Walcha's circa 1960 Bach Harpsichord Recordings.

Ah the bug!

Lovely link Debs!

Just ordered the Walcha recording of the Art Of Fugue.

I have given up on Walcha's stereo Bach Organ cycle for now [which contains the Art Of Fugue] as it is nearly £90, for 12 CDs. The AOF is less than £10 including postage because of getting MC Alain's set, so it is not serious.

Suppose I should get something different like some more Chopin next!

ATB from George

Both the Bach sets are now here and stored in iTunes.

The Walcha recording of the Art Of Fugue was already well known to me, but the leap in apparent recording quality of it over LP replay is marvelous. Not only a splendid musical reading, but also, it now appears a recording from the top draw.

The complete Bach Organ music cycle recorded by Marie-Claire Alain on Erato is also splendidly recorded, and her musicianship is going to yield me the most immense pleasure to stand beside the incomplete mono cycle I have with Walcha, going on what I have listened to so far.

I have not had time to listen to more than two of the 15 CDs so far! Not simply one evening's listening either as it totals 18 hours and 40 minutes of music!

Even longer than Wagner's Ring, if at complete odds with that immensely long cycle of four huge operas!

The Cycle contains 266 tracks, and even in iTunes/ALAC files it occupies 5.32 GB of hard disk!

As for the musical side of things, I shall not make too many observations for possibly weeks! But it is certainly true that Alain sees the important aspects of Bach similarly to me! She completely avoids the tendency to play loud enough to make the organ merely roar!

ATB from George

That Solisti Veneti recording is lovely. Bit mad but lovely! The one you have of the Bach Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas and Partitas, on Nonesuch, is stupendous!

I can never remember the name of the Violinist!

ATB from George

Hey Frank you should in bed! Work to do and all that! Thanks for Sergiu Luca's name in the solo violin music.

This is an amazing discovery, MC Alain I mean. Truly amazing!

I know that the memories are significant, but I just played through the Vivaldi arranged Bach Concerto in D minor, which JSB arranged from the string orchestra original for organ alone, and I knew the music! From Drach and Klymenko - those accordianists who played it in Krakow! Now this actually brought poignant tears to me! Sometimes music touches the very inner parts of us, usually great music - sometimes with a wonderful memory as well!

The recording of Drach and Klymenko is even finer than MC Alain, because no pipe organ, however fine, can be as precise as two accordianists in rhythm and poetic nuance ...

But it is a truly great performance.

Now I must find Vivaldi's original. It is lovely music ...

Good luck with the rest of the week!

Very best wishes from George

PS: Stu! Walcha playing the Harpsichord Partitas, French Suites, and English Suites. But I have them from LPs now, so problem solved. Unless you know how to get the Toshiba EMI CDs, of course!

Just re-ripped the fifteen CDs! The CD reader had expired, and had introduced a few anomalies!

Now the fresh transfer is fine. Computers - don't you just love them? Yes, when everything is working right!

Now I set out on a long voyage of discovery!

ATB from George