Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unreservedly recommended., 19 Dec 2002
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 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".
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable boxed set, a must buy for Bach lovers!, 19 Nov 2003
I grew up on Helmut Walsha, then on to Ton Koopman on Novalis. Then I realised I ought to expand my collection. This box set arrived, and I cranked up the tubes and sat back. I have to say it was a shock. Initially I was a bit disappointed. The timing was quite different, the pieces I thought 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 this music, 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!
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