Bach on the organ

Abstract

Any quintessential organ recording must surely include some music by J. S. Bach. But do we really need more Bach recordings? Those reviewed here provide an unequivocally positive response to the question. New efforts have highlighted various aspects of Bach's oeuvre for the organ, including the music that he copied as a youth, works of doubtful authenticity, vivid interpretations on historical organs of the 18th century, and skilful adaptations of his trio sonatas and Goldberg Variations. Jean-Claude Zehnder examines the earliest musical sources copied by Bach in J. S. Bachs früheste Notenhandschriften (Carus 83.197, rec 2006, 52′). This project, intended to illuminate the formative influences on the youthful Bach, resulted as a co-production between Carus-Verlag in Stuttgart and the Bach-Archiv in Leipzig. The programme includes chorale fantasies and settings by Buxtehude, Pachelbel and Reincken, as well as two of Bach's own earliest chorale arrangements, the fragments BWV731 and BWV...