Saint-Saëns, Camille. Symphony
No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78, "Organ."
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy,
Conductor.
1. E. Power Biggs, Organist.
Columbia
Masterworks ML-5212 (Mono).
Recorded 17 October 1956. Currently
Unavailable.
2. E. Power Biggs, Organist.
Sony Classical SBK-47655 (Analog Stereo / ADD).
Recorded 7 October 1962 at the Academy of
Music, Philadelphia.
3. Virgil Fox, Organist.
Vladimir Sokoloff and William Smith, Duo Pianists.
RCA Victor "Basic 100" 62562 (Analog Stereo / ADD).
Recorded
5 December 1973.
4. Michael Murray, Organist.
Telarc CD-80051 (Digital Stereo / DDD).
Recorded 6 February 1980 at St. Francis de
Sales Church, Philadelphia.
One of the many blessings of Eugene Ormandy's legacy is that he left behind multiple recordings of the same pieces, so that listeners can listen to many disparate performances, and also detect the subtle as well as blatant differences between them. One of the many curses of Ormandy's reputation is that Sony and RCA seem to have forgotten that Ormandy's recordings carry the same force, beauty and impact that they did when first released, and that the maestro deserves something better than merely being used for budget CDs (not that these should be stopped; at least we get those!) Of the four recordings reviewed here, the first Biggs version is out of print, and only the Michael Murray version is still available in a full-price version, with liner notes and original cover artwork from Telarc.
A visitor to the guestbook of these pages commented "Ormandy was basically a good, reliable musician who cultivated an orchestral sound that served all music in the same routine, uniform way." Yet, just listening to each of these four recordings proves the above to be baseless; To the contrary, each of them bristles with their own life-force, charm and uniqueness.
It was not common for conductors to record Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony until after 1959, when Charles Munch conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra with organist Berj Zamkochian for a recording which RCA Red Seal dubbed a "Stereo Spectacular." Before then, most classical music listeners were not familiar with the work. However, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, along with renowned organist E. Power Biggs recorded what - for me - remains the foremost example of how this symphony should sound, way back in 1956.
Unlike most recordings of the Organ Symphony, the 1956 recording (which was recorded in monaural, and released on 33-1/3 r.p.m. vinyl) cuts against the grain of how most of us "hear" the symphony in our minds: Instead of the cavernous, "cathedral," acoustics one associates with the symphony, the sound is immediate and forceful - right in your face. (The typical recording of this symphony is not only due to its solo instrument, but also because of how too many recordings we've heard have been recorded in this manner). Microphone placement for this recording wasn't boomed somewhere near the ceiling; it must have been directly over Maestro Ormandy's head! This recording has a "live" feel - it sounds as though electricity is running through the veins of all involved, from E. Power Biggs' solid and majestic organ to the wind ensemble's deft handling of passages in the Allegro moderato, to the rapid-fire pummeling of the same movement from the timpani, cymbals and tubist. The violins, though played with the famed lustrous sound which made the Philadelphia Orchestra famous, provide a lightning-quick undercurrent for the "heavier" instruments, the heaviest of all being Biggs' organ. When he opens up the grandiose Maestoso in the final movement with a massive chord one senses nothing except his omnipresence. That the Philadelphians are up to the task of equaling his force and passion in bring the symphony to a rousing closure attests to Ormandy's uncanny ability to seamlessly cohere with his soloists. On the whole, this performance hearkens back to Ormandy's days with the Minneapolis Symphony in the 1930s, when the best description of his performances was "driven." I would tell you to buy this one, but with the 1962 release (also by Biggs) out on disc by Sony, don't expect this one anytime soon.
The 1962 release - again with E. Power Biggs on organ - was released by Columbia Masterworks in order to release an "updated" account of the Organ Symphony in the stereo format it deserved. This performance virtually matches the 1956 recording in tempo and interpretation, but unfortunately it lacks the immediacy and vigour of Ormandy and Biggs' first collaboration. Most of this is due to the sound engineer's "distant" microphone placement which wrecks the vitality of the piece, though I also detect a bit less drive and enthusiasm on the part of Biggs, Ormandy and the Philadelphians. (Although they tried to match their first performance as closely as possible, it goes to show you that you can't repeat the unrepeatable).
Nonetheless, Biggs' performance sounds cleaner, inasmuch as one can hear in detail the sound of the air as it's forced through the organ's pipes; it's a gorgeous sound, almost as if the organ is breathing! (Biggs' playing is captured well on the 1956 version, but due to the primitive pressing, the nuances aren't imparted with as much detail or subtlety). I recommend this later version for those who want to hear Biggs and Ormandy together, but it is only a shadow of the priceless 1956 recording.
