Les Deutsch's Organ Recordings |
| This page contains demonstration recordings of my Hauptwerk organ designs. To find details of these organs, visit my organ software page. I made these recordings directly from Hauptwerk's audio capture capability using an Apple MacBook Pro for the sounds and my Rodgers 945 organ for control. The selections are meant to show off the varied tone colors of the organs. All files are in mp3 format. The recordings of my 3-Manual English Organ include a custom voicing performed by Mark Williams of Savannah, Georgia. Mark is both a professional voicer and an organist intimately familiar with English organ practices. Inspired by Mark, I completely revoiced my Expanded Schantz organ for my recording of Frank's Final. |
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| Recordings of the Expanded Schantz Organ (version 1.2) |
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Praamblen und Interludien
by Hermann Schroeder
1 Maestoso
2 Moderato
3 Andante
4 Vivace
5 Andantino
6 Allegro
7 Allegretto con moto
8 Vivo |
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| Recordings of the Model 945 Organ (version 1.1 and Version 2.0) |
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| The Bach fugue is, of course, one of his most famous compositions. "Forgotten Dreams" is a lesser-known orchestral piece by Leroy Anderson, the same composer who wrote "Bugler's Holiday", "The Typewriter", and "Sleigh Ride". Jean Langlais is one of my favorite 20th organ composers - probably because of his use of complex chords and odd time signatures. The "Incantation" is a real show piece and not for the faint-of-heart. "In an 18th Century Drawing Room" is my own arrangement of one of Scott's most famous compositions. It is almost note-for-note identical to the original recording - quite a finger buster! You can download the sheet music on my Raymond Scott page. FInally, I have Von Suppe's most popular overture, "Poet and Peasant". This is my own arrangement. I started with the original score and a couple of my favorite reference recordings. This setting has everything from the original - but it requires double and triple pedaling, and lots of fancy fingering. You can download the sheet music to try it yourself. All I ask is that you give me arranging credit. It would also be nice to get recordings of other organists playing this arrangement. The Prelude and Fugue in F by Lubeck is not often heard but does a great job showing off some of the lighter baroque aspects of the 945. The Franck "Piece Herioque" shows how well the 945 can simulate a French organ. The next three selections form a medley of Leroy Anderson tunes I arranged for organ and percussionist. For these recordings, I keyed in the percussion parts on separate tracks. I also recorded the trumpet winnie at the end of Sleigh Ride - on a real trumpet. The final piece is the most well-known composition for the organ. I have been playing it since I was 12 - but I have gotten better. The Dupre Prelude and Fugue is something I learned a very long time ago when I was studying with a student of Dupre's. I have performed it many times. It is, in my opinion, among the most difficult pieces ever written for organ. It has quadruple pedaling! Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna is my third transcription of von Suppe overtures. It is as difficult as the others - and I have never heard another organist perform this piece. You can download the sheet music and try it yourself. Again, I would like to hear other organists record this arrangement. |
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| Recordings of the Three-Manual Litomysl organ (version 1.1, Dry Samples) |
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| Recordings of the Three-Manual Litomysl organ (version 1.1, Wet 24-bit "version 2" samples) |
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Eight Little Preludes and Fugues
by J. S. Bach (or maybe J. T. Krebs, a student of Bach's) |
Prelude and Fugue #1 (C Major)
Prelude and Fugue #2 (D Minor)
Prelude and Fugue #3 (E Minor)
Prelude and Fugue #4 (F Major)
Prelude and Fugue #5 (G Major)
Prelude and Fugue #6 (G Minor)
Prelude and Fugue #7 (A Minor)
Prelude and Fugue #8 (Bb Major) |
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| Recordings of the Three-Manual Litomysl organ (version 2.0) |
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Like many organists, these were some of the very first pieces I studied - when I was 11 years old! I have played them of and on for a very long time and I decided to revisit them once again for these demonstration recordings. Back when I was 11, most organists believed these were written by J. S. Bach himself. In the interim, some musicologists have suggested that J. T. Krebs, a student of Bach's, actually wrote them - for the pedal clavichord. Regardless of what you believe, these are still fine organ works. They are called "little" because they are short. Some of them are actually quite challenging to perform. I have used them occasionally for short recitals, particularly for audiences not accustomed to organ music. The Prelude in #8) was recorded on a modification of the Three-Manual Litomysl organ created by Al Morse. It uses multiple release samples, allowing the very fast passages to be heard more clearly - thank you Al!
