Bach Koopman

Koopman may not be my Bach hero, but as an organist and harpsichordist he has few equals. If you happen to know his fantastic recording of Handel's organ concerti (as an organist and conductor of his Amsterdam orchestra), you know what to expect from this Haydn release. Koopman's playing is as spontaneous and exciting as it was with Handel (the Handel disc, as far as know, is out of print - what a pity!) - he is obviously enjoying himself!

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.

Audio quality of this German Archiv recording is noticeably pleasant to the ear. Louder parts do not have the accompanying outbursts of digital junk noise typically present in many digital recordings; it's just pure sweet music. Archiv did this one right. Recommended for the high audio quality. Every piece is a masterpiece played with verve and energy.