that powerful at 1:18 (relative to the 50" wind pressure State Trumpet), or is the mic just alot closer to the Tubas/the main organ than it is to the State Trumpets?

This recording is actually distorting my speakers... see Dorothy Papadakos' recording of this piece on the CD series "The Great Pipe Organs of NYC" for a slightly more balanced recording of this. Glad you posted this -- but the balance on the tubas is waaaay overpowering, at least on my lil sound system.

[a55b47]

@sailormann1 I'm not an audiophile, just an organ-lover with a Zoom H2 digital recorder about the size of a cigarette pack. Yes, I was sitting (with my recorder) in the choir stalls, right under the main organ, so the tubas would, quite naturally, be closer to the recording source, given that the State Trumpets are a city block away from the main organ.

[DSM1G90]

I bet recording in the size of this venue is like recording the Midmer-Loch at Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City Convention Center) in Atl. City (when that organ was fully functioning ) - so much magnitude to capture within the sheer limitations of the recording devices that it's really impossible to capture the complete aura of dynamics. The ear just has to be there personally to get the full experience. Congrats on the capture - it was fantastic!

[a55b47]

@DSM1G90 All thanks due to my little Zoom H2. It's the size of a cigarette pack, but packs quite a recording punch (They're not paying me for this testimonial, BTW ;-)

[a55b47]

@Coandar It's extremely difficult to adjust my recorder to deal with the big sound close-up & pick up the State Trumpets. In addition, I'm not a recording engineer -- just an organ nut.

[Chesterbarnes1]

Listen to the POWERFUL of this ORGAN. Wow! Bravo!  They must have put a ORGAN BLOWER as large as the Empire State Building! POWERFUL...Yes!

Mighty! Awesome!!!!!!

[Jimbowinch]

Fantastic ... goose bumps to the fore!

[TheMysticalOrgan]

Golly, when that thing's out of tune it sounds like the horn on the Devil's ship!

[osclarkos]

Very enjoyable thank you

[gzaenker]

@a55b47 the best device to replay a good recording of this is a Class A triode without a transformer in the output.

[BigDaddyOldDude]

It would be awesome to hear this magnificent tune when Christ splits the skies at the final call!

[dmph3]

@a55b47 use audacity (free) and a nyquist fileter called clipfix (free). it will likely fix this.

[BigDaddyOldDude]

The most majestic of instruments!