Organ Bach Sielbermann

Old technology meets modern technology on this release from Germany's Oehms label, a top-notch Bach organ recording equally worth the consideration of the first-timer or those with large Bach collections. Featured is one of the monuments of central German organ-building, the Silbermann Organ at the Catholic Hofkirche in Dresden. The organ was dismantled during World War II but subsequently rebuilt and later thoroughly restored. It's a magnificent beast, with plenty of power and some unusual, highly evocative tone colors in the quieter registrations.

The marvellous Ton Koopman plays Bach's complete works for organ in wonderful performances full of power, passion, and grace! These digital recordings were made in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999.

This set gathers the Bach recordings released by Michel Chapuis for the French label Valois (now Naive) between 1966 and 1970. These highly regarded recordings were reissued by Naive in 1999 and soon became unavailable again. Faultless registration, dramatic flair, dazzling technique and pinpoint clarity in counterpoint make these recordings a cornerstone of any Bach and organ discography. The booklet includes a detailed index by BWV numbers and another by alphabetical order of titles.

It was a momentous encounter: around 1714, the Weimar court organist Johann Sebastian Bach came across Antonio Vivaldi’s opus 3 L’Estro armonico, hot off the press, and soon nothing would be the same for him musically. Bach eagerly appropriated the Venetian Red Priest’s modern concerto style. And true to the meaning of the word “concertare”, which in Italian means “to unite”, but in Latin means “to argue” or “to fight”, Bach rapidly entered into a competition, first with his Italian models and then with himself. At the outset, he arranged Vivaldi’s violin concertos for his (main) instrument, the organ. But then he transferred Vivaldi’s principles into his own instrumental concerto style. The results were his immortal Köthen concertos for one to three solo instruments and orchestra, blending the concerto principle of structural tutti ritornellos and interspersed imaginative solo episodes with Bach’s unique polyphonic style – highly virtuosic works in which all participating instruments connect with one another at eye level, and also enter into fierce competition with each other. All this can be heard on the third audite album of the Thüringer Bach Collegium: a good 70 minutes of competition for the best musical arguments, presented with irresistibly sparkling virtuosity.

This set gathers the Bach recordings released by Michel Chapuis for the French label Valois (now Naive) between 1966 and 1970. These highly regarded recordings were reissued by Naive in 1999 and soon became unavailable again. Faultless registration, dramatic flair, dazzling technique and pinpoint clarity in counterpoint make these recordings a cornerstone of any Bach and organ discography. The booklet includes a detailed index by BWV numbers and another by alphabetical order of titles.

In 1931 the pianist and muse Harriet Cohen invited all her principal composer friends each to make an arrangement of a work by J S Bach for inclusion in an album to be published by Oxford University Press. Published as A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen, it is recorded here for the first time by virtuoso pianist Jonathan Plowright. The disc is completed by eight other 20th century British Bach transcriptions.

For this hybrid SACD of famous organ works by J.S. Bach, Masaaki Suzuki plays the restored Schnitger-Hinz organ in the Martinikerk (Martin's Church), in Groningen, one of the most celebrated instruments in the Netherlands and one which dates back to Bach's time. Its bright, Baroque sonorities and Suzuki's historically informed interpretations give these performances a compelling sense of authenticity and period style. The pieces are among Bach's greatest hits, particularly the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which gives the program a decisive opening. Following that flashy demonstration, Suzuki is relaxed and almost contemplative in the Pastorale in F major, and continues his thoughtful readings in the Partita on "O Gott, du frommer Gott," the Prelude and Fugue in G minor, and the Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her." Yet he includes two sparkling virtuoso performances in the Fantasia in G major and the Prelude and Fugue in E minor, which keep the album from being too soft and subdued. BIS' super audio sound is crisp and detailed, which is no mean feat in a church recording.