Reger: Organ Works

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
Organ Music Constitues a Central Category in the Corpus of Max Reger's Work. The Organ was of Very Little Account on the Musical Scene When Theyoung Composer Began to Write his First Extended Pieces for the Organ Shortly Before the Beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Bochum Ruhruniversity's Concert Hall Organ Joins the Tradition of Concert Hall Organs Built by Klais: Organs in the Munich and Cologne Philharmonic Halls, in Brishbane,athens, Kyoto, Cracow, and London (Bbc Hall).

Tracks:

Toccata And Fugue In D Minor, BWV 565 - Ton Koopman
Fugue In G Minor, BWV 578 'The Little' - Wolfgang Rubsam
Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme, BWV 645 'Sleepers, Awake' - Simon Preston
Prelude, Fugue And Ciacona In C Major, BuxWV 137 - Peter Hurford
Tierce En Taille - Gillian Weir
Dialogue Sur Les Grand Jeux - Gillian Weir
Schmucke Dich, O Liebe Seele, BWV 654 - Helmut Walcha
Toccata And Fugue In D Minor, BWV 538 'Dorian' - Wolfgang Rubsam
Chorale - Andante Sostenuto - Allegro Molto - Peter Hurford
Fugue - Peter Hurford
Finale - Peter Hurford

Tracks:

Prelude And Fugue On The Name B-A-C-H, S.260 - Peter Hurford
Benedictus, Op.59 No.9 - Peter Hurford
Chorale No.3 In A Minor - Marcel Dupre
Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen - Peter Planyavsky
Allegro - Thomas Trotter
Andante Sostenuto - Pierre Cochereau
Toccata (Allegro) - Simon Preston
Apparition De L'Eglise Eternelle - Olivier Latry
Dieu Parmi Nous - Olivier Latry

Customer Reviews:

Glorious pipes.......2007-04-20

New as an organ fan ? No mistake with this double Cd set. Registration is amazing and sounds like pure cristal. A simple joy.

B.A.C.H. from Liszt is great, and more great moments.

Organists play perfectly.

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A Good Introduction to Max Reger
Excellent introduction to Reger
RegeR- Everyone's favorite palindrome

Reger: Organ Works Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Organ Works 3
Reger: Chorale Fantasia on How Brightly Shines the Morning Star; Organ Pieces, Op. 59; Introduction and Passacaglia i
Reger: Sonata No. 2; Organ Pieces, Op. 65; Chorale Fantasia on "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"
Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 6
Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 7

ASIN: B0000060D2
Release Date: 1998-05-12

Tracks:

Ten Pieces, Op.69: Prld And Fugue in e, Op.69, Nos.1 And 2
Ten Pieces, Op.69: Basso Ostinato in e, Op.69, No.3
Ten Pieces, Op.69: Moment Musical in D, Op.69, No.4
Ten Pieces, Op.69: Capriccio in d, Op.69, No.5
Ten Pieces, Op.69: Toccata And Fugue in D, Op.69, Nos.6 And 7
Ten Pieces, Op.69: Romance in g, Op.69, No.8
Ten Pieces, Op.69: Prld And Fugue in a, Op.69, Nos.9 And 10
Prld And Fugue in c#, Op.85, No.1
Prld And Fugue in G, Op.85, No.2
Prld And Fugue in F, Op.85, No.3

Amazon.com

Reger had a great sense of humor. On reading a poor review of one of his pieces he wrote to the critic in question: "I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. In a moment, it will be behind me." What a shame, then, that so little of this humor carried over to his music! Not that it's bad, but it is an acquired taste in some ways. All but the organ works, that is, which for many German organists constitute the late 19th- and early 20th-century's answer to Bach. Again, this is a matter of taste, but there's no denying the composer's mastery of his craft, or his ability to conjure up powerful ideas on the instrument. This disc is the first in a projected series that should go far to introduce this neglected music to an interested public. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

A Good Introduction to Max Reger.......2005-06-22

The budget-priced Naxos CD label offers an unparalleled opportunity for the adventurous listener to explore unfamiliar music. For example, this CD is part of Naxos's collection of organ music in its "organ encyclopedia" and is the first volume of a projected series of the organ works of Max Reger (1873 --1916). The organist is Bernard Haas, professor of Organ at the Stuttgart Acadamy. He performs this CD on the three-manual Link organ at Giengen an der Brenz, Germany.

Many lovers of music are unfamiliar with the literature of the organ beyond the works of Bach. As this CD shows, composition for this glorious instrument has continued. There is much to get to know and to appreciate.

