Bach The Organ Works Ton Koopman

Under the Antoine Marchand (that's Ton Koopman in French, or Anthony Merchant in English) imprint of the Challenge Classics label, Dutch early music veteran Ton Koopman recording the large corpus of surviving works by Dietrich Buxtehude, inspired by the tercentary of the composer's death in 1707. All initial indications are that few other musicians could have done this at all, and probably no one could have done it as well.

This offering from the combined forces of Musica Amphion and the Gesualdo Consort is presented as a hardback book with a CD tucked into the back cover. It is the second in the Bach in Context series. The aim of the project is to present Bach’s works in a liturgical format. The book goes to considerable lengths to explain Lutheran liturgy and how Bach’s compositions would have fitted into a Sunday morning service, thus presenting a prelude, cantata, choral, motet, choral and postlude - in this case the fugue. The performers also give concerts using this format.

Limited edition 100 CD box set on the premiere classical label Deutsch Grammophon. Subtitled from Gregorian Chant to Gorecki. For some it will be the ultimate reference tool. For others a big place to start on something they always wanted to know about. Either way, the idea is to present a comprehensive history of Classical Music from its origins to the present day, covering all periods, including all major composers.

Marking the 300th anniversary of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach’s birth in 1714, this 13-CD box at budget price presents a survey of his greatest works, performed by some of the most renowned musicians in the world of historically informed performance. Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788), the second son of JS Bach, was a celebrated figure in his lifetime and is recognised as a crucial figure in the transition from the Baroque to the Classical styles. Mozart, no less, said of him: "He is the father, we are the children.”

Spanish and Portuguese organs are celebrated for their excellent trumpets (en chamade), but their splendid flutes, prestants, cornets, and reeds are less widely known. From the second half of the 17th century, organists in Spain and Portugal delighted in recreating the sounds of the battlefield on their instruments. The batalha has a simple harmonic structure; its interest lies principally in the stirring rhythm.

Dieterich Buxtehude's organ works are his most significant contribution to the history of music. They consist of a comprehensive corpus of just 90 compositions, of which more than half are chorale settings. However, these are mostly shorter than the preludes, toccatas and other freely conceived pieces, so these last represent a more substantial share of his entire output.