Cameron vs a few other people

[F Kalbrenner]

This isn’t going to be one of my usual Cameron bashing's but regarding the thread about “Cameron Vs Gert van Hoef” I remembered that there are some other artists I thought would also make an interesting comparison to Cameron. I originally was going to post this on the previous thread by jbird604 but decided to start a new thread instead.

So this is just going to be a random listing of a bunch of organists and musicians that I am aware of.


The first person that I definitely think is worth mentioning is the Australian organist Alessandro Pittorino. I mean just look at this person, he kind of looks like Cameron’s relative or son whichever way you see him. But his gimmick does seem to have a strong similarity.
http://www.agpo.org


The next two is the organists Sarah Svendsen and Rachel Mahon who perform together as a duo. Their gimmick revolves around being deliberately ridiculous and over the top such as using pop guns and wearing fancy outfits like tuxedos.
http://www.organizedcrimeduo.com/#/photos/4567946083


Now with these next two suggestions I am sort of bending things here because the next two people aren’t organists and the organs they both use aren’t church or theatre organs but are still technically pipe organs. The instruments they use are of another breed of organ that I’m surprised that the Organ Forum doesn’t have a page for considering that there are pages for reed organs and accordions. But anyway the type of organ that I’m referring to is the street and fairground organs (or in this cases the dance organ).
So the next person is a Guitar player who plays a large transportable dance organ through his guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB_lzEHt67U


The final person is a Belgian composer (Walter Hus) who to confess I don’t really know much about him. I stumbled across him yesterday while I was scrolling through images of organs built by Decap and I just noticed an organ that just seemed a little unusual (and by Decap standards that's saying a lot).
If you’re not familiar with Decap they’re a company the specialises in building dance organs with a very retro or art deco design. Below is an example of one of their organs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZYCLwExdvg
So the next video is a trailer of a collaboration called “The Silk Road Sonata” with Walter Hus at the piano and Guo Gan who plays the Chinese Erhu (and who I also don't know anything about). And there is also a large computer controlled Decap organ which accompanies them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwCqFoNqG5Q
I have to say there is something about this Silk Road performance that I find genuinely moving. When I first watched the videos of this collaboration today I remember thinking “gee that actually felt new and innovative”. I don’t everyone will agree with me on that but that was just how I felt at the time.

[Leisesturm]

Thanks for the heads up. I won't be following those links. It's enough for me that you find them ridiculous or offbeat. I don't know if that was your aim or not, but ... I don't know, if I want people to look at links I present, then I try to say nice or supportive things about them. But that's me.

[andyg]

The instruments they use are of another breed of organ that I’m surprised that the Organ Forum doesn’t have a page for considering that there are pages for reed organs and accordions. But anyway the type of organ that I’m referring to is the street and fairground organs (or in this cases the dance organ).

I quite like listening to some of the fairground and street organs, and there are plenty of on-line groups and forums for this type of instrument. However, interest on here in the past 12 years or so has been minimal, so though I can't speak for Admin, who makes the decisions, a separate section is probably not warranted unless there's a sudden change in demand. General Chat would be the place for discussions of these instruments. I think the bottom line may well be that all the other types of organs here have to be played live, whereas the street organ doesn't.

[Admin]

How about these guys? Click the picture to play the video.

[myorgan]

This thread makes me so glad I never pursued attending Julliard--look what they're turning out now!;-)

Seriously, while these people are furthering the organ as an instrument to be used in performance, I wonder if they're setting expectations of all performing organists to be flashy, gaudy, and overtly entertaining. I've said it before, but when I see such a spectacle with someone bowing to his/her instrument as (s)he plays, making faces, and overtly exuding emotion, I get up and leave--it detracts from the performance so I cannot enjoy it without closing my eyes. Even then, those extra contortions tend to come through in the performed music, such that I cannot enjoy that either. What is left to enjoy?

This reminds me of one clarinet player in our Symphony who bobbed and weaved as she played like a snake charmer's snake. She's very talented, but it called so much attention to herself over the rest of the orchestra, it made it extremely difficult for some (even those around her) to enjoy the performance. She has since toned it down at the request of the conductor. Ironically, her playing has improved.

Regarding band organs, the website that comes to mind is the Mechanical Music Digest, as one site interested in remotely controlled marvels. This Forum tends to cater to those who perform live on an organ vs. remotely. The only section of the Forum remotely related to a remote performance would be the MIDI section. However, as an integral part of almost every organ these days, it's hard to not include information about MIDI.

Michael

[Admin]

I’m surprised that the Organ Forum doesn’t have a page for considering that there are pages for reed organs and accordions. But anyway the type of organ that I’m referring to is the street and fairground organs (or in this cases the dance organ).

As Andy pointed out, not enough interest in these instruments has been shown to warrant dedicating a forum to them. In fact, there's a relative lack of activity on this site discussing their closest cousin, the theatre organ. Reed organs and the like were ubiquitous in homes, churches, and funeral parlors at the end of the 19th century and many have survived and I'm pleased that we have an active discussion area for them on the forum.

Back to the subject of young organists, at the top of my list is Nathan Laube. Marvelous technique with a sense of musicality that covers the entire repertoire of organ music literature. I'm also impressed with playing of Isabelle Demers of Canada. She played as part of the WQXR Bach-A-Thon a few years back, and man, did she make the music come alive.

In the theatre organ world, Scotsman David Grey is fantastic as is Brit Richard Hills