Bach: Organ Spectacular [DVD Audio]

Our Price: $59.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $41.50 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details

CD Details

Music reviews of Bach: Organ Spectacular [DVD Audio]

Music Review: Spacious Organ
Rating: 4 Stars

Certainly an organ performance in a church is a highly distinctive setting rich in reverberant, spatial information. I believe that these "famous organ works by Bach" performed by Ton Koopman is the first DVD-A of solo organ. First, let me say that the audible sense of the church's space here is wonderful, making it the most realistic organ recording I've ever heard; there's a palpable feeling of this acoustic space. This can be a mixed blessing, for while this recording starts to sound like what you would hear in a real church, this also means you are hearing lots of echoing sound, meaning that sometimes Bach's glorious, intricate counterpoint (especially in rapid passages, of course) is obscured. Ideally I'd want the recording engineers to let me hear the primary sound more clearly, along with the spatial echoes. Perhaps this is impossible, or too unnatural?

Koopman has recorded lots of Bach, and here he performs on an excellent, historically correct organ, built in 1727 (ie, during Bach's lifetime). Apparently Koopman has a distinguished reputation, but for some reason these performances did not strongly engage me. He sometimes seems to clearly avoid cautious, controlled playing (admirable), but, for example, his performance of the famous Toccata & Fugue in D minor comes across to me as rushed, almost cavalier. Other performances seem to range from straightforward to good, but for some reason are almost always uninvolving to me.

There are some extras on the DVD, the booklet is thorough, and overall this release is a conscientious presentation. If you are interested in a spatially realistic recording in the first organ DVD-A, you should check this out. Even though I have some reservations regarding the performance, I give it 4 stars for the wonderful ambiance (previously never heard in home playback).

Classical CDs

• Music > Styles