Bach: Organ Works

• Main performer: Ton Koopman
• Time: 57:41
• Release Date: 1986

Review

Previously released as the first volume of Ton Koopman's 1980s survey of the organ works of J.S. Bach, this disc has also been reissued as the sixth volume in Brilliant Classics' set of Bach's Masterworks. Koopman has set a high standard for his generation, and the crispness of his ornaments, the vitality of his rhythms, and the briskness of his tempos give his historically informed performances a strong, identifiable profile. His Bach is agile and efficient, and fans of authentic Baroque practice will enjoy the way he executes these familiar pieces with the utmost clarity, inventiveness, and excitement. The most spectacular performance of this disc is of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, where Koopman displays a phenomenal array of embellishments at a dizzying pace and makes this well-known organ classic a bravura showpiece. Koopman demonstrates more restraint in the other six works and barely approaches the same level of flashiness in the Fantasy and Fugue in G minor. His playing in the "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue, the Partita on "O Gott, du frommer Gott," and the three chorale preludes is comparatively sober and industrious, yet it still has flashes of his spontaneous decorative displays, and the music never settles into predictability. Recorded in 1986 by Novalis, the sound is clean and sparkling and still sounds great despite its age. ~ Blair Sanderson, Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Johann Sebastian Bach	Prelude and Fugue, for organ in E flat major ("St. Anne;" Clavier-Übung III/26), BWV 552 (BC J16)	14:10
Johann Sebastian Bach	O Gott, du frommer Gott, chorale partita for organ, BWV 767 (BC K95)	13:54
Johann Sebastian Bach	Fantasia and Fugue, for organ in G minor ("Great"), BWV 542 (BC J42, 57, 67)	10:25
Johann Sebastian Bach	Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (II), chorale prelude for organ (Achtzehn Choräle No. 8), BWV 659 (BC K82)	4:30
Johann Sebastian Bach	Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, chorale prelude for organ (Schübler Chorale No. 1), BWV 645 (BC K22)	3:48
Johann Sebastian Bach	Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (I), chorale prelude for organ (Orgel-Büchlein No. 41), BWV 639 (BC K68)	2:50
Johann Sebastian Bach	Toccata and Fugue, for organ in D minor, BWV 565 (BC J37)	8:04

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