Search - Bach, Biggs :: Bach: Organ Works - Essential Classics

Beautiful, commanding; dynamite recording quality

coasteray | 10/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a 2002 re-issue of the Sony Essentials CD from 1991. That disc is also still available from Amazon. Just type in "E. Power Biggs" on the search line to make sure you get to the appropriate page. Several customer reviews are available there. You will see it listed as "Bach: Toccata & Fugue; Passacaglia & Fugue; Pastorale; Prelude & Fugue". I can really only add my voice to the other reviewers, some of whom are far more eloquent than I. Suffice it to say that E.Power Biggs is the best. The famous Toccata & Fugue in D Minor is so perfectly performed here by Mr. Biggs. Of course, all the other compositions are equally well-performed. These recordings date from 1961, 1965, and 1972, according to the last page of the liner notes. There is some tape hiss present; however, it only appears during very quiet passages, and there are precious few of those, so I don't really consider it a problem. Take my word that the recordings on this disc are absolutely excellent. I have some vinyl discs from Columbia Masterworks featuring Mr. Biggs, and this disc reminds me of those top-quality recordings. It may be that these CD recordings come from original Columbia Masterworks as well. What matters in the end here is twofold: the works of Bach and the performances of Mr. Biggs. I would also suggest that anyone who wants to pursue E. Power Biggs' recordings of Bach to browse through his other recordings here on Amazon in order to complete their collection. In the meantime, I can guarantee that this disc at this low price is one wonderful buy."

Superb match of music, artist, and instrument

L. C. Gasper | 02/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On March 2, 1972, a spacecraft called Pioneer 10 was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. On the grounds that the craft might at some point, at some time, come under the notice of intelligent beings on another world, a plaque was attached to the craft, etched with some figures and whatnot. The figures were designed to "represent the type of creature that created Pioneer." It struck me at the time that if we wanted to tell others not only what type of creature we are, but what we are supremely capable of, that we should include a recording of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and, more specifically, this recording of that marvelous expression of the human mind and spirit.



E. Power Biggs was known not only for his mastery of the pipe organ, but also for his careful matching of a particular composition to an organ best suited to its performance. We can hope that Sony will at some point release a CD of Biggs' performance of the Toccata from Widor's fifth organ symphony on the organ of the Episcopal Church of St. George in New York City with its 32 -foot ranks. The thundering pedal notes in the concluding part of the work have never had better justice done to them.



All the tracks on this CD were recorded on the Flentrop organ in the Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard University, from about 1961 to 1972. Again, Biggs seems to have chosen his instrument wisely, as the pieces he plays here feel so absolutely right on that organ. Yes, there is some tape hiss, and I think I detected a little bit of tape "wow" at one point. But if you will listen beyond those things, concentrate on the music in itself, I think you cannot fail to be both impressed and moved, even if you have heard the pieces played by many other artists in many other venues. Technique and artistry alike are both superb and unique in this recording of these monuments of Bach's genius.



Highly recommended."

True heavy metal

Lisa Christoph | Phoenix, AZ | 10/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bach is the Grand Daddy of all heavy metal. Listen to this CD and you will be a believer."