Now I do have a problem....
It would be unfair to say that my regular organ sucks, and I can live with the recent recordings on it, but this morning I recorded my lesson on a real good Baroque organ and that is something different. I saved the last item which came out not too bad:

Bach - Orgelbüchlein - BWV 606 - Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her

Never mind the slips, I had only a couple of minutes before lesson ended, and by jove this is how an organ should sound. Did not even have to add reverb, great acoustic there. How it would sound with a real full plenum (this is nothing yet) I can only imagine. Probably like the hand cannon juufa imagines an organ to be Now all I want is to be able to practice and record there.... which I'm not sure may ever happen. Now how to be happy with the current recordings, that is the problem. Ooh life is difficult sometimes.

Wow. My dream is to play Bach's Toccata in D minor on an organ someday now that would be impressive!! It's just not the same on a piano.

There's a huge organ in our church, and I'd love to go up and play it. Perhaps I can become the organist in a few years time.

Hearing a virtuoso organist is almost as amazing as a full orchestra in my opinion.

Yeaup, I can tell that you are married to an Englishwoman with these three words.

What city was this in? Delft? Amsterdam? Leiden (not even sure if Leiden even has a church with a big organ)?

I should be so lucky as to get to play on organs like that...
This is in IJsselstein, the town nearest to us. It is not even such a huge organ, but a damned fine one, and same for the church itself. You can look at it here (there's a nice photo presentation):
http://www.vanvulpenorgel-ijsselstein.n ... p4pag.html

ROTFL

My, what big pipes you have!

Seriously though, nice to see what you're playing - all those keys, pedals and thing-a-ma-bobs. Perhaps my ear is not trained to appreciate a fine organ, because in my opinion, the sound here doesn't sound that much better than on your previous recordings. It's probably different in person, or to someone who knows these things.
Why can't you use this organ more often?

Chris, ok, it sounds way fuller and the pedal bass pipes will hit the stomach more, I assume...

BUT:
First, the high baroque time with full plenum more ore less all the way was already over for Bachs time. That is not what is necessarly needed to play Bachs organ works.

Next, a big organ to play on is nice. However I am sure the fuller you make the sound the less you hear the nuances in the music. Like a loud rock concert. If it is that loud, all sounds good but your ears shut up. One better practises with softer registration and plays also not almost all Bach pieces in full plenum.

Next, often big organs stand in a big church. That means unbearable strong reverb, helps also not just to improve on playing. And big churches are mostly cold, even in summer.

What am I for a lucky guy? I have a small organ in a small church, 3km distant, an own key to the church, the acoustic is dry as it should be for practising, and the organ is really beautiful. The longer I play on it the more I like it, if not to say love it. And the church is heated, I play without pullover in winter. It has only a single 16 feet subbass register for the pedal however (and a posaune 16 feet register). Nevertheless, it is enough to play Bach. It is not up to the organ that it will sound good, it is up to me. Yes..... I am happy with that organ

Depends on the piece. There are some that I would now do with more modest registrations but this is one that deserves, and asks for, a big and majestic sound. A concert organist like my teacher (he's played and recorded all Bach's organ works on this organ) does not hesitate to pull out a goodly battery of stops. - and never mind your ears protesting sitting are right beneath the pipes...


Which is not at all what I am doing


I think the natural reverb in this church is just perfect. In the other one I played a couple of times, that was just awful, and unsuitable for recording anything but the real big slow pieces.
Yes, it is cold ... so what ! That's never stopped an organist. Though I could do without the cold hands, but I have them anyway these days, must be an age thing.

Yes you are one lucky geezer, having landed right away an instrument you are perfectly happy with. Make the most of it. Certainly more than adequate for practising, but for recording I would want a bit more sometimes.

The organ sounded great, not doubt. So, will you be able to get there more often?

juffa, everytime I now on read the word organ...big organ...huge organ...big pipes...

Hehehe... I could not even get Hotmail to send a mail with the word 'organ' in the title. It bouced back as being spam. Very sensitive word, it seems.

sorry. maybe I am best to remove it.

Don't do that.. we can use a bit of fun here