Customer Reviews

Bach: The Four Great Toccatas and Fugues [SACD]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Judging by the liner notes, this was one of the first albums to be made in quadrophonic sound. I never heard that version, but I have to admit, this version is pretty awesome. This was recorded in a church with four organs. You can hear the different organs in each of the speakers and if you close your eyes, you can almost imagine that you are in a magnificent cathedral in Germany somewhere. The crispness and clarity of SACD comes out and the warmth of the organs comes out very well. I hope that this format sticks around because I am getting more and more impressed with it as I listen to new CDs of it.

This the best multi-channel SACD I have heard to date. Contrary to many other SACD discs, the volume on the surround channels is quite loud and localizable, on purpose because of the 4 organs.

As a huge fan of J.S. Bach, I was truly delighted by the interpretation from E. Power Biggs. His odd choice of registers make it a bit surreal. Overall, it's a very moving recording.

Congratulations to Sony for getting both the recording and the music right.

I have a feeling it will be a long time before this disc gets replaced in my 5-disc SACD changer.

The first time I heard this recording is when my older brother

brought home his "QUADRAPHONIC" home audio system and a copy of

the LP version of this SACD. It was quite an amazing sound back

then. Unfortunately it was way ahead of its time. Fast forward

a few years in time. I the proud owner of a CD player buy the

CD issue of the same album on CBS MK 42643 hoping that I would

hear the same sounds I heard on my brothers LP. No such luck all

I heard was the stereo version of the recording. Today I bought

the SACD version, I started the player I heard the organs the

same way I had back in the Seventies, only sounding better than

before! I can only hope that Sony will find the time to issue

Mr. Biggs other Freiburg recording on CD and SACD as well

as his recordings in the Thomaskirche As for this recording the

Toccata and Fugue in d minor is really the longest and

one of the most interesting versions I have ever heard. The

other Toccatas and Fugues also recieve wonderful perfomances

here too. I have always imagined that Mr. Biggs must have had

a good time arrainging these works for Four Organs. I am happy

that some of the old quadraphonic recordings are finally seeing

the laser light of day.

The first time I've heard E. Power Biggs (EPB) playing these Johann Sebastian Bach (JSB) four great toccatas and fugues was on my old quad system back in the 70's on a 33 rpm LP. Now we can hear again the same on a superbly mastered Sony SACD as a reissue. Have to say that old memories come to fore about what real music-making should be. I'd always had the feeling that EPB at some point in his life asked the grandest of all questions in music: Music, what do you want from me? I think JSB's answer might have been "...I composed this music to be played with joy to celebrate life..."

No doubt EPB fully understood that and as a consequence proceeded to consecrate his life to a series of playful musical journeys into the world of sounds mostly with pipe organs, although in a few occasions visited very convincincly and with great success the pedal harpsichord. And it was a world of sounds that had never been heard before in such sobriety, scale, beauty and magnitude. As in this SACD he departed on a musical journey which JSB, had he had comparable resources (4 organs in the same location) in his own time would have done it himself. He would likely performed them in an antiphonal manner; much of JSB music is antiphonal in one way or another. Here, EPB, with four organs played from a single console just obliged.

I think we should also be reminded that this musical form, the toccata, is a secular (non-religious) counterpoint fantasy based more often than not in popular dances of the time. We have to recognize no matter what that they are dances with their tempi altered to fulfill polyphonic as well as harmonic and chromatic musical canons - JSB own canons. What can we say about JSB's organ music? I think the obvious answer would be "it's everything." And in EPB's hands (and feet) became a wonderful improvised "ad libitum" antiphonal everything playing the four organs of the Freiburg Cathedral (Freiburg im Briesgau - Badden Wuttenberg - Germany).

EPB arranged "ad libitum" these four toccatas to be performed, where it was artistically plausible, in an antiphonal manner. This type of antiphonal playing can not possibly be described as capricious at all, it defines the compositions in a new light. It's not only a question about four organs, but also about an appropriate instrumental and psycho-acoustical balance and timbre. The question of sound (great sound) is decisive, because the tones, organ voices, choices of ranks and stops/registers to be used, and in this case, which organ to choose to "fight" against the others stimulate and inspire the music-making; the potential is there to profoundly affect the us the listeners.

This is, in my humble opinion, the best SACD mastered and produced to this date (ca. 2006). It should be noted that this is not a Hybrid SACD, it can only be played on a dedicated SACD player. For this recording (analog in it's original format)EPB had available to him four organs which in this SACD can be heard as follows: LF speaker (Rieger), RF speaker (Rieger), LR speaker (Marcussen) and RR speaker (Spath).

These four organs were built and installed in this Cathedral between 1962 and 1965. The four organs are played from a single central electric console accessing 136 stops/registers in total. EPB could count with a grand total of 102 ranks in all the intervining "Hauptwerk" and "Positif" organ divisions, and in the pedal divisions he had available a total of 35 ranks.Although the console has (actually) four keyboard manuals in reality it has the potential to become a 10 (ten) manual keyboard when used in different combinations.

