Re: Blaspheming & Classical Music

[b3nut@madison.tdsnet.com (Todd A. Phipps)]

At 12:14 AM 2-1-96, GOFFProf@aol.com wrote:
>Todd wrote:
>
>>That wouldn't happen to be the man that blasted rock HAMMOND players in the
>>Keyboard letters-to-the-editor section, would it?<
>
>Funny how a person can read another's mind in Cyberspace...... Same cheery
>fellow, Todd.

I thought so.  Is he still selling that book of his?  Is it any good?

>As far as the post about Classical Music ---- Keith Emerson played many
>Classical pieces on the HAMMOND C-3, so comments about it being unsuitable
>for Classical Music are not totally true.  I've seen Keith play the Bach
>Toccata in D Minor while he was standing at the rear of the organ,
>effectively playing it backwards with high C on his LEFT!  He is still the
>master of many such exploits.
>
Although K. played them in a rock context using the rock settings atop bass
& drums, which sounds stunning - although it's been said that Bach sounds
good on just about anything.  I was referring to the performance of
classical works in the classical context; the Hammond is capable of good
renderings of certain stops but there's still somethin' about a big box o'
whistles... ;-)

>Ben and Louis echoed many people's beliefs about using a HAMMOND for
>Classical.  I agree. Also, it may not be as acceptable now for Classical as a
>true pipe organ or digital Rodgers, Allen, etc., but in the late 30's it was
>damned impressive as an electronic alternative.  How many organs can be
>played for all types of music for 50+ years?  Only one....the KING of 'em
>all.

It was a good alternative for its day, reliable and many poorer churches
couldn't afford pipe organs.

Again, I wasn't saying that it was blasphemous to play the classics on a
Hammond (although the organist at Grandma's churh hinted in that direction
once!) but that for maximum effect the terrifying grandeur of a big pipe
organ in the hands of a virtuoso cannot be topped for Bach, Buxtehude,
Franck, etc.  The pipe organ has a unique ability to shake one's innermost
being and the music grabs both the heart and the intellect in a powerful
way.

As for the posts about
why-are-we-discussing-longhair-music-and-not-the-FONK or whatever all I can
say is that the prime motivatior for this list is preserving an an
instrument of music, and that the joy of music is our motivation for owning
a Hammond and whatever else we may have in our stables.  There's more to
music than just the funk (which I dearly love.)

TP

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