Ben van Oosten is a gifted organist; of that there is no doubt. He understands the art of registration deeply, and is especially adept with the Cavaille-Coll tradition. This recording was the basis for my own study of Le Chemin de la Croix, and I profited considerably from it.
As a retired organist, I love hearing this composers beautiful music played to perfection. Ben van Oosten (born 1955 in The Hague, Netherlands) is an organist, professor and author. Ben van Oosten gave his first organ recital in 1970 at the age of 15. He was accepted at the prestigious Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and studied the organ with Albert de Klerk and piano with Berthe Davelaar. He graduated cum laude in 1979 with a diploma in organ solo.
All the works on this CD are from the French Romantic organ repertoire. They have all enjoyed great popularity and bear the typical characteristics of French Romantic organ writing; melodic elegance, colourful harmonies and compositional clarity. Ben van Oosten performs on the Jann Organ of St. Martin, Dudelange, Luxembourg.
Ben Van Oosten is a major star in the Organ World. He has recorded many complete works for organ. The Dupre series is very well played. One of van Oosten's greatest strengths is in full evidence: his ability to find the melody, anywhere, any time. The piece (even when struggling with the metronome) sings at his hands! Only amateurs and connoisseurs of organ music know this exceptional French composer, surely one of the most important of the XXth Century … It is necessary to discover it and for those who do not know him the CD is a good way to access his work….
Ben Van Oosten is a major star in the Organ World. He has recorded many complete works for organ. The Dupre series is very well played. One of van Oosten's greatest strengths is in full evidence: his ability to find the melody, anywhere, any time. The piece (even when struggling with the metronome) sings at his hands! Only amateurs and connoisseurs of organ music know this exceptional French composer, surely one of the most important of the XXth Century … It is necessary to discover it and for those who do not know him the CD is a good way to access his work….
The infinite cosmos of French organ music is Ben van Oosten's realm, and he now has recordd the complete organ works of Camille Saint-Saëns in a sump-tuous box set. He performs on the Cavaillé Coll organ in Ste. Madeleine in Paris, one of the most beautiful instruments of its kind and an organ with a big orchestral sound on which Saint-Saëns himself left his traces for more than two decades.
This CD is really of excellent quality - musically like a record, and of course Ben van Oosten played here at the highest level. Dupre definitely knew what he was doing. This music is reminiscent of art rock and perfectly demonstrates the potential of the instrument. This is music of great size and monumentality. I think that with the help of this music it is impossible to achieve the same sound and the same scale on every other instrument. For some pieces of music on this CD, I like Ben van Osten's performance much better than Michael Murray's.
The infinite cosmos of French organ music is Ben van Oosten’s realm, and he now has recorded the complete organ works of Camille Saint-Saëns in a sumptuous box set. He performs on the Cavaillé Coll organ in Ste. Madeleine in Paris, one of the most beautiful instruments of its kind and an organ with a big orchestral sound on which Saint-Saëns himself left his traces for more than two decades…