Customer Reviews

J.S. Bach: The Great Organ Works

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Around 1995, I was introduced to the Naxos label. Being an organist as well as a fan of organ music, I snapped up the CDs of Wolfgang Ruebsam. At the then low price of $5.99, it looked like a bargain.

I quickly regretted my purchase then, though I do not now. At the time, I thoroughly detested all of Mr Ruebsam's tempo fluctuations. However, I've started to listen to his performances again and found that I really do like them. Getting past his use of rubato may be hard for some listeners, but Mr Ruebsam is a brilliant interpreter worth spending some time with. His registrations are brilliant without being unduly harsh. Some recordings of Baroque organ music emphasise high, piercing, mutations so much that it is quite annoying and sometimes quite unnerving. The recorded sound is excellent. Ruebsam's performance of the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue is brilliant. His performance of the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor is deeply moving.

As I mentioned before, some listeners may find Mr Ruebsam's tempo fluctuations really annoying. But if one gets past all that, one is exposed to one of the truly great artists of our time. His interpretations are thoughtful and well executed. Wolfgang Ruebsam's Bach is worth spending time with. This is an excellent introduction to his cycle.

I love J.S. Bach's organ music--which is why I bought this CD--but I don't like many of these recordings. The main performer plays pieces slow, and even so cannot maintain a tempo as he should. Both me and my former piano teacher feel that there are many better performances of Bach's organ music available for purchase.

I'm not a huge fan of solo organ, but after hearing Ich Ruf' Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 I knew I would have to own a recording of it. It's my favorite track on the cd, although all of them are good. The sound of the recording is clear without much annoying resonnance. The playing is good (I don't own any other solo organ pieces to compare it to, however.) The only thing I don't care for is the "St Anne" Prelude and Fugue which I find unusually boring for a J.S. Bach piece.