J.S. Bach on the Organ

[FideLeo]

I don't know who plays the Fugue, but it sounds very much like Noel Rawsthorne on a Regis disc.

No it's not Mr Rawthorne. I don't even own any Regis recording.

[Bulldog]

No it's not Mr Rawthorne. I don't even own any Regis recording.

And I only have one.

[FideLeo]

And I only have one.

I am not surprised: it's a British label!    (Sorry bad joke.)

[Marc]

Thank you, premont, for promising to tell us who recorded this.  You are the pro! 

Could it be Simon Preston?

[Marc]

OK - Bach Organ experts - this is my first post here - I'm just not an organ guy (i.e. meaning the instrument in churches or elsewhere - ) - I own very little organ music (currently just a few CDs of even JS Bach's works) - BUT now in the mail is a 16 disc package w/ Koopman (shown below) which Amazon is offering for just $14 - so, my question knowing that there are many other options, is this a good representation of Bach's organ music?  I do collect multiple versions of Papa Bach's other compositions, but would like just a single collection of his organ works - thanks (and I know that many alternatives will appear) - 

14 US Dollars?

WOW!

As Premont said: take it.
Koopman is quite good: he can be (very) joyful, with many adornments, but he doesn't neglect the gravity if necessary. His choice of organs is very good, too.
I must add though that I know his DG/Archiv and Novalis (Brilliant Classics) recordings better than these Teldecs.

[Marc]

Is Vernet in the top three?

Again I go along with mr. Premont: nope, but he's a Top Tenner for sure. I prefer Vernet f.i. to his teacher M-C Alain .... and I do rate her high already.

My Top 3 would prabobaly be: Kooiman (Coronata, OOP), Beekman (Lindenberg, OOP) and Foccroulle (Ricercar, re-issued in 2009).
The guys from the Pays-Bas!

(Nothing but sheer chauvinism, of course. )

[FideLeo]

Could it be Simon Preston?

No.  Does this playing sound particularly British to our ears?  Just wondering. 

[FideLeo]

Another performance of the 'St Anne' P&F will be uploaded later for comparison, but now one of my favourite of all Bach fugues, the e-minor 'wedge'. Guess who's playing?  Different from the one before, of course.

http://www.youtube.com/v/viVdwi-Y0AQ

[prémont]

Re: subject - Of course it does!

Bach's Prelude in E-flat major, BWV 552.1

http://www.youtube.com/v/uF8NSNK_VwE


ps. As with most of my homemade youtube clips, please use the HD (720p) setting for optimal sound quality.

I got the time to listen to this in a short pause at work, my first thought is Michel Chapuis.

[FideLeo]

I got the time to listen to this in a short pause at work, my first thought is Michel Chapuis.

Correct! Impressive!  I thought it wouldn't take you long at all. 

Can you tell us what features in his playing particularly alerted you to this identification? 

[prémont]

Correct! Impressive!  I thought it wouldn't take you long at all. 

I haven´t got time for more listening now. But this is a rather interesting game.

[prémont]

Can you tell us what features in his playing particularly alerted you to this identification?

His mechanical a bit sloppy playing, and the sound of that particular organ.

[FideLeo]

But this is a rather interesting game.

I know! It really shows those who listen 'hard' to their music.   

His mechanical a bit sloppy playing, and the sound of that particular organ.

Interesting description, I will try to recall this when I listen to the CD's in the future.

[RJR]

Marie-Claire Alain has recorded the complete Bach organ works three times. That's dedication.

[Que]

Again I go along with mr. Premont: nope, but he's a Top Tenner for sure. I prefer Vernet f.i. to his teacher M-C Alain .... and I do rate her high already.

My Top 3 would prabobaly be: Kooiman (Coronata, OOP), Beekman (Lindenberg, OOP) and Foccroulle (Ricercar, re-issued in 2009).
The guys from the Pays-Bas!

(Nothing but sheer chauvinism, of course. )

Thanks! Pity though two of them are OOP - Brilliant Classics should take one or both under its wings and reissue! And if only Kooiman could have finished his cycle for Aeolus ... 

Surprised about the mentioning of Foccroulle! I guess I should give him more serious consideration.

On topic of the French (Vernet): if Ablitzer would do a Bach cycle, I would snatch it up right away!

Q

[Marc]

No.  Does this playing sound particularly British to our ears?  Just wondering.

Maybe because I thought it was a bit superficial?
I only listened to the fugue and I thought: a bit shallow, sometimes way too fast and hasty, not entirely my cup of tea .... ah! Preston.

Of course our Danish organ connaisseur got it all right.

I borrowed one or two discs with Chapuis, back in 2009. I did not like it very much, not even in the chorales I listened to.
About Preston: he's definitely not my fave in the 'free' works. But he offers some great things in the chorales and the Trio Sonatas, IMO.

[Marc]

Marie-Claire Alain has recorded the complete Bach organ works three times. That's dedication.

So did Lionel Rogg.
And Ewald Kooiman planned to. But he died at 1/3 of his third integral.

[FideLeo]

Maybe because I thought it was a bit superficial?

I have heard exactly the same criticism levied on Ton Koopman's recordings of Bach organ works before!  Not surprisingly, by some Brits.    And Michel Chapuis is French - so superficiality in Bach is definitely not a national attribute!  No, not all Japanese organists play like that bland Masaaki Suzuki.    (And to think that Suzuki took lessons from Koopman!)

Of course our Danish organ connaisseur got it all right.

I do not think many at this forum have listened as much or as deeply in this repertory as he does.  And the 'guess who's playing' game is demanding with the requirement of aural memory as well.  Oh well, at least it was a good idea. 

[Marc]

I have heard exactly the same criticism levied on Ton Koopman's recordings of Bach organ works before!  Not surprisingly, by some Brits.    And Michel Chapuis is French - so superficiality in Bach is definitely not a national attribute!  No, not all Japanese organists play like that bland Masaaki Suzuki.    (And to think that Suzuki took lessons from Koopman!)

Generalizing is never good. 0:)

Still, generally writing , my favourite Bach musicians weren't born in the UK.

I've listened to at least four Brittany organists in Bach (Hurford, Herrick, Preston and Bowyer), and they don't make it into my top ten.
Which doesn't mean they have nothing to offer!
In fact, up to now, my humble conclusions are that there is always something to enjoy with almost any interpreter.

[FideLeo]

Generalizing is never good. 0:)

Indeed, but I think the problem lies more with the question 'what counts for profundity in Bach?'   I believe the answer is culturally relative, often in quite subtle ways.  Of course, cultures can be national, social, local or even personal ones.  No
wonder, as I have discovered, every kind of Bach interpretation can be deemed either superficial or boring or both.  It all
depends on who's judging.  And this is not to take anything away from your last comment, that there is always something to savour with every performer.