Pairing Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 in C minor, "Organ," and Francis Poulenc's Concerto for organ, strings, and timpani in G minor is common enough in practice, but the growing popularity of Samuel Barber's Toccata Festiva for organ and orchestra, Op. 36, may signal a change from the usual way of programming these works. The arrangement on this splendid release from Ondine seems ideal, starting with the Barber work, which provides a rousing opening, and then continuing on to Poulenc's darkly scored, brooding ...
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Pairing Camille Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 in C minor, "Organ," and Francis Poulenc's Concerto for organ, strings, and timpani in G minor is common enough in practice, but the growing popularity of Samuel Barber's Toccata Festiva for organ and orchestra, Op. 36, may signal a change from the usual way of programming these works. The arrangement on this splendid release from Ondine seems ideal, starting with the Barber work, which provides a rousing opening, and then continuing on to Poulenc's darkly scored, brooding concerto and Saint-Saëns' brilliantly scored symphony. Christoph Eschenbach led the Philadelphia Orchestra in these exciting performances at Verizon Hall in May 2006 before a live audience, and Olivier Latry, organist of Notre Dame de Paris, played the 100-stop Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ with admirable skill and subtlety. Because this SACD offers impressive 5.0 surround sound and presents the organ and orchestra with sensational timbres and finely shaded dynamics, it's tempting to think...
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