Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Burt Bacharach, Leonard Bernstein, Cameron Carpenter, Leonard Cohen, Marcel Dupré, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Montgomery, Anthony Newley, Astor Piazzólla, Sergey Rachmaninov, Alexander Scriabin
Performer: Cameron Carpenter
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Sony
Catalogue: 88883796882
Release: 2014
Size: 1.27 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Carpenter: Cello Suite Elaboration (After Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: Prelude)
02. Bernstein: Candide: Overture (Arranged for Organ by Cameron Carpenter)
03. Rachmaninov: Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
04. Carpenter: Music for an Imaginary Film
05. Piazzólla: Oblivion
Dupré: Variations sur un Noël pour orgue, Op. 20
06. Moderato
07. Variation I: Larghetto
08. Variation II: Poco animato
09. Variation III: Canon à l’octave
10. Variation IV: Vif
11. Variation V: Vivace
12. Variation VI: Canon à la quarte et à la quinte
13. Variation VII: Vivace
14. Variation VIII: Canon à la seconde
15. Variation IX: Animé
16. Variation X: Non troppo vivace
17. Presto
18. Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind (Arranged for Organ by Cameron Carpenter)
19. Bacharach: Alfie (Arranged for Organ by Cameron Carpenter)
20. Cohen: Sisters of Mercy (Arranged for Organ by Cameron Carpenter)
21. Newley: Pure Imagination (Arranged for Organ by Cameron Carpenter)
22. Montgomery: Back in Baby’s Arms (Arranged for Organ by Cameron Carpenter)
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 4 in F sharp major, Op. 30
23. I. Andante
24. II. Prestissimo volando
Bach: Trio Sonata No. 6 in G major, BWV530
25. I. Vivace
26. II. Lento
27. III. Allegro
The Los Angeles Times described Cameron as “one of the rare musicians who changes the game of his instrument… He is a smasher of cultural and classical music taboos. He is technically the most accomplished organist I have ever witnessed… And most important of all, the most musical.”
A virtuoso composer-performer unique among keyboardists, Cameron’s approach to the organ is smashing the stereotypes of organists and organ music while generating a level of acclaim, exposure, and controversy unprecedented for an organist.
His repertoire – from the complete works of J. S. Bach and Cesar Franck, to his hundreds of transcriptions of non-organ works, his original compositions, and his collaborations with jazz and pop artists – is perhaps the largest and most diverse of any organist.
He is the first organist ever nominated for a GRAMMY® Award for a solo album 2009, the Telarc debut album “Revolutionary”, released in 2008
Cameron is one of the first artists to ever build his own dream instrument – an organ that doesn’t work with pipes but is a digital organ with sounds from instruments all over the world, digitalized through a new process. The organ was built to Cameron’s own specifications in collaboration with American digital organ pioneers, Marshall and Ogletree.
The album includes classical favorites known world-wide, as well as famous pop songs from the 1960s and 70s. All pop songs stem from Cameron’s childhood/young adult memories and have a special meaning to him (born 1981). “Music for an imaginary film” is a composition by the artist himself and this is the world-premiere recording.
In this CD/DVD package from Sony, Cameron Carpenter presents a stunning program of classical pieces and popular song arrangements for organ, paired with a documentary, Birth of the International Touring Organ. Treating virtuoso organ playing as an extreme sport, Carpenter frequently delivers wildly inventive and exciting recitals that have made him a pop star, and such flights of fancy as Music for an Imaginary Film, and his Song Paraphrases, are explorations of his undeniably mad skills as a performer and as a composer of startling ingenuity and freshness. Carpenter’s renditions of other composers’ works are, at their core, faithful transcriptions, though they sometimes turn into outlandish improvisations that display his incredible dexterity and athleticism. For example, his version of Bach’s Prelude from the First Cello Suite starts out as a note-for-note exercise for the pedals, but quickly turns into a fantastic elaboration that sends Bach’s original flying off into another dimension. Yet as flamboyant and physically exhausting as his take on Bernstein’s Candide Overture is, it is quite true to the original music and remains close to its orchestral colors. Equally accurate and effective are his subdued versions of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise and Piazzola’s Oblivion, and his rather straightforward performances of Dupré’s Variations sur un Noël, Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 4, and Bach’s Organ Sonata No. 6 in C major remind one that Carpenter really is a serious organist when he isn’t having a great time showing off, which is obvious here.