Complete Bach Organ Works

[dougmon]

I have recently been listening to the complete Bach Organ Works recorded by James Kibbie, a professor at the University of Michigan. Although I'm certainly not a connoisseur of these works, I've been enjoying the recordings a great deal.

These works are available as a free download -- check the article here.

I hope someone out there gets as much enjoyment out of these as I have.

[Gordon Steadman]

Thanks for the link. I'm in the middle of downloading them now and will listen to some later. Bach is god as far as I'm concerned so I'm really interested in hearing these.

[dougmon]

Gordon, I would be very interested in your impressions. I've heard a lot of Bach choral works, but very few of the organ works until I picked these up.

[Gordon Steadman]

Gordon, I would be very interested in your impressions. I've heard a lot of Bach choral works, but very few of the organ works until I picked these up.

I have only listened to a few of the trio sonatas so far. The main attraction is having a complete set all played by the same musician on the same organ. As far as the sound is concerned, I tried it on the main system and found it a bit flat and murky but as it is MP4 that is no surprise. On the Mac direct (Airplay to the main system) it's not too bad but still lacks clarity.

The performances are adequate I think. The guy is a teacher rather than a top class performer - not that it means he can't be brilliant of course - and there is some lack of articulation and structure.

That's the crap over. Did I enjoy them? Yes.

One of the problems with having so much at once is the temptation to listen through and get listening fatigue. I will dip in and out as usual and I'm sure they will get played. As I come across stuff I already have, it will be interesting to compare versions.

Thanks again for the link. I'm pleased to have them in the collection.

[dougmon]

Thanks, Gordon. I always value the opinions of others (except when I don't ). I have to say, though: I value these recordings partly because they're the first Bach organ works I've listened to that weren't recorded as "SONIC BLOCKBUSTERS!!!!"

Apropos of "here is a Bach recording you might not have heard of but that I think is good", you might want to check out this site: http://www.welltemperedclavier.org/ -- these are the only piano versions of the Well-Tempered etc. that I've really grown fond of.

[Gordon Steadman]

Thanks, Gordon. I always value the opinions of others (except when I don't ). I have to say, though: I value these recordings partly because they're the first Bach organ works I've listened to that weren't recorded as "SONIC BLOCKBUSTERS!!!!"

Apropos of "here is a Bach recording you might not have heard of but that I think is good", you might want to check out this site: http://www.welltemperedclavier.org/ -- these are the only piano versions of the Well-Tempered etc. that I've really grown fond of.

I will have a look but I have a complete Glen Gould set and I love the way Gould plays Bach.

[dougmon]

I will have a look but I have a complete Glen Gould set and I love the way Gould plays Bach.

We all have our favorites, I guess. For Bach, I particularly like Leonhardt on the harpsichord and Andras Schiff on the piano. I probably haven't given Gould the attention I should have -- I had a professor who disliked him for some reason, and so I listened to the professor and not to Gould. But it's been forty years since college -- maybe I should try listening to Gould again.

[jandl100]

Did you ever get around to trying Gould's Bach, Doug? - the Gouldberg Variations are especially famous!

Complete organ works - available on Spotify if you do that - Walcha & Alain. Different from each other but both wonderful.

https://open.spotify.com/album/20oYh53HLhY5SeJbJMcxeY

https://open.spotify.com/album/2b2EXjhwM5giw1Mo3caWhj

[r100]

HI , thanks ! Got me testing some organ music on my amp and your link sounded quite flat so I checked this one from Signum Classics / Trinity College out and it sounds much fuller... What do you think ? Greets

https://open.spotify.com/track/05UfT1JhNavNJoZa6RkJhI

[dougmon]

Did you ever get around to trying Gould's Bach, Doug? - the Gouldberg Variations are especially famous!

Complete organ works - available on Spotify if you do that - Walcha & Alain. Different from each other but both wonderful.

https://open.spotify.com/album/20oYh53HLhY5SeJbJMcxeY

https://open.spotify.com/album/2b2EXjhwM5giw1Mo3caWhj

I have not yet listened to Gould playing Bach, largely because of the insane amount of music I already have to listen to. I've put it on my Tidal list, though.

About the organ stuff -- I have some recordings of Walcha playing Bach organ works, and it's one of my favorites. Seems to me to be a very straightforward presentation, and I enjoy it a lot.

I've heard a little of the Marie-Claire Alain, and I like it quite a lot. Her approach is different than most of the recordings I've previously heard and so kind of refreshing.

I'll probably be purchasing the complete works by one or both.

Another organist I like is Kevin Bowyer. He's recorded the complete organ works; they're kind of pricey, but I'll probably be picking them up over the years.

I wish I could find a version I could settle on, but there are too many good interpretations to settle on just one.