But why Max Reger? Reger wrote prolifically for the orchestra and piano, but his love was for the organ. In some ways, he represents a meeting of Brahms and Wagner in late romanticism as reflected on the organ. Like Brahms, Reger was a scholar of baroque music. He immersed himself in counterpoint and in the study of Bach. But Reger combines his knowledge of the baroque with Wagner's chromaticism and harmonic shifting. This is an intriguing combination which sometimes makes for difficult listening.

Reger was a twentieth century composer, and the two collections on this CD are from early in his career. The more accessible of the two is the three (of four) preludes and fugues of opus 85 composed in 1904. I found that in these three pieces the fugues flow seamlessly from the opening preludes The first and the third of the set, in C sharp minor and in F major, begin quietly and work slowly to a dramatic close. The second prelude and fugue, in G major, begins with a strongly rhythmical figure in the low register echoed in the upper register. A climactic passage at the end of the prelude is followed by a piping fugue.

The other work on this CD is the ten pieces for organ, opus 69, composed in 1903. There are several types of works in this collection, including an extensive, and harmonically ambiguous, prelude and fugue in E minor, a fiery toccata and fugue in D major, and a concluding and intense Prelude and Fugue in A minor. The remaining four pieces consist of single movements in a variety of styles, a basso ostinato in E minor with a swirling figure over a pulsating figure in the bass, a quiet moment musical in D major, a short, lively d minor cappricio, and a hushed romance in G minor.

The pieces in this set are in a variety of moods, but many of them are difficult. The music seems to sway at times from key to key and there are abrubt changes in the organ's register. I am not sure whether these passages, in which Wagner rests somewhat confusedly with Bach, are due to Reger or to the performance. It probably has something to do with both.

After listening to this CD several times, I came across a review by Stephen Haylett in the July, 1998 "BBC music". Haylett's review is posted on a fine website devoted to the music of Reger. With respect to the recording of the ten pieces, opus 69, Haylett writes: "Bernard Hass ... gives competent readings of these minatures, but his technique lets him down on occasion, smudging textures and compromising the rhythmic flow of the music through changes of registration. He isn't helped by a rather foggy recorded sound." I found Haylett's comments highly perceptive. In other words, this is late-romantic chromatic music combined, uneasily in places, with a deeply contrapuntal style.

Listeners wanting to know something of Max Reger and to learn about modern music written for the organ will want to hear this disk.

Excellent introduction to Reger.......2004-09-10

Like Charles-Marie Widor, the vast output of Max Reger is generally only heard at organ recitals. Widor and Reger composed in all forms. However, it is only their organ music which has remained in the repertoire.

Reger has probably never been as popular as the work of his French contemporaries. For one, his main inspiration is the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. He sought to combine Baroque compositional techniques with the rich Romantic harmony of the post-Wagner era. All of his works are extremely well put together and offer many intellectual rewards for those willing to take the time.

Haas gives a wonderful performance of Reger's work. His performance lacks the fire of Mary Preston's recordings of some of Reger's work on Gothic. This recording also offers the bonus of hearing Reger's music on a German Romantic organ. German Romantic instruments are much heavier sounding than their French contemporaries. However, Reger's music was thought out for a German Romantic organ.

This CD will offer many rewards for fans of late Baroque counterpoint. I am probably one of the few who are taken with late Baroque counterpoint. This CD is also an excellent introduction to an unfairly neglected composer. Reger's music was held in high esteem by composers of the stature of Arnold Schoenberg.

RegeR- Everyone's favorite palindrome.......2000-06-24

This disc almost automatically deserves a good review just for making the organ music of this sorely neglected composer available at a low price.

It is even better to know, then, that the disc is deserving of a good review on more than just principle. The music itself is wonderful, though definitely not for everyone- Reger sought to reconcile the structural strictness of baroque music with the harmonic freedom of the late romantic, and either of these on their own are probably unappealing to the average listener. But then, the average listener is unlikely to hear Reger anyway, and his music will quite possibly be a delight to the more adventurous individual.

The most frequently recurring works on this disc are fugues, but even works with less imposing names, such as "Romance", are not particularly "fun". Reger's music needs to be appreciated intellectually. I am made giddy by particularly clever shows of contrapuntal skill, but I imagine that I am part of a minority. In any case, the performances here do nothing to 'dress up' Reger's organ music to make it more appealing, but rather go slightly to the opposite extreme. These recordings are often extremely quiet, yet very loud on occasion. For that reason they do not suffer background noise, and some of the fugue countersubjects can be nearly inaudible except under the best listening conditions. There is nothing otherwise disagreeable in the performances, however, and the less-than-perfect engineering is very forgivable in the context of making this underrated composer available for the consideration of adventurous shoppers who are willing to try something new for around 5 dollars.

