(Avant-garde, Organ music improvisation, Tzadik ) John Zorn - The Hermetic Organ: St. Paul's Chapel, NYC - 2012, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

There really is something wonderful and awe-inspiring about a great pipe organ. As one of John Zorn's initial instruments, he clearly appreciates the organ's potential power. After years as a saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer, Zorn returned to the instrument in 2011. This didn't happen through the organ setting on a digital keyboard; this homecoming happened on actual cathedral pipe organs. Zorn performed a series of concerts in American and European churches. Out of these live performances, "The Hermetic Organ" represents the culmination of this musical mood with a concert at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City. Stylistically, the organ improvisation fits in well with the 'avant-garde/experimental' descriptor given to so much of his music. While ya know that it's pipe organ music, you also know enough about John Zorn to appreciate that it's not going to sound like a Sunday Mass. So what does it really sound like? Think of Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D minor' and imagine John Zorn playing similar music. As an improvisation, it naturally doesn't have that sort or structure or elegance. The thirty-six minute piece has six parts (Introit, Benediction, Offertory, Elevation, Communion and Descent) yet there is a two minute break in the middle and nothing is tracked out. While this makes it difficult to discuss specific parts, the piece begins with a pulsating drone which descends into an avant-garde cacophony. It eventually ascends into an angelic segment that articulates glorious love in a way that can only be expressed through a pipe organ. From there, the music returns to a pulse which eventually gives way to more dissonance. After an awkwardly long pause, the next half begins with more of what could be described as avant-garde church music. Much of the music has a dark and intense mood. The second half ends with the most melodically satisfying part of the recording. It brings to mind Pink Floyd's epic avant-garde song, 'A Saucerful Of Secrets.' After clanging around in pyroclastic dissonance, 'A Saucerful Of Secrets' always finishes with a beautiful church organ segment. Not only is Zorn's 'Descent' used the same way, it bears a strong melodic resemblance to Rick Wright's keyboard work. When it comes to John Zorn, he says that he was initially drawn to the organ given the instrument's use in early horror films. Given the dark and anxious tone of this work, it could easily be the soundtrack to a work of horror. In this respect, "The Hermetic Organ" compliments "Nosferatu," Zorn's album to accompany a stage production of Dracula. Albums like "Enigmata," and "Templars In Sacred Blood" find enthusiastic appreciation among certain branches of the fan base, so it's entirely possible that the potential listener could fall in love with "The Hermetic Organ." As a serious fan of the instrument and John Zorn's more melodic work, I found "The Hermetic Organ" interesting but not compelling. I have no doubt that it was a deeply meaningful experience for John Zorn to play this music and it was also a memorable evening for those sitting in the pews. It stands as a fantastic souvenir of the evening, but it's unlikely to be one of those recordings that gets played over and over again.

John Zorn - organ