J.S. Bach on the Organ

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Good: I ordered the Weinberger set. Though the web site says €50, they only charged €42 plus 4 shipping.

You aren't get slapped with the 19% VAT that you see already included in the price they advertise. It's the nifty thing buying from Europe; makes S&H seem virtually free.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

You aren't get slapped with the 19% VAT that you see already included in the price they advertise. It's the nifty thing buying from Europe; makes S&H seem virtually free.

You perfectly answered my question.

[Marc]

You perfectly answered my question.

And... enjoy the listening!

[Mandryka]

According to Peter Williams the concept Arnstädter Gemeindechoräle was first used by Herman Keller in 1948, and includes the chorales BWV 715, 722, 726, 729, 732 and 738. They are not handed down as a specific group, They are characterized by bold harmonisations of the choral tunes with interspersed running scales and ornamentation. They were thought to be meant as accompaniment to the congregational singing, but their precise dating is uncertain. For practical reasons they are today included in the group "miscellaneous chorales" from BWV 690 and on. Most of the so called complete Bach organ sets include them. Walcha and AFAIK Heiller did not include them in their "integrals" from the early 1950es. I think Walter Kraft was the first to include them in an integral. As far as I remember Jacob's recordings of these does not stand particularly out, but it is a long time since I heard them,

Well I'm listening to Werner Jacob play them now for the first time, and I am very impressed!

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

You'll probably get it. I'm pretty sure I've had that situation before - or at least there was no state listed on the address label when it arrived. As long as the city and zip code are there, it should make its way to you.

Weinberger set has arrived. So fast. The liner note in question is in the box. It is more than 160 pages with a lot of pictures.  I tried to attach a pic, but the attachment function at GMG is a joke.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Weinberger set has arrived. So fast. The liner note in question is in the box. It is more than 160 pages with a lot of pictures.  I tried to attach a pic, but the attachment function at GMG is a joke.

The book I bought at Amazon arrived as well.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

The book I bought at Amazon arrived as well.

Neat. I'd be interested what you think of the book.

[Traverso]

Very affordable price on this site. 

https://www.marktplaats.nl/a/cd-s-en-dvd-s/cd-s-klassiek/m1301982708-nieuw-19-sacd-bach-complete-organ-works-silbermann-orgels.html?c=be2da871b0d84f75c3056cc6db858f31&previousPage=lr





Only shipping to the Netherlands and Belgium.

[Marc]

Very affordable price on this site. 

https://www.marktplaats.nl/a/cd-s-en-dvd-s/cd-s-klassiek/m1301982708-nieuw-19-sacd-bach-complete-organ-works-silbermann-orgels.html?c=be2da871b0d84f75c3056cc6db858f31&previousPage=lr





Only shipping to the Netherlands and Belgium.

Thanks for mentioning. I sent the link to a music loving friend, with whom I sometimes visit organ concerts up north NL.

[Brian]

Warner/Erato has just reissued Alain I, the cycle she recorded from 1959-67, in a 2018 remaster. The press material says it's the first ever release on CD. I haven't found much GMG discussion of Alain I, especially compared to II and III, which seem to be perennial top recommendations. Anyone know it? Anyone grabbing a copy of the new box?

[JBS]

Warner/Erato has just reissued Alain I, the cycle she recorded from 1959-67, in a 2018 remaster. The press material says it's the first ever release on CD. I haven't found much GMG discussion of Alain I, especially compared to II and III, which seem to be perennial top recommendations. Anyone know it? Anyone grabbing a copy of the new box?

I ordered it a couple of days ago, together with Lubimov's Mozart sonata set. But it's coming from Rarewaves, so it will need to cross the pond before I get it.

I have Alain II which I am not enthusiastic over. The chorales seem often bland and boring to me, as if she was recording them en masse  just to claim the paycheck.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

FEC, I thought you already had the Weinberger?

Anyway, I must have mentioned this before in this short thread, but I think Weinberger is a very reliable no nonsense Bach organist, with a fine ear for clarity in contrapunt. He's not the most poetic interpreter though.
He plays both 'big' organs in spatial acoustics and smaller ones in village churches, with a drier acoustics as result.

And he plays a lot of dubious and spurious works, which is an interesting bonus.

I love the set. Some of his interpretations are quite unique. The recording sound of some disks are sub-par with the excessive and deep echo, obscuring the notes. Great set anyway.

