17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you love the Bach organ works, don't miss these!, August 12, 2000
Rogg's recording of the complete organ works of J.S.Bach are just wonderful. His interpretations are the finest I've heard. I have at least a dozen recordings of many of these, some dating back to the thirties, but Rogg's interpretations seem always to be my favorites. They were all recorded on a wonderful Silbermann organ.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Performances, Great Price, Uneven Sound, April 5, 2001
Let's face it: it's not easy to comprehend twelve hours of some of the finest organ music ever composed. The first impressive feature of this recording is the consistently high quality of Lionel Rogg's performance: he chooses his interpretations with great care, insight, even humour, when the occasion demands: all realised on a magnificent, restored 18th-century organ from the legendary Silbermann family. Surely the highlight of the whole set is Rogg's performance of the Passacaglia and Fugue: chilling, grand, extremely expressive, but never overdone. To the smaller Orgelbuchlein pieces he brings just the right touch. And, of course, the big preludes, toccatas, partitas, &c. receive careful readings, too.
The second impressive feature is the price: how Harmonia Mundi gets away with offering a huge set at this low price is beyond me (except, perhaps, that the recordings are rather dated--see below.)
One note of caution: the selection is *extremely* conservative in deciding on canonical Bach works. Anything that is at all doubtful is left off, including some old favourites like the "Kleines Harmonisches Labyrinth" (BWV 591), once attributed to JSB. I understand why HM did this, of course--at 12 discs the set is already top-heavy--but a few of these pieces are well worth hearing alongside the canonical works, and some may actually be genuine Bach works.
The only thing that stops me from giving this the full five stars is the uneven sound quality: these recordings first appeared in 1970, and they show their limitations. At times, especially during the fugues, the voices get muddied, particularly in the pedal; there is even some distortion at the very low end (such as the low C in the Passacaglia theme). However, even with the limited sound, I have to remind myself that one can't purchase a complete set of Bach's organ works in such wonderful performances anywhere else as this astonishingly low price--by all means the Rogg recordings are well worth having.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificant Bach, magnificant organ, sound OK, February 24, 2005
This review is from: Bach: L'Ouvre d'orgue (The Organ Works) /Rogg (Audio CD)
This is thrilling music, well played on an organ representative of Bach's period. The harmonic structure of the pedal notes is wonderful and this recording seems to sort them out just fine. Its hard to believe that this organ is only 40+ ranks and was originally pumped by human power.
The "Passacaglia" is the finest I have heard, and I do not hear any noticable distortion on the low pedal notes. In fact this recording from the early seventies is more listenable than many newer digital recordings made recently. Also, I listen to this music at levels comparable to those experienced in the church environment.
I am completely satisfied with this boxed set and listen to it often. I advise anyone buy this set based on artistry and musical content and not worry about the sound. It's OK.
I do not understand why this set does not come up on Amazon's Bach Organ works listing. I had to find it under Lionel Rogg.
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