The Hermetic Organ
Live album by John Zorn
Released	June 19, 2012
Recorded	December 9, 2011
Venue	St. Paul's Chapel, Columbia University, New York City
Genre	Improvised music
Length	36:25
Label	Tzadik TZ 7399
Producer	John Zorn
John Zorn chronology
Templars: In Sacred Blood (2012) The Hermetic Organ (2012) Rimbaud (2012)

The Hermetic Organ is an album by John Zorn, consisting of a single live improvisation on the Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, which was released on Tzadik Records in June 2012.^[1][2] The performance was held at 11 PM on the evening of December 9, 2011,^[2] which Zorn has noted was a full moon,^[3] as an encore to a "Composer Portrait" ensemble performance of his works held earlier that night at the Miller Theatre.^[2] It is the first release by Zorn to exclusively document his solo improvisations on the organ, his first instrument.^[4] In 2014, Zorn released a second volume of improvisations, The Hermetic Organ Vol. 2.^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Free Jazz Collective

Lou Reed, who attended the performance, called it a night of "culmination and conquest", and Zorn himself thought highly of the improvisation, calling it "something special" and "a truly magical event."^[3] Phillip Coombs of The Free Jazz Collective stated "This is a type of recording that needs to be savored, played loud and with good headphones... this is a very serious recording, especially with the themes he tackles and the environment he tackles them in. Rarely is Zorn recorded solo lately and this alone makes it special".^[6]

Track listing

Personnel

• John Zorn − Aeolian-Skinner organ