# Best Bach complete organ works...................



## Itullian

Which box do you guys recommend?
Complete organ works.


----------



## KenOC

This one may not be the best, but it's cheap and it's the most fun! Did I mention that it was cheap?

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Coll..._shvl_album_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1378141956&sr=301-5


----------



## BartokBela

My favourites are: Helmut Walcha (both mono and stereo), Wolfgang Rübsam (Philips) and the second set of Marie-Claire Alain.


----------



## ptr

I find it quite difficult to pin-point one best cycle. I personally like to mix and match and a recommendation for something that comes with good mix (of organists) is the Organ set from Hänsslers Complete Bach-Ausgabe (about 20 CDs, don't know if they are availible as a box set tho..). Berlin Classics also have/used to have a quite fun box set with only Silbermann Organs and about 10 different organists that is quite entertaining for a organologist perspective even if the sound quality is somewhat hoarse..

I have about 15 complete sets in my Library, and the two sets that gets pulled most often are Bernard Foccroulle on Ricercar and Christopher Herrick on Hyperion. The two that collect the most Dust are Walcha's Stereo set and Jean Guillou's Philips set..

So if You want a modern digital recording with very good performance Herrick is a sound choice!

/ptr


----------



## Itullian

thanks, but not for 300 dollars it isn't.


----------



## ptr

Well, you did not set a max budget in Your first post, so I jsut went with my ears without looking for a wallet! Looking at the Hyperion site it seems to be OOP as well, and that always inflates (Amazon)prices in an unsound way, but the box is available for £60 as flac downloads directly from Hyperion! (Timing seems to be everything if You want good deals on good recordings...  )

If You are budget conscious I'd say that Hans Fagius Bis recordings issued by Brilliant is a very Good Alternative! If You have an SACD player You can even buy them from BIS as five non compatible discs (Does not play on ordinary CD players) for $42ish from Amazon

/ptr

/ptr


----------



## KenOC

Just to revisit the nine-buck Newman set: I've always liked Newman for his cheerful, energetic, and often irreverent approach to Bach, ever since he was first marketed by Columbia to the psychedelic crowd. I have complete sets by Alain and Foccroulle, but have dumped them from my iPod in favor of Newman! Well, I kept my selected discs of Walcha but admit they sound a bit stodgy (although perfectly played no doubt) next to Newman.

Even if you buy or have another complete set, the Newman is well worth having, especially at this price.


----------



## Ondine

Peter Hurford's is an outstanding box set. A 'must have' for Bach lovers and/or organ music fans.


----------



## realdealblues

I've got a few different sets.

I'll second the Hans Fagius set recorded for BIS, but now available in the Brilliant Classics Complete Bach Edition which is down to like $100 now. Excellent set and you get all the other Bach works included, many of them well performed.

Peter Hurford's set on Decca is my preference but it's very hard to come by these days at a reasonable price.

Helmut Walcha's set is still iconic and still a good deal.

I also have the sets from Werner Jacob, Olivier Vernet & Simon Preston.

Truth be told I don't listen to "all of them" very often anymore. For $20 the "Organ Works" 3CD set from Karl Richter satisfies me nicely.


----------



## Art Rock

Peter Hurford's set has served me well all these years!


----------



## Ondine

realdealblues said:


> Truth be told I don't listen to "all of them" very often anymore. For $20 the "Organ Works" 3CD set from Karl Richter satisfies me nicely.


Karl Richter is a guarantee and I agree that if one is not a deep fan of Bach's organ music or organ in general @realdealblues advice is excellent.

I had some works from Koopman and I can't recommend them. IMO, really bad. Full of that 'Churchy Sound' not very welcome for my taste. I think that what is important is to bring the oeuvre as a music oeuvre and not as a calling to attend a Sunday mass.


----------



## Ukko

KenOC said:


> This one may not be the best, but it's cheap and it's the most fun! Did I mention that it was cheap?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Coll..._shvl_album_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1378141956&sr=301-5


I'm not enthusiastic about a _complete_ set, but if that were the only way to get Bach's organ music, then Newman would be the guy. Because he _does_ play Bach's organ _music_ rather than Bach..


