Bach organ works

[whayes]

Great site! in the process of downloading myself. I bought the complete works of Bach recorded by Lionel Rogg on the Silbermann organ in Arlesheim many years ago and it's great to have another artist's interpretation of the entire works, and absolutely free!

[jskumro]

Excellent! I'll have to download these soon! Are they pretty good?

[johnnyglaire]

Wow! this is great! I like Bach's masterpieces. Thank you for sharing the link though. :D

[Hitech]

Wow what a great collection :)

[clk1954]

Thank you for this great site.

I have a lot of respect for James Kibbie's interpretations.

I already downloaded several individual selections.

CLK

[solorgan]

Thanks for the link! I just have listened to the Toccata in F : goode performance, but I have reservations about the pedal (too loud/heavy for me) and the general aspect a little too "mechanical" of the performance (with this tempo so fast) in my humble opinion. But I would like to play as he does! He's a very good musician, indeed!

Does anybody know why he offers all that only for us?

[thevanderploegs]

I downloaded these a while ago already. The performances are excellent with some unique interpretations (ie Fugue in G minor). It even includes pieces that are attributed to Bach but have long since been known to be not composed by him. The collection gets much play on my computer and MP3 player.

[fugueist]

I am new to Organ Forum (my first writing). I downloaded Dr. Kibbie's Bach a while ago. The performances are on organs of Bach's period, and are, for the most part. solid, middle of the road. By that I mean unmannered, and allowing the music to speak for itself.

But that is not why I am replying to you. I infer, by your use of the famous Rongier portrait of Franck, that you may be a Francophile, as I am. Bach and the French "symphonic" school are keen interests of mine. If I have correctly deduced that we are kindred spirits, perhaps we might engage in some kind of meaningful dialogue. I particularly enjoy controversial musicological topics: e.g. "overdotting" in Bach, Franck's legato. Purely analytical aspects of music e.g. Franck's harmony also interest me. In short, anything to do with Bach or the French Symphonists interests me.

[douçaine]

Great to have you here fugueist! I'm a Francophile as well; I wish you would post something musicologically controversial. It would be interesting to see the opinions of all these people. I see you live in Ontario; have you ever played the organ at the Mount Zion Lutheran Church, in Waterloo, built by Guilbult-Therien? It's a fantastic organ (maybe a little well mannered) for French music.
I've always been a fan of the mixtures on true baroque organs; they're so spacious and full, as opposed to the rather keen modern versions of "baroque" mixtures. It doesn't hurt that old organs aren't as tempered as modern organs; each interval is "out of tune" a little differently than the others, so there is this ever present celeste effect that changes from note to note. Mixtures in equal temperament can be so sterile. Does anyone have the compositions of the mixtures for any of these organs.
I love how his playing is often ... legato. I wish fewer people let their performances of Bach degenerate into staccatos; it can be very annoying.

[organduo]

I particularly enjoy controversial musicological topics: e.g. "overdotting" in Bach, Franck's legato. Purely analytical aspects of music e.g. Franck's harmony also interest me. In short, anything to do with Bach or the French Symphonists interests me.

Here is a controversial topic:

What do you think about the tempo in Joris Verdin's performances of Franck's organ works? He is an advocate of much faster tempo because of the different interpretation of the metronome Franck used and its markings:
For example, check out the Final, Op. 21: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM8jbUC1VGc

I've seen him play live at the Gothenburg International Organ Academy in Sweden in 2000. It was shockingly amazing. (It's a fantastic meeting place, networking and education for performers, musicologists, organ builders and organ fans: http://www.organacademy.se/). This year the Academy is coming up in September, so check it out what they have to offer this time.

By the way, in 2000 Joris Verdin gave a full hour recital on the French Symphonic organ they have at the School of Music called "Artisten". At the same time, a legendary Italian improviser Edoardo Bellotti played a recital of improvisations on the positive organ from the early 17 century which was pumped by the assistant by hand. After that both Joris and Edoardo played the same recital one more time allowing the audience to switch and hear both performances. This was an evening I will remember for a long time.

So my question was what do you think about the fast tempo in Joris Verdin's Franck's performances?

[Young Organist]

Good suggestion. While my summer in Europe, I have found numerous books and series of complete Bach organ works. But the one that stood out the most to me was a older version, copyright 1985, by Edition Peters. Great books.

[DellAnderson]

Here is a controversial topic:

What do you think about the tempo in Joris Verdin's performances of Franck's organ works? He is an advocate of much faster tempo because of the different interpretation of the metronome Franck used and its markings:
For example, check out the Final, Op. 21: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM8jbUC1VGc
...
So my question was what do you think about the fast tempo in Joris Verdin's Franck's performances?

Short answer: I don't like Franck's Final played so fast. I may be biased by having heard slower versions first, but pipes should have time to speak. Especially in a large space. It's not a jumbled race to the finish but a clear, dramatic story.

Long answer: It occurred to me that because Franck's Final Op 21FinalFinalSortie in E-flat major http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XarAdHPg9BM

A more usual speed with interesting registration in the carnival spirit of the piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M0KvHgfdoE

In summary, the organ, auditorium, and the performer's personality and ability to express the spirit of the piece should determine the tempo. As long as it doesn't sound too ridiculous, variety is the spice of life. Just remember, the majority of audience members are not caffeine addicts with ADHD requiring supersonic cavalcades of notes.

[Sathrandur]

From what I've determined, the recordings from this website, while appreciable, aren't always that great I've found.

If you can afford it, you would do well to spend about $50 and buy a recording of the complete Bach organ works. The George Ritchie recording of the complete JSB organ works is fantastic. Around the aforementioned price, and all performed on a variety of instruments suitable for the perfomance of Bach (all German Baroque in their tonal style and mechanism even though they are American instruments built in, I think, the last century).

[marktheharp]

Thank you for posting these recordings at the start of this thread. So wonderful to have - just listened to BWV 544, which I haven't heard since I was about 14, when it was broadcast on the radio here in the UK. What an amazing resource. It will probably take me a while to work my way through them but hope to make some wonderful discoveries along the way.