Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D minor; Prelude & Fugue in B minor; Concerto No. 2 in A minor; Prelude & Fugue in D major

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Michael Murray (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Michael Murray
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CT3
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,311 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Toccatas
  • #16 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Fugues
  • #40 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Preludes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Satisfying, November 5, 2003

By 

David A. Kemp (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D minor; Prelude & Fugue in B minor; Concerto No. 2 in A minor; Prelude & Fugue in D major (Audio CD)

This is one of the earlier recordings (1983) in the distinguished series of Michael Murray organ CDs on Telarc. Let's state up front what some may regard as a drawback: it's only 46:34 minutes long.

The notes provide only this information about the venue (no organ specification): "The church is a mammoth neo-Gothic structure of rare beauty, and its Skinner-Schlicker organ is among the largest and most renowned in the country. It comprises two main organs, hundreds of feet apart at opposite ends of the nave, having two consoles of four manuals that control 214 ranks, including several of 32-foot pitch." (Note: Despite the two organs, there is no attempt at antiphonal effects here.) 214 ranks is one hell of a big organ.

I am an organ buff and a Bach buff, and usually I am not fond of Bach played on enormous organs like this one. E. Power Biggs and others have demonstrated long ago that Bach goes better on smaller organs (in smaller spaces) that emphasize clarity and articulation than on huge instruments (in huge spaces) that emphasize grandeur, power, volume of sound, reverberation. (Another Michael Murray Telarc CD, The Young Bach, on the marvelous Gabriel Kney organ at the College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, is a good example of an American instrument that is ideal for Bach.) But thanks to the judicious choice of registrations by Murray and the exemplary engineering of Telarc, this CD largely avoids the problems associated with "big" Bach on big organs.

Those who admire enormous organs will find this a fine, healthy specimen, very well recorded, and the size of the organ is perhaps most clearly revealed here in the potent low bass, which will please audiophiles. This recital includes that perennial warhorse, the ubiquitous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565), in a performance as stirring as any I've heard (and anyone who's an organ buff has heard a great many!)

Michael Murray is one of the pre-eminent organists of our day and a superb interpreter of Bach. He is a sound musician; his playing is never flashy or trendy or eccentric; and he never tries to show off: although he is an accomplished technician, his technique is there to serve the music, not the other way around (as one critic wrote, "He is definitely for us, we who listen to music first and organ fingerwork second"). I have long found him to be one of the most deeply satisfying Bach organists on record. This CD contains four Bach works in performances as compelling as any you will find. Murray's tempos and his registrations are beyond reproach; they have just the right amount of gravitas, avoiding ponderousness on the one hand and lightness on the other. (He does tend to favor slower tempos, so those who like their Bach to move swiftly may be less pleased than I am.)

I've found this a highly satisfactory Bach organ CD, and I recommend it, although I rate the Telarc/Murray Bach recital on the Methuen Mass. organ, and the aforementioned Telarc/Murray Bach recital on the Gabriel Kney organ at the College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, even higher than this one.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subwoofer required!, September 3, 2003

By 

S. P. M. (Mesa, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D minor; Prelude & Fugue in B minor; Concerto No. 2 in A minor; Prelude & Fugue in D major (Audio CD)

This recording of J.S. Bach's most dramatic work for pipe organ (Tocata & Fugue in D minor) will test the highest quality sound systems. You can feel the intensity of the lowest notes heard by human ears in Telarc's awesome recording of Michael Murray on one of the most impressive pipe organs in the U.S. I recommend this CD be played loud!