add to wish list | library


18 of 19 recommend this,
would you recommend it?

yes | no

Support this site by purchasing from these vendors using the paid links below. As an Amazon Associate SA-CD.net earns from qualifying purchases.
 
amazon.ca
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.de
 
amazon.fr
amazon.it
CDJapan
 

Reviews: Virgil Fox Encores

Reviews: 3

Review by jimmyjames8 March 30, 2006 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
Excellent. One of the few if any Virgil Fox discs in print. Sound is good with some hiss and a very audible truck passing by the church during a quiet passage. This is 3 front channels of sound field for MCH SACD listeners. I like the E. Power Biggs SACD a little better. Sound is very good and it includes probably the most famous piece of organ music of all time next to the wedding march, Toccata and Fugue. More variety here on the Fox Encores than Biggs. Biggs is in 4 channel presentation and it is done very well. The 3 channel here in comparison is a little off putting but powerful none the less. Get both discs and turn it up loud!

Was this review helpful to you?  yes | no

Review by Ivymike June 14, 2006 (7 of 7 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
Virgil Fox was one of the quirkiest musicians around: flamboyant, dramatic, and always succeeding in getting under the skin of musical purists, particularly in his interpretations of the organ music of Bach. The selections on this disc are representative of his great personality . This SACD also contains one track, Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance March #4," that for some reason went unedited for the original LP release. (That original Shaded Dog, by the way, sounds completely emasculated, with all the low bass equalized out in an attempt, I suppose, to spare the cartridges of the day the horror of tracking such heavy modulation.)

Now on to the sound. The recording was made in Riverside Church, New York in the last week of January, 1958. John Crawford engineered the recording, which was taped on Ampex 3-track, half-inch equipment. Tape hiss is moderate in level and will be noticeable during p and pp passages. All manner of rumble, traffic noise, blower and coupler noise can be made out as well but none is terribly distracting. The imaging is pretty left-right specific, a bit like early "ping-pong" stereo in fact; the center channel doesn't do very much in this recording but when it does it does so with authority. The dynamic range is impressive; Fox had a tendency to push whatever recording set-up he was dealing with to its limits and the Echo and Swell organs are used to excellent effect. Low bass seems somewhat more subdued here than on the original, 1993 Red Book CD but it is still impressive; witness the shirt-flapping rumble of the 32-foot stops on tracks 5, 8, and 9.

Should you replace your original, 1993 Red Book CD? I would say yes; the sound is a bit more refined here and besides, you get a track that's gond unheard since 1958!

Was this review helpful to you?  yes | no

Review by progboy January 22, 2011 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
A few years ago i picked up a brand new unopened vinyl copy of Virgil Fox - Bach live in San Francisco and was instantly a fan. Too bad this album is not available on SACD cause it would have "turned on" every one of you audiophiles out there!

Well this SACD of Virgil is less impressive and impactful than the live in San Fran but it does offer still some pretty impressive performance and playback qualities worthy of your ears.

First off if you are not a fan of the organ than stop reading.....if you are then you need to buy this SACD.

I was hoping that the bass would make my house tremble and give me that huge organ church rich sound that I have always loved....and it accomplished this in parts for sure

I was SOOOOO hoping he would have included Bach's Sinfonia (Cantana No. 29) but I guess you cant have everything.

Sonically this SACD does present a nice clean and well defined sound that is typical of the "Living Stereo" SACD releases.

Was this review helpful to you?  yes | no