Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Peter Hurford :: Organ Works

Unreservedly recommended.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 12/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Happy the organist, like Peter Hurford, who can record over a period of twelve years in countries such as Germany, Austria, England, Australia, USA and Canada the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach! Exploring the way Bach's mind works must be the most rewarding experience for which a practising musician could wish. Peter Hurford did all this, between 1974 and 1986. The result is this tightly packed box of 17 CDs. It is possibly the largest recorded survey of Bach's works for organ. It includes items that some researchers believe are of doubtful authenticity. Hurford uses mainly C20th organs, or organs that incorporate piping from earlier originals. Registrations occasionally include a discrete tremolo, such as may be heard in the Chorale Prelude "Auf meinen lieben Gott" BWV 744. When you hear the sound fade and disappear at the end of the 16th CD, don't suspect a technical fault. The work being played, Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535a, was left incomplete by Bach. Clifford Bartlett has written the accompanying notes, reproduced in English French, German and Italian. Organ specifications are detailed, and recording dates and locations are specified. When your hands are busy with four manuals and ranks of organ stops, and when your feet are playing a footboard, it is difficult to maintain a flowing and consistent pulse in the music. Peter Hurford, in my estimation, "never puts a foot wrong" in this regard. Tempos are never irregular, either for reasons of expressiveness or because of physical coordination difficulties.

This well-presented issue is one of the few to receive a rosette award in the "Penguin Bargain Guide to CDs"."

EMPHATICALLY 5 stars!

altoman | Springfield, VA United States | 02/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bach's organ works place incredible demands on the performer, both physically (consider the endurance it takes to play the massive Toccata in F major), technically (the Trio Sonatas, among many others), and interpretationally. Peter Hurford triumphantly meets those demands in a spectacular set of recordings.To those who are doubters: listen to the (in)famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, that overplayed warhorse. Hurford brings to it an electricity that makes you feel you are hearing it for the first time again. He also has an amazing ear for registrations, one of the most underestimated difficulties of an organist's art, never wearying the ear, but using a wide palette of colors. [Bach himself was widely known for his innovative registrational practices. Contemporaries remarked that when he was testing organs he would pull combinations of stops that they were certain would sound badly together, only to find that he had created an entirely new sound. Thus, creative registrations should not offend purists in any way.] Hurford's approach to these works obviously takes into consideration, but is certainly not bound by, historically informed performing practices. His phrasing is immaculate, and consistently interesting. In all, this is a stunning accomplishment.GET THIS WHILE IT REMAINS AVAILABLE. The classical recording industry is in trouble, and the deletions axe is constantly falling. Large, expensive sets like this are sure to go. While the price itself appears high, it is really very reasonable, running under $8 per disc."

The nearest you will get to Bach without a time machine!

kjhoyes | 11/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I grew up on Helmut Walsha, then on to Ton Koopman on Novalis. Then I realised I ought to expand my collection. The box set arrived, and I cranked up the tubes a sat back. I have to say it was a shock. Initially I was a bit disappointed. The timing was quite different, the pieces I knew so well were lighter, more airy. I listened on and into the night, and found my initial reaction was unfounded. Peter Hurford has, I truly believe, got to the heart of the pieces, the detail is remarkable, the playing so natural, the emotion just pours out of the speakers.
Treble details flows out across the room like I have never heard, and the big pipes rumble beneath the set, and all retaining a remarkable church acoustic.
Forget all that has gone before, buy it and listen, but don't stay up to late!"