----------



## Ondine

KenOC said:


> [...] I've always liked Newman for his cheerful, energetic, and often irreverent approach to Bach, [...]


I like the 'irreverent' aspect. If so, then it is a great choice to keep in mind


----------



## science

Interesting that no one mentioned Preston. Anything wrong with Preston?


----------



## tdc

I really like the Ton Koopman Bach organ works I've heard, I think he has the best Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, to my ears the sound of the organ he uses is amazing - it doesn't strike me as being especially "churchy", I just think it sounds better than most other organs. He sounds great on this little piece too.


----------



## KenOC

science said:


> Interesting that no one mentioned Preston. Anything wrong with Preston?


Sergeant Preston? I like his Reznicek!

BTW re the Passacaglia and Fugue, nobody does it better than the aptly named E. Power Biggs.


----------



## Marc

tdc said:


> I really like the Ton Koopman Bach organ works I've heard, I think he has the best Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, to my ears the sound of the organ he uses is amazing - it doesn't strike me as being especially "churchy", I just think it sounds better than most other organs. He sounds great on this little piece too.


Indeed.

About 60% of Bach's organ oeuvre exists of choral arrangements in various sorts, and chorals are religious hymns, meant to be sung in a church service, preluded, interluded, accompanied and postluded by an organ, which was/is the ultimate 'churchy' instrument. Therefore this music is 'churchy' music, whether one likes it or not.

I'm not 'churchy' myself (I believe in God's existence only because he's created by man), but I love 'churchy' music, either instrumental or vocal. 

The funny thing is, that many 'churchy' organ lovers and crititcs are not that fond of Ton Koopman because he's playing Bach with (too) many adornments and ornamentation, making Bach's 'churchy' music sound like 'just good _virtuoso_ fun' and therefore too secular.

But maybe Bach would't care that much about it. To him, all music (either religious or secular) was inspred by and dedicated to God. Soli Deo Gloria.

My biggest personal problem with Koopman is him being sometimes far too hasty, and when he is, he's somehow ruining the contrapuntal character of the piece.

About my personal preferences when (more or less) complete sets are concerned: too many to mention, I'm afraid. The earlier mentioned Hänssler set is quite good IMHO, with skilled performers and beautiful instruments (many of them being restored baroque organs), and is now available in a seperate boxset and rather affordable:

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Complete-Organ-Works-Bryndorf/dp/B00CBEA5M6/

Marie-Claire Alain (Erato/Warner) is a solid choice, too, as is Bernard Foccroulle (Ricercar).

To me, Simon Preston's set is a hit and miss. For instance, his playing is impressive in the Trio Sonatas, the chorals of the so-called 'Orgelmesse' and some of the Leipzig Chorals. But in many choral-free works I find him too jumpy, sounding almost as a statement _now listen, I know how to play Bach without legato_. To me, Peter Hurford (Decca) and Christopher Herrick (Hyperion) are more consistent British Bach performers.


----------



## tdc

Marc said:


> Indeed.
> 
> About 60% of Bach's organ oeuvre exists of choral arrangements in various sorts, and chorals are religious hymns, meant to be sung in a church service, preluded, interluded, accompanied and postluded by an organ, which was/is the ultimate 'churchy' instrument. Therefore this music is 'churchy' music, whether one likes it or not.
> 
> I'm not 'churchy' myself (I believe in God's existence only because he's created by man), but I love 'churchy' music, either instrumental or vocal.
> 
> The funny thing is, that many 'churchy' organ lovers and crititcs are not that fond of Ton Koopman because he's playing Bach with (too) many adornments and ornamentation, making Bach's 'churchy' music sound like 'just good _virtuoso_ fun' and therefore too secular.
> 
> But maybe Bach would't care that much about it. To him, all music (either religious or secular) was inspred by and dedicated to God. Soli Deo Gloria.
> 
> My biggest personal problem with Koopman is him being sometimes far too hasty, and when he is, he's somehow ruining the contrapuntal character of the piece.


