Search - Herbert Brewer, Herbert Howells, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Pageant: A Pipe Organ Spectacular

Spectacular Playing on a Wonderful Instrument

Chester Williams | Rochester, NY | 10/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If there is any one recording that I would recommend to someone, to inspire them to understand the organ better or to grasp the outstanding musical qualities of the pipe organ, this CD by Thomas Bara would be the one. He takes the listener through an amazing realm of different emotions with these varied pieces. The main theme of this recording is music that excites the listener and that is precisely what you will get from listening to this.

The organ itself has a wide range of colors and timbres that are put to great use. The space is very much alive, which adds to the grandiosity of these pieces. For most CDs that I own, I have a few favorite tracks and the rest is just satisfactory. This is not the case with this one. When I listen to one track, I almost always end up listening to the entire CD!

Thomas Bara is a phenomenal organist and if you have not heard him play live I would recommend it. He plays these pieces as if this is how they were always meant to be played. He is a sensitive and thoughtful musician and it is clear that he took great care in recording these pieces. This recording is by far one of the best, if not the best organ recording, I have heard in a long time."