Telarc Recordings Suck

[danw]

I have most of Michael Murrays recordings for Telarc including Bach at Metheun and I think I agree with the criticism. So much of recording organ music is centered on the problem of maintaining clarity without losing the atmosphere. The recording at St. John the Divine was recorded too close and ruins the 12 second reverb.

dan

[Pat D]

I have most of Michael Murrays recordings for Telarc including Bach at Metheun and I think I agree with the criticism. So much of recording organ music is centered on the problem of maintaining clarity without losing the atmosphere. The recording at St. John the Divine was recorded too close and ruins the 12 second reverb.

dan

So you think Telarcs are too close and clear whereas as Newbster2V thinks they are too murky! That doesn't sound like much of an agreement to me.

You both generalize from a very few samples--he from only one CD and you from Michael Murray's organ recordings, maybe just one of them--you aren't too clear on that.

Well, organs can be heard from near or far, and if you are closer up you don't get near the amount of reverb that you get down in the pews, and you can record them both ways. One of my best friends in university was a very good organist and so was my older brother's wife, not to mention some of my current friends.

[danw]

You are right- I am only talking about the organ recordings. I was referring to processes that Telarc may or may not use which changes the natural character of the recording. I like some of the Murray recordings, otherwise I would not have continued to buy them. But all organs are different and the acoustical properties of Saint John the Divine or Saint Sulpice are completely different from a concert hall (like Symphony Hall, Boston). This makes recording them difficult and depends on what qualities of the organ one wants to emphasize. These particular recordings are too close, especially in the more resonant churches, for instance take St. John the Divine. The state trumpets are 600 feet from the rest of the organ, so the listener is not just nearer or closer to the organ, but positioned between the organ. The echo in this church is closely associated with the sound of the organ and IMHO the micing was too close to be naturalistic.

Another recording by Michael Murray which suffers from a different problem was done at the Bavokirk in Haarlem, Netherlands on its beautiful and famous 18th century organ. An organ from this time period would have a rather noisy or at least audible mechanism which one would hear at close proximity to the organ. This can be heard on other recordings of this organ. But you cannot hear it at all, even though the micing is very close.

BTW here are my michael murray recordings:

Bach at Hildesheim
Bach at St. Bavo's
Dupre Franck Widor
Bach at Methuen
Vierne Symphonies 1,3
Bach in LA
Ruffati in Davies Symphony Hall
St. John the Divine
Encores a la francaise
Recital at Methuen (LP)
dan