Well said. I completely agree about Koopman, his playing on the Passacaglia and Fugue is actually quite wild and in places fairly dark sounding to my ears. It doesn't strike me at all as being too reverent or restrained, he sounds closer to a madman in places and I actually kind of like that on this piece, though I can appreciate a more restrained approach as well such as the excellent version by Biggs I just listened to. (Thanks again KenOC).


----------



## Marc

tdc said:


> Well said. I completely agree about Koopman, his playing on the Passacaglia and Fugue is actually quite wild and in places fairly dark sounding to my ears. It doesn't strike me at all as being too reverent or restrained, he sounds closer to a madman in places and I actually kind of like that on this piece, though I can appreciate a more restrained approach as well such as the excellent version by Biggs I just listened to. (Thanks again KenOC).


Yes, I have a Power Biggs disc with a.o. BWV 582 and I like the performance, too. The same goes for f.i. Lionel Rogg (Harmonia Mundi or EMI). 
I can enjoy both the 'romantic' (modest and mild beginning with a climb towards a climax) as well as the 'baroque' (organo pleno all the way) approach. In this Passacaglia, I'm very happy with all Koopman performances (he recorded the piece three times, for DG/Archiv, Novalis and Erato/Teldec/Warner), there's a trembling tension from start to finish.


----------



## starthrower

ptr said:


> I find it quite difficult to pin-point one best cycle. I personally like to mix and match and a recommendation for something that comes with good mix (of organists) is the Organ set from Hänsslers Complete Bach-Ausgabe (about 20 CDs, don't know if they are availible as a box set tho..). Berlin Classics also have/used to have a quite fun box set with only Silbermann Organs and about 10 different organists that is quite entertaining for a organologist perspective even if the sound quality is somewhat hoarse..
> /ptr


The Hanssler recordings are in fact available in a 20 CD box set for a good price.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/H%C3%A4nssler/HAEN98020


----------



## Larkenfield

Bach's complete organ works by James Kibbie... free downloads. 
Wonderful performances-http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/


----------



## starthrower

I bought the Marie Claire Alain Erato box. I believe it's her second cycle. The one in the orange tinted box. I'm very happy with it.


----------



## Mandryka

What I've heard of Kibbie -- the late chorales mainly -- suggests what he does is very competent, middle of the road inoffensive energetic HIP, on decent organs. The recording quality is listenable. A good place to start for people who don't want to spend money and don't want to use a streaming service.


----------



## Larkenfield

Mandryka said:


> What I've heard of Kibbie -- the late chorales mainly -- suggests what he does is very competent, middle of the road inoffensive energetic HIP, on decent organs. The recording quality is listenable. A good place to start for people who don't want to spend money and don't want to use a streaming service.


Don't ye just love people who damn things with faint praise? He's not a middle-of-the-road mediocre organist except for those well known for seeking the eccentric in just about everything. He's far better than that and a good introduction to these masterpieces. These many hours of fine performances are free downloads.


----------



## Rmathuln

After acquiring the first Alain stereo box earlier this year I now have 20 sets.
Fouccroulle and Rübsam/Philips remain the faves.


----------



## Mandryka

Rmathuln said:


> Fouccroulle and Rübsam/Philips remain the faves.


The Rubsam has always eluded me. I like the Naxos better.


----------



## Rmathuln

Now that Warner has given us Alain's first stereo set maybe they will get around to the other complete set they (and predecessor EMI) haver never fully transferred to CD - Lionel Rogg. A more complete set than the Harmonia Mundi cycle.
Would also be nice if they would package up all of Alain's mono recordings (not just JS Bach) on Le Discophile Français,


----------



## Mandryka

Rmathuln said:


> Now that Warner has given us Alain's first stereo set maybe they will get around to the other complete set they (and predecessor EMI) haver never fully transferred to CD - Lionel Rogg. A more complete set than the Harmonia Mundi cycle.
> Would also be nice if they would package up all of Alain's mono recordings (not just JS Bach) on Le Discophile Français,


If you want the complete Rogg 1976 in a good transfer to download, I can upload it for you, PM me.

I haven't got very far with Alain 1 yet, apart to notice that it's a bit dancing.


----------

