Virgil Fox 1970 Masterclass Bach Toccata in F Major With Commentary

“I decided to open my vault during these dark days of the virus and post a recording which may be of interest to Virgil Fox fans. Many of you know that Virgil’s 1969 masterclass was recorded by Doug Marshall and is available online. I also brought my tape recorder and recorded the final day of the class. (The Thursday afternoon session at the then Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark was recorded by John O’Hara, who is now a bishop in New York.)

To the best of my recollection, Doug did not attend the 1970 class (June 22-26). For some reason, I recorded only June 23rd that year. There is some great material on the tape, and I’ve extracted an excerpt here. The tape was running at 1 7/8 IPS, so there are several dropouts in the audio. I used audio restoration software to reconstruct the sound from the 50-year-old tape.

I’ve included Virgil’s comments about a recital he had given earlier in the year. By doing so I in no way mean to demean any person, company or institution. I have edited out specific names, even though Virgil knew the tape was running and was fine with it. Later in the session I stopped recording at his request.

The microphone was very close to the console, and during the quiet a minor section at 4:55 you can hear some serious leather slapping on wood.

At 9:13 I asked him a question about his recording of the Toccata (Command Classics LP, 1963), where he brings on the big reed at Riverside near the end of the piece. I wanted to know if he hit a toe stud (most likely), or a manual piston (less likely), or switched manuals (least likely). I think he misunderstood my question and before I could clarify, we were off to another topic.

I offer his commentary as a testimony to his virtuosity as a raconteur. (Years later, my brother spent several hours with a few other organists listening to Virgil at the Sheraton Waikiki, when Virgil was on his way back from Japan. My brother said that by the time he left Virgil’s room his mind was blown.)

In addition to a great talking-while-playing demo, Virgil delivers some funny lines. You can hear Carlo Curley cracking up several times.

Enjoy a small window into a lone-gone era.

Cheers,
Don M

PS - FYI you can find my performances of the Bach D Major and the Gigue fugue on this channel.”

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