This, as such, results in an awesome polyphonic instrument specially in the tuttis, crescendos and fortissimos with an incredible sound delivery. Final words: this is a BEST BUY not to be missed whether you like classical music, pipe organs or not.

If you are looking for THE multi-channel SACD to blow your mind (and your friend's collective minds) and prove the potential of this format - this is the one. Of course it helps if you like, or have the potential of liking, Bach's organ music.

It's unfortunate that the one-star reviews here pulled the average down. Unfortunate because the only criticism is that these people have is that don't have mutli-channel SACD playback equipment. This is not a valid criticism of the actual contents - only a reflection that they didn't pay attention to what was on the screen when ordering the disk.

If you have the right gear - get ready to put your subwoof through its paces!

Johann Sebastian Bach's four great Toccatas and Fugues are some of the most dramatic and vivid of his organ works. This recording was made in the Cathedral of Freiburg, Germany with four new organs; a Marien, a Choir, a Nave and a Gallery Organ "St. Michael". All these were played through a central console in the original Cathedral. The sound was recorded in `quadraphonic', but it is released on this SACD in true 5.1 surround sound, meaning there is a central front speaker and the subwoofer. The experience is that of being in the cathedral and feeling and hearing all the sounds and vibrations of these incredible machines. Bach's Toccatas and Fugues are some of the most amazing compositions and to hear them in this format is thrilling. Originally recorded in 1973 in `quadraphonic', the entire recording was remastered into SACD 5.1 surround sound. If you have the system, this is the ultimate recording to listen to. If you don't have an SACD system, you must at least hear this phenomenon somewhere.

This is a fun recording and the remastered SACD sound is really outstanding. It's a shame that the excellence of recordings like this weren't successful in making SACD a mainstream medium. Now that major labels have curtailed support of SACD, this advance in home reproduction has been pretty much relegated to the specialty market.

Biggs interpretations of these chestnuts are very similar to his versions performed on the Flentrop organ at Harvard - allowing for the batting around of the music made possible by the four instruments employed. This is an older style of Bach playing, solid (I almost wrote stolid) in tempo and unconcerned with with recent scholarship on things like period-inspired fingering and pedaling. Registrations are colorfully varied (obviously) and minimal cadential ornamentation is employed. The electric action that is used for simultaneous playing of the four organs, three of which are also played by tracker action, also effects the interpretations.

Biggs was a good musician as well as a showman. Everything here is tasteful, unlike his odd recordings of Joplin rags on the pedal harpsichord that are roughly contemporary with these sessions. Interestingly Biggs made a swipe at the electronics which made the central console at Freiburg possible in his LP "The Organ in Sight and Sound." Electricity is, he stated, suitable for "operating a doorbell" but not for the playing action of a muscial instrument. (He was a strong advocate of tracker action in Bach and other other eighteenth century organ music. You have to wonder just what he thought of these efforts.

Sadly, we'll probably never hear the other music recorded in these sessions - I remember some Handel and other pieces treated to the same antiphonal treatment on LP - with Sony's withdrawal from the SACD medium. If you have the equipment, buy this. You won't be disappointed.

This is a fabulous recording, but to be honest I can't say what it would sound like on a relatively inexpensive surround system.

Keep in mind that this is a multichannel recording of four organs played from a single central console, so to realize its full potential you need a surround system in which every speaker can do justice to Bach organ music (even though the front channels are clearly dominant). If your system is up to it, this is sure to please.

It's a shame the star-rating of this has been compromised by people whining because they bought an SACD they can't play, because I can't find a single reason to fault it.

Although I can't add much to the detailed reviews you'll read below, this ranks as the most amazing SACD I've had the pleasure of listening to. Sitting in the middle of my speakers, listening to the distinct sound of all four organs, was almost like a religious experience. Yes, it will indeed give your bass a workout, and should be a reference work for your system's bass performance. But I was equally amazed at the total musical range of these organs, and by the performer's dexterity in bringing out such a varied sound. Listen to the end of each piece as the last notes slowly fade away. The liner notes say that the hall's reverberation time is 6 seconds, but it seems even longer to me.

If your AV system is capable of taking advantage of SA-CD then you OWE it to yourself to purchase this disc - the sound is just that amazing. Many have said this before me, but this is a recording of four organs being played at once in a large church, and you can hear EVERYTHING. Every note is super clear. You can hear the echo when the organ releases every note. You can even hear the organ changing ranks when the organist changes stops. If you close your eyes it seriously feels like you are in a large church listening to four organs which are 100 feet away.

In short, if you have ears that work, and an A/V system capable of playing SA-CD (this will not work in a normal CD player) then you will appreciate this and you must own it.