George Baker
Press Notices
“…George C. Baker utilizes with exquisite poetry the possibilities of the Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Ouen de Rouen. As light plays on a stained glass window, he continuously invents new sonorous colors.”
Répertoire des disques compacts (
“…A superb homage to the man and to the composer…Baker offers us the fourth complete CD version of Les Pièces in Style Libre—by far the best…One admires the talents of Baker the colorist, handling the great organ as if it were a more modest instrument, and using its rich resources to bring a great variety of tonal colors to the music. (Five Diapasons awarded)
Diapason (
“Remarkable…Baker liberates all of the romantic verve the music [24 Pièces de Fantasie] has to offer…His interpretation perfectly and instinctively expresses and defines Vierne’s profound personality.”
Répertoire (France)
“…The Marche Triomphale, with brass and percussion, capitalizes on the Saint-Ouen acoustic as Baker articulates crisply and with heavy emphasis. Other impressive tracks include the reconstructed improvisation that Vierne recorded for Odéon in 1929, later transcribed by Maurice Duruflé, and the four suites of character pieces [24 Pièces de Fantaise] whose technical and musical challenges rival those of the six symphonies...Baker’s return to music making for a spell is a glad reminder of Shelly’s words, ‘For love and beauty and delight, there is no death or change.’”
“…This lovely piece [Berceuse-Paraphrase]…is a six-minute work that reveals the composer’s Francophilia and sounds like something Duruflé might have improvised on Christmas Eve. Highly recommended.”
(Vierne Complete Organ Works) “….our firm front-runner for interpretation….”
(Vierne Complete Organ Works) “Baker, of course, is well known in organ circles for his outstanding performances and his dedication to the French repertoire….his accurate playing coupled with the resonant sound makes this the complete collection of choice.”
American Record Guide
“The
evening’s highlight was Dr. Baker’s own extemporization on the gospel hymn I come to the garden, rich in juicy chords and modulations
worthy of Cochereau himself”
The
(Dupre Works for Organ, Vol. 13,
Scott Cantrell, The