Tag Archives: German

Bach Organ Favorites: Played By E. Power Biggs (Columbia MS 6261)

*download album below*

After the Space Jazz post I figured everyone needed an antidote for music poisoning. So, feast upon the awesome glory of Bach’s genius spewed forth from a massive collection of pipes. And don’t go thinking, “Organs are only for church. I hate church. How am I supposed to get drunk on that little thimble of wine. God, this is retarded.” Just don’t because you’re wrong and that’s final.

E. Power Biggs, yes that is his real name, and his Flentrop Organ will make you weep with joy and blow your face off–at the same time.

Side Note: If you’re a Cincinnati local you have to check out the symphonic concert organ series at Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. There are almost 4,000 organ pipes hidden within the old ticket booths in the big domed rotunda. Why does it need so many pipes? Well, the 1929 E.M. Skinner Symphonic Concert Organ, which is wheeled into the center of the dome, is able to reproduce the sounds present in a full orchestra. Brass, strings, woodwinds, double woodwinds, superbrass, sonic booms…they’re all present. So basically one guy has complete control over an entire symphony and it’s really quite absurd. Plus when the organist hits the low notes the windows at the front of the dome rattle like hell. It’s like a baby earthquake. You can find more info and a schedule here.

Click here to download Bach Organ Favorites

 You’ll probably recognize this video as the theme from The Phantom of the Opera. Just put that stupid mask out of your head and absorb this song’s demonic splendor. It goes up, down, around and even a little bit inside. Listening to it’s exhausting…imagining the difficulty of playing the damn thing’s truly mindblowing. Don’t even get me started on analyzing the mind that produced it. Jesus.

Update: The following features a different recording of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (the one off the album is about 2 billion times better) but this does a good job of visualizing the ridiculous fingerwork involved in the piece. Enjoy!

 Flentrop Organ Specifications

HOOFDWERK (Hauptwerk)

Prestant – 8′

Roerfluit – 8′

Octaaf – 4′

Speelfluit – 4′

Nasard – 2-2/3′

Vlakfluit – 2′

Terts – 1-3/5′

Mixtuur – IV Rks

RUGPOSITIEF (Positiv)

Holpijp – 8′

Prestant – 4′

Roerfluit – 4′

Gemshoorn – 2′

Quint – 1-1/3′

Mixtuur – II Rks

Kromhoorn – 8′

BORSTWERK (Brustwerk)

Zingend

Gedekt – 8′

Koppelfluit – 4′

Prestant – 2′

Sifflet – 1′

Cymbel – 1 Rk

PEDAAL (Pedal)

Bourdon – 16′

Prestant – 8′

Gedekt – 8′

Fluit – 4′

Mixtuur – III Rks

Fagot – 16′

Trompet – 8′

Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977) vinyl download

*download below*

Kraftwerk: The real granddaddy of all electronic music. Their synthesizers produce oodles of Germanic musical order and discipline on their 1977 classic, Trans-Europe Express. This only makes sense given it was produced in Germany while the country was split in two by heavy-handed superpowers with nothing but control in mind.

I sort of imagine the four Dapper Dan’s from the album art in a monstrous and dreary factory manipulating huge steam engines, gears and pulleys galore.  Through a fantastic ballet of these machines arise the sounds of Trans-Euro Express.  Suddenly a huge funnel drops from the ceiling to capture the sound waves swirling through the air.  Once collected they drain into a locomotive-sized hydraulic press and  are smooshed out onto black vinyl discs. All of this, of course, is metered by the tick of a 10-meter Tag Heuer clock keeping watch from the front of the beat factory. Phew!

 Anyway, from the suppressed, mechanical order of 1977 West Germany emerged chaotic sampling, tweaking, spanking, and milking from any number of groups that still continues to this day. Keen listeners are bound to still find bits and pieces of these tracks all over the acoustic realm. It all started full steam with Afrika Bambaataa’s utterly bodacious track “Planet Rock” that rips the heart out of Kraftwerk’s title track “Trans-Europe Express”. It used a blatant and undeniable copy of the chorus melody, which was a big no-no back in 1982 and led to an out of court settlement between the groups’ representatives. However, I’m sure glad it occurred because without that eletro-pickpocketing “Planet Rock” wouldn’t exist and that’d be a damn shame.

Turn off annotations for the first video (click the little box in the right corner)

There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of samples from this album in other songs.  I’d love to hear from you on which songs you know that sample Kraftwerk’s gem.  Or you can send me a copy of a song you’ve made using bits and pieces of Trans-Europe Express.  Either way I’d love to hear from you on the comment section.

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Download Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express here

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As a side note, Kraftwerk supplies the music for the title screen on the old SNL skit Sprockets (for anyone who still remembers this bit).  Ist Max Dancishkaner, ja.