[Mandryka]

This is Kåre Nordstoga's second recording of Bach's trio sonatas. It is rather original.

The capture of the Hamburg Schnitger's sound gives a feeling of space. The three parts are in relief, the bass effectively receding back into the depths of the church: this is a three dimensional performance, sculpture and architecture in sound. Nordstoga's penchant for slow tempos is entirely consistent with his architectural vision  - it's as if the music gestures have the opportunity to float in the cathedral, to create spaces and structures.

For Nordstoga, the sonatas are far from a vehicle for showing off technique or instrument. Neither are they anything like a spontaneous expression of dancing celebration. If there is dance here, it's cosmic dance, and he makes the  affective content of the sonatas rich and strange. Basically Nordstoga has rethought the music through from scratch and he presents us with music with gravitas, seriousness. The universe is in this music. 

How strange to thing that this was probably music for a chamber trio. Nordstoga makes it sound like it could only be for a massive organ!

Modified meantone, though I'm not sure I could have guessed without looking it up.

[Mandryka]

On the other hand this recording of the Leipzig Chorales at Groningen seems to be to be much less successful. I think that very low sounds of the organ are not well caught by the sound engineers, and for me this makes the recording painful to listen to. Nordstoga really likes those low sounds!


I'd be interested if people hear it differently.

[Harry]

On the other hand this recording of the Leipzig Chorales at Groningen seems to be to be much less successful. I think that very low sounds of the organ are not well caught by the sound engineers, and for me this makes the recording painful to listen to. Nordstoga really likes those low sounds!


I'd be interested if people hear it differently.

I agree, this is a very poor recording, and apart from this, it is a very difficult venue to record, many fail in that respect.  When I heard Suzuki play on this organ a couple of months ago, he was favouring to low registers too in a very aggressive way. The organ then produced an ugly tone as it always does if you treat it this way. Suzuki tried also his hand at a copy of Arp Schnitger organ in the Lutherse kerk, in Groningen, and what is a very fine instrument transformed into a ugly piece of sound, cleary the man did not learn from previous experiences.

[Mandryka]

Thanks for those interesting comments.

Suzuki recorded a Bach CD on the Groningen Schnitger, I can't remember how it is - I've got a vague memory that he kept his foot off the very low registrations, while Nordstoga, on the other hand, seems to love them!

I listened this afternoon to some of Weinberger on the organ, it's CD 8 of the set, I thought it was rather good.

[Harry]

Thanks for those interesting comments.

Suzuki recorded a Bach CD on the Groningen Schnitger, I can't remember how it is - I've got a vague memory that he kept his foot off the very low registrations, while Nordstoga, on the other hand, seems to love them!

I listened this afternoon to some of Weinberger on the organ, it's CD 8 of the set, I thought it was rather good.

Agreed the Weinberger is quite good. The first volume of Suzuki's Bach in Groningen I found to be very good for I bought it.

[Mandryka]

I see you'll have the chance to hear Matteo Imbruno and Liuwe Taminga soon. I'm quite tempted to come and hear some concerts there - when I was in Utrecht I met someone who was born in Groningen, he studied with Koopman there - and the way he talked about it makes me very keen to see it. He was passionate about the Fresian language . . .

[Mandryka]

Continuing to explore Thruringia a bit more, today I'm visiting Arnstadt, listening to the Wender organ at New Church, which Bach played as a teenager. According to Christoph Wolff and  Markus Zepf in The Organs of J.S. Bach, A Handbook (I've just bought it and I'm very glad to have it)  it's well tempered.

This is a performance of the Vivaldi/Bach D minor concerto -- an anonymous organist, but I like the registrations. And the pedal at the end of the first movement is impressive!

https://www.youtube.com/v/DBRajRFydPA

and this is a strange performance of the lento from the G major trio sonata, but I think it's interesting because it shows how well balanced the organ is

https://www.youtube.com/v/cFyP3FLpoUo&t=70s

There's only one disc of it on record according to France orgue -- by Helga Schauerte, I'll listen to it tonight

[prémont]

it's well tempered.

What's that?

This is a performance of the Vivaldi/Bach D minor concerto -- an anonymous organist, but I like the registrations. And the pedal at the end of the first movement is impressive!

https://www.youtube.com/v/DBRajRFydPA

Not quite. It's Leonidas Melnikas