Eberhardt Schoener

Amid the never ending list of available recordings of Bach's organ works, it's nice to see a new SACD being released that brings all of his brilliant Toccatas together on one disc. These works, which capture a snapshot of Bach letting his hair down, showcase the essence of the composer at his best. Highly spirited music, brimming with expressive freedom bordering on the ecstatic. Organist Christoph Schoener certainly perceives these elements within the music and delivers up-tempo, animated and exuberant readings of all the pieces that call for it. The highlight for me on this disc is the account of the Toccata in F, BWV 540. A brilliant work, even by Bach's standards, with outstanding harmonic development throughout, underpinned by solid and long-sustained pedal notes upon which Bach constructed cathedrals of sound.

First Bach, then Reger, and now Bach/Reger: the present disc is Christoph Schoeners third MDG recording on the four organs in St. Michaels Church in Hamburg. The attractive program featuring Johann Sebastian Bachs seven toccatas, five of them in gripping arrangements by Max Reger, embodies the best and fullest opulence of sound. The MDG sound engineers rely on the very finest three-dimensional SACD technology, the big sound of this musical event, including the echo division and its extra spatial effects, can be enjoyed at home an audiophile highlight of a special kind! The seven toccatas were originally intended for the harpsichord.

A total of four organs group themselves around the listener inthree dimensions in St. Michael's Church in Hamburg, and all fourinstruments are spectacularly employed on this Super Audio CD. Churchmusic director Christoph Schoener has designed a very special programfor the organs in his workplace: music by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdythat has never been heard before in just this way. Schoener pullsall the stops on the central console and covers a spectrum rangingfrom the complete late-romantic forces of the entire organ systemto the filigree murmuring of individual tone colors. A special treat:a solo for the echo organ installed high above in the ceiling sphere!

Comprised of selections originally mixed and mastered in 1978 from the albums by the electronic composer featuring The Police's Sting and Andy Summers.
This is probably the most unlikely thing you'll ever expect from the Police: them playing full-on prog rock complete with Mellotron. OK, so the idea is actually coming from electronic keyboardist/symphony conducter Eberhard Schoener, but he released two albums with Police members in it in 1978, Flashback and Video Magic (the German original, not the compilation featuring tracks from both). Sting and Andy Summers are on both, but Stewart Copeland only appeared on Flashback, while Evert Fraterman filled in Copeland's shoes on Video Magic. Andy Summers had already appeared on several Eberhard Schoener albums as far back as 1975…

This release follows some fine recordings with Christoph Schoener of Reger and Reger-arranged Bach from this venue, and with such consistently high results I’m now always on the lookout for new recordings from this source. As far as I can tell this is the only title available with this repertoire in organ arrangements, so quality and novelty would seem to be assured.

Recorded in 1977, this classic work is an expression of Schoener's personal and subjective experiences from frequent trips to southeast Asia. Joined by Andy Summers (of The Police) on guitar and the other members of the band, The Secret Society, Schoener's Moog, Mellotron and keyboards lay a unique foundation for Gregorian vocals… It is recordings like this that show the timelessness of this musical genre.

Comprised of selections originally mixed and mastered in 1978 from the albums by the electronic composer featuring The Police's Sting and Andy Summers.
This is probably the most unlikely thing you'll ever expect from the Police: them playing full-on prog rock complete with Mellotron. OK, so the idea is actually coming from electronic keyboardist/symphony conducter Eberhard Schoener, but he released two albums with Police members in it in 1978, Flashback and Video Magic (the German original, not the compilation featuring tracks from both). Sting and Andy Summers are on both, but Stewart Copeland only appeared on Flashback, while Evert Fraterman filled in Copeland's shoes on Video Magic. Andy Summers had already appeared on several Eberhard Schoener albums as far back as 1975…

Recorded in 1977, this classic work is an expression of Schoener's personal and subjective experiences from frequent trips to southeast Asia. Joined by Andy Summers (of The Police) on guitar and the other members of the band, The Secret Society, Schoener's Moog, Mellotron and keyboards lay a unique foundation for Gregorian vocals… It is recordings like this that show the timelessness of this musical genre.