I wrote Version 2 in Hauptwerk 4 to use all the multiple releases in the sample set. This is a big improvement. The Bach Prelude and Fugue in D is one of his best known works - and a tough one to perform. |
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| Recordings of the Three-Manual English Organ (some with custom voicing by Mark Williams) |
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March in D Major, by Alex. Guilmant
O Mensch, Bewein' dein' Sunde Gross, by J. S. Bach
Christ Lag in Todesbanden, by J. S. Bach
Throop Institute March, by E. C. Kammermeyer, arranged by Les Deutsch
Powerhouse, by Raymond Scott, arranged by Les Deutsch
Prelude I, by Ernost Bloch
Prelude II, by Ernest Bloch
Prelude III, by Ernest Bloch
Prelude VI, by Ernest Bloch
Nimrod by Edward Elgar, arranged by Pierre Gouin
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The "Throop Institute March" is an "official" march for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The original name of the college was "Throop Institute" (pronounce "troop"). I play this at the conclusion of every Caltech commencement ceremony. "Powerhouse" is the most famous composition of Raymond Scott - another of my musical interests. Since I am trying to promote the music of Raymond Scott, you can download the sheet music for my arrangement of Powerhouse for your own performances, completely free of charge. I only ask that you give me arranging credit in any concerts or recordings. The Bloch Preludes were written a synagogue pieces in the mid 20th Century. They are not performed often despite being serious (albeit short) works by an important American composer. "Nimrod" is one movement from Elgar's "Enigma Variations." I have played it many times on trumpet with instrumental groups. I recently heard this organ arrangement in concert. It shows off the full dynamic range of the instrumnent. |
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| Recordings of the Jeux d'Orgues d'Trois Claviers (version 1.0) |
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| "Flapperette" is a piano novelty piece from the 1920s. I play a lot of these in my side career as a pianist for a Dixieland band. I thought this one lends itself very nicely to the concert organ. The "Little" Bach Prelude in C Major is probably the easiest piece attributed to Bach - but it has a special meaning to me. As a small child, I would listen to my father play this on our old Conn Artist tube organ. It was the piece he could play completely! He went on to invent the digital organ, developing the system that Allen released in the late 1960s. I recorded my own transcription of Franz von Suppe's Light Cavalry Overture. I was not happy with other transcriptions I had found so I went back to the original score and a couple reference recordings to create this one. You can download it for your own use as long as you give me transcribing credit. |
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| Recordings of the Custom Theater Organ |
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| Though I did not design the Hauptwerk sample set for this organ, I did restore and augment the large theater organ console. The project is documented here. The samples are from Neil Jensen's 35-rank Connoisseur Series theater organ ."Get Out, Get Under the Moon" is a popular song from 1928 made famous by Helen Kane, the "boop-boop-a-doop" woman. This is my own arrangement, though it is defintely in the style of George Wright. "Me and the Man in the Moon" is another song from 1928 made famous by Helen Kane. My recording is a close transcription of Jesse Crawford's, showing off many of the colors of the organ as well as many of the facilities of the console, including second touch. "Hi-Hat" is another of my Crawford transcriptions. I made this recording about halfway through the organ construction project. The stops were not yet working, so all the registration changes were accomplished through the pistons. La Danza is a patter song by Rossini - but this recording is a pretty close transcription of the George Wright recording, which he titled "The Chase". It really puts the console (and me) through its paces. |
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| Other Organ Recordings |
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| A new free Hauptwerk organ was posted on February 16, 2013 but there were no demonstration recordings. It is a Sauer organ in the Polish village of Skrzatusz. I whipped this recording up in an hour and posted it so people could get an idea about how this organ sounds. It is actually taken from two separate works by Pachelbel which I often perform as a unit. |
