J.S. Bach on the Organ

[Marc]

And the AoF, if I'm not mistaken, on the organ.

Yep. Not a bad one, either. Have not listened to it for quite a while, but, if I remember well, Alain kept the tension by using rather slow tempi in general, without dragging it on.

[Coopmv]

Euro Boys & Girls who have some patience (until the end of this merry month): here's a bargain!

http://www.amazon.de/Works-Organ-Marie-Claire-Alain/dp/B004RUF022

Is this the last cycle recorded by Marie-Claire Alain?  I am most interested to get the set and am not sure if I want to pay the shipping cost from Germany.  I will wait for Presto or MDT running their sales.

[Marc]

Is this the last cycle recorded by Marie-Claire Alain?

Yep.
The one you've been waiting for .... well, almost this entire thread!

(Maybe even long enough to endure the xtra blee[censored] tax payment.)

[Coopmv]

IMO, this is the best version of Bach Trio-Sonatas, though I have yet to own a complete Bach Organ Works by Marie-Claire Alain.  I do have most of the individual CD's that make up her second cycle, including this CD ...

[prémont]

And the AoF, if I'm not mistaken, on the organ.

Yes, you are right, she even recorded it twice.

[karlhenning]

Opinions on the 14-CD organ works collection played by Simon Preston?

[Antoine Marchand]

... I do have most of the individual CD's that make up her second cycle, including this CD ...

Dear Premont,

A disambiguation is required here... again.

[DavidW]

Karl, I think that when people talked about it before they said Preston was hit or miss.  The ones usually rec'd are Walcha, Leonhardt, Weinberger.  At least the first should be a bargain buy.

[karlhenning]

Cool, thanks!

[prémont]

Dear Premont,

A disambiguation is required here... again.

Probably useless. I think he is beyond therapeutic reach. 

[DavidW]

I like your new handle Premont.

[Marc]

Opinions on the 14-CD organ works collection played by Simon Preston?

Personally, Preston is too superficial to me, and sometimes even annoying. It feels like he's dancing on a nail bed, especially in many non-liturgical works, with the exception btw of the Trio Sonatas.
The best part of his set is m.i. the so-called Orgelmesse, played on the wonderful Joachim Wagner organ (1739-1741) in Trondheim Cathedral, Norway. In general, I have the feeling that as soon as the Almighty, his Son and/or the Holy Ghost are part of a piece, Preston seems to get more inspired. There is also some good stuff in the Orgelbüchlein and the Leipzig Choräle. Pity he did not include BWV 668: 'Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit'.

A good choice with non-historical organs is IMO the 2nd set of Marie-Claire Alain. A good choice with historical instruments: Bernard Foccroulle.

[Scarpia]

Opinions on the 14-CD organ works collection played by Simon Preston?

What I've heard of it I did not terribly enjoy.  Putting aside the super-complete Weinberger (which has, what, 6 CDs of music people used to think was by Bach) the Alain is the top of the pile, IMO.

[asin]B000RZOR2K[/asin]

Koopman is in the same class

[asin]B001R3YJS8[/asin]

and Walcha is very fine if you can stand the dated audio.

[prémont]

I like your new handle Premont.

Thanks. It was actually you, who - in another thread - promted me to make the change.

[karlhenning]

Thank you all!

[Mandryka]

Can you make some recommendations for Clavier-Übung III  -- especially the choral preludes therein?

Which are the real landmark recordings?  I've just realised that I only own Walcha's second recording, and I like this music, so I'm keen to explore what has been done with it.

[karlhenning]

Say!  Must be old news, but . . . .

The Eight Little Preludes and Fugues were falsely attributed to Bach, eh?  I feel a little let down . . . first knew the g minor from this set in band transcription which we musty have played, oh, in seventh grade . . . .

[karlhenning]

Marie-Claire Alain is decidedly on my wish list.

[Marc]

Can you make some recommendations for Clavier-Übung III  -- especially the choral preludes therein?

Which are the real landmark recordings?  I've just realised that I only own Walcha's second recording, and I like this music, so I'm keen to explore what has been done with it.

Koopman is very good IMHO (Teldec, see above for the boxset), and so are his compatriots Bram Beekman (Lindenberg) and Ewald Kooiman (Coronata), but .... alas OOP.
Another Dutchman, Leo van Doeselaar, recorded the 'grand chorales' (Große Orgelmesse) in a convincing way for Channel Classics, combined with sung chorales and choir pieces by (mostly) 16th/17th century composers. An interesting issue and still available AFAIK.
I also liked the smaller chorales (Kleine Orgelmesse) played by Gerhard Weinberger for his integral (CPO).

OOP, but still available at some online marketplaces: the two volumes by Edgar Krapp, which he recorded for Berlin Classics. My advice would be: get them, before they are out of stock.
Here are some possibilities:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Clavier-Ubung-Praludium-Grosse-Choralbearbeitungen/dp/B000006LIZ/
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B000026HRE/

But you know, there are so many great recordings of these pieces. Even Simon Preston, who isn't my fave Bach interpreter, delivers great stuff on the historic organ of Trondheim (DG).
Right now it's very difficult, if not impossible, to pick my 'personal landmark recording(s)'. But there are some recordings that I really would not recommend, f.i. Kei Koito (Harmonic Records) and a disappointing shallow one by Masaaki Suzuki (BIS). (Although I do like Suzuki in Bach's vocal and harpsichord compositions, though.)

Probably Premont, Que, Antoine, Bulldog and others have some more (and better) interesting ideas about great performances of this my very favourite Bach collection of organ works. Man, do I love this third part of the CU!

[Marc]

Say!  Must be old news, but . . . .

The Eight Little Preludes and Fugues were falsely attributed to Bach, eh?  I feel a little let down . . . first knew the g minor from this set in band transcription which we musty have played, oh, in seventh grade . . . .

Yes, I've heard from several enthousiastic organ amateurs that those Eight are quite popular and standard stuff at their lessons.
Who wrote them? If we only knew .... probably not JSB himself. Many names have been suggested. Best-known of those are father & son Krebs (Johann Tobias and Johann Ludwig), W.F. Bach and Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer.
I think they're really beautiful and I have the weakest spot for the one in E-minor (BWV 555), with the melancholic Prelude and the rather impressive Fugue.