Toccata and Fugue: Bach Organ Music

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Karl Richter (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Karl Richter
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001G6K
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,513 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #38 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Toccatas
  • #57 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Fugues

Track Listings

1. Toccata and Fugue, for organ in D minor, BWV 565 (BC J37)

2. Prelude and Fugue, for organ in E flat major ('St. Anne;' Clavier-Übung III/26), BWV 552 (BC J16)

3. Trio Sonata for organ No. 5 in C major, BWV 529 (BC J5): Allegro

4. Trio Sonata for organ No. 5 in C major, BWV 529 (BC J5): Largo

5. Trio Sonata for organ No. 5 in C major, BWV 529 (BC J5): Allegro

6. Fantasia and Fugue, for organ in G minor ('Great'), BWV 542 (BC J42, 57, 67)

7. Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, chorale prelude for organ (Schübler Chorale No. 6), BWV 650 (BC K27)

8. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, chorale prelude for organ (Schübler Chorale No. 1), BWV 645 (BC K22)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faithful Rendition of Baroque, October 13, 2003

By 

Patrick Walsh "feofil, fool for christ" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toccata and Fugue: Bach Organ Music (Audio CD)

The great tragedy of Baroque music is that we no longer really know how it was actually played. Various attempts to reconstruct the Baroque flavor of the music have been made. Karl Richter, and Wanda Landowska are perhaps the pre-eminent interpreters of Baroque music in the 20th century.

Within this album, Karl Richter's breaks away from his contemporaries, playing on the massive organs for which Johann Sebastion Bach wrote these pieces, instead of the small portable organs. He does not try to play the pieces fast or slow, but rather play the piece at a pace in which each note has meaning. A great deal of thought and consideration has gone into each performance, and they display a profound understanding of the music Bach was trying to create.

I do not want to discount the modern performances of Bach's music, many of which are top notch--for example Glen Gould's rendition of the Well-Tempered Clavier, but they do not fully reveal the mastery of harmony that Bach displays in each and every piece on this album. Modern renditions display Bach's genius in creating music that can be played on many different instruments, but they do not display Bach's vision for the specific piece.

This is as close as you can come to listening to Bach's music the way he created it in his mind before setting pen to paper.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much much more than just the Toccata & Fuge in d minor, July 13, 2002

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Toccata and Fugue: Bach Organ Music (Audio CD)

I too bought the vinyl version of this disk in my youth in the late '60s (actually it was about half this disk, right?). Itis such a wonderful recording because it plays the very dramatic and popular toccata and fugue in d minor as a serious and intelligent piece on a magnificent instrument - not as some kind of madman's nightmare. Yes, there is drama and fire, but it is all there with purpose and intellect.

But there is SO MUCH MORE on this disk. Wonderful recordings of trio sonatas, fantasies, and chorale preludes. This is such a wonderful disk I really believe you would be very happy to own it and listen to it again and again.

The ONLY negative is that the liner notes are not included (or weren't on the disk I have). Please email me with what you think of this disk once you hear it, particularly all the other selections.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What, another D-minor? Yes, and a Major one at that!, November 19, 2000

By 

GQ in LB (Long Beach CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toccata and Fugue: Bach Organ Music (Audio CD)

I bought my first copy of this recording in 1967 (on vinyl, of course). It immediately became the definitive performance of the Toccata and Fugue in D-minor for me -- the one by which I measure everyone else's.