Organ Works 3
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Organ Works 3
Reger , and Kaiser
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Reger: Chorale Fantasia on How Brightly Shines the Morning Star; Organ Pieces, Op. 59; Introduction and Passacaglia i

Reger: Organ Works Vol. 1

Reger: Sonata No. 2; Organ Pieces, Op. 65; Chorale Fantasia on "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"

Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 7

Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 6

ASIN: B00006L3VK
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

Fantasia
Fugue
Praeludium
Pastorale
Intermezzo
Kanon
Toccata In D Minor
Fugue In D Major
Fantasia
Fugue

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Reger: Organ Works, Vol. 7

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Improvisation | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Reger: Chorale Fantasia on How Brightly Shines the Morning Star; Organ Pieces, Op. 59; Introduction and Passacaglia i
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Reger: Organ Works Vol. 1

ASIN: B000I2IUUM
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Tracks:

Fantasia
Fugue
I. Mourning Ode
II. Psalm Of Thanks
III. Christmas
IV. Passion
V. Easter
VI. Whit
VII. Victory Celebration

Average customer rating:

Magnificent Sound
Reger's Op. 127: a rare recording for a masterpiece

Reger: Organ Works Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Intro, Passacaglia and Fugue in e, Op.127
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Toccata and Fugue in d
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Kanon in e
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Melodia in B flat
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Capriccio in g
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Basso ostinato in g
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Intermezzo in f
Nine Or Pieces, Op.129: Prld and Fugue in b
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Alles ist an Gottes Segen
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Eins ist Not! Ach Herr, dies Eine
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10: Freu dich sehr, O meine Seele
Choral Prlds, Op.135a, No.1-10:

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent Sound.......2003-10-29

Naxos has done it again! This CD is a superb representation of the Reger canon. Although there have been attempts to play Reger a la French, he was at heart a German Romantic and as such, his music sounds more authentic on the non-singing organs associated with the Germanic areas of Europe. The soloists seem to recognize this and keep things at a steady but not pedantic pace.

In this case the listener is blasted with pure sound from the Passacaglia and the fiendish fugue is a masterpiece of composition and interpretation - simultaneously Romantic and modern. Also great rendering of the Toccata & Fugue, the beautiful canon and the Cappricio which is anything but light. The organ pieces here demonstrate that they can indeed be played - much as the newest Godowsky CD proves that his works are also playable.

Reger's Op. 127: a rare recording for a masterpiece.......1999-08-30

Reger's op. 127 is a monumental interior fresco; often accused of excessive lenght and prolixity, in reality his structure is unusually clear; the double fugue is one of Reger's most expressive and romantic large-scale contrapuntal works. It's also included, with op. 57 and 73, in his "unplayable" works. In a digital recording's survey, a part from G. Barber's rather colourless performance (Priory) and R. Haas's incomprehensible and unnatural speed (MDG: it seems more a midi file than human hands and feet...), in my opinion Daniel Matrone (REM, 1988) remains the absolute reference: with his particular, "French" eccentricity, fashinating but not too sensitive to philological approaches; and an instrument's sound so various, coloured and absolutely clear. We were waiting Lohmann's performance (after his excellent Rink's CD, Naxos too, and the confirmation we had from his great live performance in Padova) to discover pheraps another revealing side, more strict and rigorous, of this masterpiece... We find a controlled reading, but rather dark, finally without any real new addition of expressive functionality. The sound is rather close too... Anyway, in my opinion it's good if you like to discover this rare masterpiece, even if (is it unavailable?) Matrone keeps up... the throne.

Tracks:

Chorale Fantasia On 'Alle Menschen Mussen Sterben', Op.52, No.1
I. Canon In E Major
II. Gigue In D Minor
III. Kanzonetta In A Minor
IV. Scherzo In A Major
V. Siciliano In E Minor
VI. Fugue In C Minor
Introduction-Variations
Fugue

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Organ Recital

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0002B7PEG
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Tracks:

Praeludium In E Minor
Four Variations On Unter Der Linden Grune
Nun Komm Der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659
A Secret Power
The World Of Silence
There Is A Spirit That Delights To Do No Evil
Choral No.1 In E Major
Scherzo Pour Orgue, Op.2
Introduction And Passacaglia In D Minor
Carmen

Organ Showpieces from St. Paul's Cathedral

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Organ Showpieces from St. Paul's Cathedral

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Michael Murray At The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine: Works By Franck, Widor, Dupré, Bach and Others
Reger: Chorale Fantasia on How Brightly Shines the Morning Star; Organ Pieces, Op. 59; Introduction and Passacaglia i
The Ruffatti Organ in Davies Symphony Hall
Great Toccatas

ASIN: B000001414
Release Date: 1995-05-01

Tracks: