J.S. Bach on the Organ

[jlaurson]

OMG!

I just did a terrible thing.

1.) You can never have enough Bach organ music,  boxes or not.
2.) A Passacaglia is more nourishing than most things you can microwave
3.) I have always enjoyed Hurford's "Best of" 2-disc set on Decca.

[Marc]

1.) You can never have enough Bach organ music, boxes or not.
2.) A Passacaglia is more nourishing than most things you can microwave
3.) I have always enjoyed Hurford's "Best of" 2-disc set on Decca.

Jens, give me more!

About your third point: yes, I got that one this summer very cheap, and liked it better than almost exactly the same selection by Kevin Bowyer (2cd also).

I'll just have to fight the bubbling in my stomache, I guess. Thank heavens I still have some biscuit left. Combined with another BWV 582 et al, I think I will survive .... or won't I?

[jlaurson]

Jens, give me more!

About your third point: yes, I got that one this summer very cheap, and liked it better than almost exactly the same selection by Kevin Bowyer (2cd also).

I'll just have to fight the bubbling in my stomache, I guess. Thank heavens I still have some biscuit left. Combined with another BWV 582 et al, I think I will survive .... or won't I?

Biscuit is no means to survive on a small budget, man! If you're a Bach-man,  you're smart enough to make due with a few quid per day for food. If you have a kitchen to use.

Meet your three new friends: Pasta! Rice! Lentils! And the king-maker: Olive Oil. Either of the three, with onions or without onions, with onions and with garlic or without garlic or without onions and with chili peppers or with lots of chili peppers... you get the drift. Add whatever vegetables are in season/cheaply had. I do hope you like tea, because it's your new drink of choice. Milk is OK... but not every day. Yoghurt, if you like it, every Sunday.

[Marc]

Biscuit is no means to survive on a small budget, man! If you're a Bach-man,  you're smart enough to make due with a few quid per day for food. If you have a kitchen to use.

Meet your three new friends: Pasta! Rice! Lentils! And the king-maker: Olive Oil. Either of the three, with onions or without onions, with onions and with garlic or without garlic or without onions and with chili peppers or with lots of chili peppers... you get the drift. Add whatever vegetables are in season/cheaply had. I do hope you like tea, because it's your new drink of choice. Milk is OK... but not every day. Yoghurt, if you like it, every Sunday.

Jens, you delivered a rather apt description of everyday dinner life.
I really do like pastas, rice, onions, garlic, cheap vegetables, tea and yoghurt.
No problems here then.

And, besides that, completely in peace with everything at this very moment, thanx to the Partite diverse sopra il Corale "Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig" BWV 768. Played on the beautiful Arp Schnitger organ of the St. Martini & Nicolaikirche, Steinkirchen, Germany. Organist: Werner Jacob.

As I was saying, completely in peace right now .... wait a sec! Werner Jacob? Do I already have his Bach integral? NO! Unbelievable! A great void in my collection!



Where are the Amazon links?



Where are my pills?

[prémont]

I just did a terrible thing....... I ordered the bl.... Bach integral by Peter Hurford.

So, will this be my second not so very wise Bach Brit Box purchase?

Plz, connaisseurs, say something nice about Peter H.!

Admittedly I consider Hurford´s Bach integral to be one of the more idiosyncratic of its kind. Certainly an acquired taste, which took me some time to acquire. He plays with great authority and conviction, but his sound world is relatively romantic, due to his not always fortunate choices of organs and his often rather "fat" registrations. Add that he plays quite much legato. But his partplaying is excellent and the recorded sound most often good and never less than adequate. And still I much prefer him at least to Preston and Bovyer.

[prémont]

I really do like pastas, rice, onions, garlic, cheap vegetables, tea and yoghurt.

Very similar to my consumption (except garlic).

..Partite diverse sopra il Corale "Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig" BWV 768. Played on the beautiful Arp Schnitger organ of the St. Martini & Nicolaikirche, Steinkirchen, Germany. Organist: Werner Jacob.

Alas this Schnitger / Steinkirchen organ is too little used for recordings.

[Marc]

Admittedly I consider Hurford´s Bach integral one of the more idiosyncratic of its kind. Certainly an acquired taste, which took me some time to acquire. He plays with great authority and conviction, but his sound world is relatively romantic, due to his not always fortunate choices of organs and his often rather "fat" registrations. Add that he plays quite much legato. But his partplaying is excellent and the recorded sound most often good and never less than adequate. And still I much prefer him at least to Preston and Bovyer.

Thanks Premont, I shall wait with great expectations.

You know, about the financial thing, I would not be so 'negative' if I wouldn't have ordered the Knud Vad integral the day before, too. But this 18-disc collection was only 25 euro (new, sealed et cetera). But after ordering I 'suddenly' read: requires SACD-compatible hardware. On the other hand: on the front cover it says: hybrid SACD. I mean, if it were really non-hybrid SACD's, then the entire collection would have fitted on plusminus 6 discs, no?

So, though I'm a little confused, and eating biscuit, I still reckon those Vad discs are playable at my old-fashioned stereo hifi set. Do you know this specific box (large box, with also a large booklet!)?

Here's the link (mind you, the only 25 euro copy is not longer available, because I ordered it):
http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Complete-Hybrid-Germany/dp/B000EPFGS2

[jlaurson]

So, though I'm a little confused, and eating biscuit,

1.) Man... now *I*'m getting interested in Hurford's integral. Damned... I shall resist.

2.) Yes, Knud Vad comes on Hybrid SACDs. No worry about alleged special equipment. The fools at Amazon can't categorize things they have no clue about worth &$*#.

3.) Do you remember the special 'book-like' box sets of Rock and Country music that were really popular from the mid-90 to the early oughts? The tall ones? It comes like that, conveniently NOT fitting into any CD shelve that could ever be useful. It's three fold-out panels and in each panel sit six CDs... well... something like that.

4.) Kraft/EMI looks like one genuinely unattractive set. That's why I never tempted you with a link.

[Marc]

[....]
4.) Kraft/EMI looks like one genuinely unattractive set. That's why I never tempted you with a link.

Dear Jens, if you only knew!

Or do you have paranormal gifts?

As it happens, I'm listening to Walter Kraft right now (BWV 543).
Yes, of the old German lads I prefer Helmut Walcha, but Kraft isn't all that bad .... and having some discs of him gives me a good insight of the development in Bachorgan playing since World War 2. And I have to admit: he had a rather good choice in organs!

[prémont]

So, though I'm a little confused, and eating biscuit, I still reckon those Vad discs are playable at my old-fashioned stereo hifi set. Do you know this specific box (large box, with also a large booklet!)?

The Knud Vad Bach integral was released by Danish Classico maybe six years ago. Being  a member of the "Classico-club" I got this Danish CD release for about 350 DKr. = ca 45 Euro. Much later I acquired the Membran SACD release, you refer to. I have not listened to this yet, and I do not own a SACD player, but it was announced as being hybrid, so I did not think much about this issue. If you can wait until to morrow, I shall find out.

[Marc]

[....]
3.) Do you remember the special 'book-like' box sets of Rock and Country music that were really popular from the mid-90 to the early oughts? The tall ones? It comes like that, conveniently NOT fitting into any CD shelve that could ever be useful. It's three fold-out panels and in each panel sit six CDs... well... something like that.
[....]

Last summer I was tempted with such a large box set, with 4 cd's and one DVD and a great booklet, all filled with historical organs (music, info et al) of the Dutch province Groningen. Mouthwatering .... and expensive, so I resisted. Tough really, because the DVD showed the entire Martinikerk organ (Groningen) from the inside, with comments of organ (re)builders Jürgen Ahrend and Cor Edskes.

[Marc]

The Knud Vad Bach integral was released by Danish Classico maybe six years ago. Being  a member of the "Classico-club" I got this Danish CD release for about 350 DKr. = ca 45 Euro. Much later I acquired the Membran SACD release, you refer to. I have not listened to this yet, and I do not own a SACD player, but it was announced as being hybrid, so I did not think much about this issue. If you can wait until to morrow, I shall find out.

Of course I can wait. If you second Jens' words, I know I can 'relax' again. If not, and you are eventually proven right, then Jens will be eating pine basso profundo instead of biscuit.

[prémont]

2.) 3.) Do you remember the special 'book-like' box sets of Rock and Country music that were really popular from the mid-90 to the early oughts? The tall ones? It comes like that, conveniently NOT fitting into any CD shelve that could ever be useful. It's three fold-out panels and in each panel sit six CDs... well... something like that.

Yes and the "booklet" with text is the most heavy I ever have seen.

4.) Kraft/EMI looks like one genuinely unattractive set. That's why I never tempted you with a link.

You must mean Jacob/EMI. Well Jacob was Kraft´s most prominent pupil. But why do you think it is unattractive?

[Marc]

Oh, Mr. Laurson was speaking of W. Jacob.
So, no spooky paranormal things after all.

[Scarpia]

Yes, I did mean Jacob. As per the 'hunch': A mix of what I've heard of it (very little, admittedly), what I've heard about it, the asking price, the competition (at lower price points... which, by now, is all but two, three sets anyway).  I've seen the Vad set at very low prices, indeed... but I've never been tempted beyond holding it in my hand and then putting it back again. I'd have to hear a rave from a trustworthy SACD-competent source that it's "all that" to even...

No...hold it, you devils... didn't I just announce that I shan't get any more complete sets of Bach's organ music anymore this year?!?

I had the Jacob set and got rid of it.  The sound was very uneven, some discs were very harsh, enough to be utterly unlistenable, IMO.   At this point I've got too many Bach organ sets to even try to get through (Weinberger, the 70's Allain, Koopman/Teldec, one of the Walcha sets, and another one at least).

[prémont]

I had the Jacob set and got rid of it.  The sound was very uneven, some discs were very harsh, enough to be utterly unlistenable, IMO. 

I agree, that the sound is uneven, but IMO never unlistenable - at least not on my gear.
But the set is interesting for other and more important reasons: The many historical organs and the interpretation. But I understand, that these circumstances do not count??

[Scarpia]

But I understand, that these circumstances do not count??

Not if I can't bear to listen to the recording.   

[jlaurson]

I agree, that the sound is uneven, but IMO never unlistenable - at least not on my gear.
But the set is interesting for other and more important reasons: The many historical organs and the interpretation. But I understand, that these circumstances do not count??

No one suggested it does not count. But is it enough in light of the massive competition? Is it unique in any way? Well... the interpretation for obvious reasons (even mine would be unique... which goes to show what a highly neutral term "unique" really is). But the choice of instruments? There are more historical organ sets than modern organ sets, by now.

[Scarpia]

There are more historical organ sets than modern organ sets, by now.

And how am I to appreciate how a "historical" organ sounds when the audio engineering and/or digital transfer is incompetently done?

[Scarpia]

Ah... I was arguing 'on your side'. Nor is my point disputing yours. 

Yes, I am agreeing with you.