In 1974, RCA Victor recorded legendary organist Virgil Fox in the Organ Symphony with Ormandy and the Philadelphians in quadraphonic (RCA Victor Red Seal ARD1-0484, re-released as RCA Victor Dolby Surround 61269; both out of print). Unlike the two versions with Biggs, Ormandy conducts this performance with less dominance over the Philadelphia Orchestra. Soloists and ensembles are less unified, but rather meander in and out of the music, weaving a very thoughtful version of this Romantic symphony, letting all its motifs play off one another. Particularly poignant is the call-and-refrain of the violins with Fox's low, whole notes, in the Poco adagio.
Acoustically, this recording is somewhere between the 1956 recording with Biggs and the 1980, with Murray. It comes across beautifully in stereo as well, as engineered by Paul Goodman; too beautifully. This is probably because in the 1970s, engineers (Paul Goodman included) mic'ed virtually every instrumentalist. The downside of this is that while this recording (thank God) is bereft of the Our Lady of Carlsbad Caverns sound, it also sounds a bit antiseptic - it's too clean, unlike the more earthy sounding 1956 recording. The timpani do not have the same forza in the Allegro moderato of Part II, which is key to establishing the movement (in the 1956 version, the timpanist is striking them near the center of the heads, which is what gives them that hard staccato sound). They should be blasting through the speakers , but somehow got lost in the sound mix (and the timpanist is pounding them pretty hard, though closer to the rims, which accounts for their reverberating "ringing" sound). When clarinets, double basses, the triangle and the duo-pianists all have the same "closeness," one doesn't think "surround sound," one thinks "over-engineered claustrophobia."
Virgil
Fox's organ is full-sounding and just as
majestic as Biggs', but has a more "dimensional," full sound than the
orchestra
itself in this recording. As it should be, it's
pervasive.
The irony, though, is that Fox isn't even playing a real organ!
For this recording, Fox played the Rodgers Touring Organ, an electronic
organ which is described in the liner notes of the original RCA record
jacket: "With 56 stops and a sound system of 144 speakers, its
range
and its dazzling array of colors challenge the best pipe organs."
To which, I concur in full: I can't tell it from the real thing.
Of all the four performances reviewed, the Fox version is definitely the truest to what I consider to be Saint-Saëns' musical vision (over-tweaking by the sound engineer excepted). It literally sings its themes, and provides a view into the Organ Symphony which is multi-faceted. Whereas the two Biggs performances are singular in musical vision and execution, the Fox version comes the closest to the piece's Romantic intent.
The recording Ormandy made with organist Michael Murray in 1980 for Telarc was one of his last, and one of his best. Ormandy takes a more relaxed tempo in this version compared to the previous three, but this recording is just as majestic as the 1956 collaboration with Biggs. Unfortunately, at times, the orchestra is also mic'ed from a distance, particularly in the Poco adagio section of Part I. However, beginning with the introduction of the Maestoso in Part II, Murray's organ and the Philadelphia's French horns and percussion are right in our living room. I don't mean that a digital "representation" is right in my living room, but over my speakers (ADS and Klipsch) was delivered the most realistic sound I've heard from a digital recording yet (I suspect that the "distant" microphone placement was employed so as not to blow Telarc's monitor speaker cones from their housings upon reaching this overpowering point).
In a review from 1984, Gramophone concurs: "...The Ormandy version of the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony is recorded in a very 'swimmy' acoustic, and although the sound is pleasant it is acoustically a little overwhelming. The performance is very professional....It has a very spectacular moment at the entry of the organ, when the already wide dynamic range is extended by a couple more dBs or so, and few will be able to resist this without a grin at the sheer sumptuousness of it all...."
Telarc has long been famous for its superb digital recordings, and this showcasing of Michael Murray, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra is one of their best. The finale, Allegro, blasted so powerfully throughout my house, with such passion and aural intrusiveness, that it gave me goose bumps. Here is one of the few, rare, digital recordings from which you can hear what Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra truly sound like. For that reason alone, you should buy this.
To sum up: If you want to hear power, forbearance, quicksilver tempi and intensity, get the Biggs versions (preferably the 1956 version). If you want to hear an almost as powerful, but more Romantic account, get the Fox recording. If you want to close your eyes and feel as though Michael Murray, Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra are in your living room, and shaking your wallboards, then spin the Telarc release on your CD player (please, to save your speaker cones, only crank the bass at 3/4 power!).
