As sonic extravaganzas go, Harald Feller's 2006 showpiece SACD, Phantomes: An Organ Spectacular, is a lively display of the instrument's possibilities and the soloist's prestidigitation, as well as a stunning demonstration of state-of-the-art audio technology. Though not really a theme, the Phantom of the Opera connection is still a bit too obvious -- who didn't expect to find Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor as the opener here? -- but this CD actually has something worthwhile to offer listeners other than clichés. Apart ...
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As sonic extravaganzas go, Harald Feller's 2006 showpiece SACD, Phantomes: An Organ Spectacular, is a lively display of the instrument's possibilities and the soloist's prestidigitation, as well as a stunning demonstration of state-of-the-art audio technology. Though not really a theme, the Phantom of the Opera connection is still a bit too obvious -- who didn't expect to find Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor as the opener here? -- but this CD actually has something worthwhile to offer listeners other than clichés. Apart from the extremely theatrical transcription of Rossini's Overture to William Tell, and the vulgar but strangely effective suite from John Williams' Star Wars (arranged by Feller), the program is a fairly respectable organ recital, and serious organ buffs will appreciate such quirky and rarely played pieces as the perverse Phantômes by Louis Vierne, the robust Sonata by Nino Rota, and Enjott Schneider's exciting Toccata "Schlafes Bruder," all of which provide enough musical substance...
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