Organ Music - Bach Family

The nearly two hundred years, the Bach's made their mark on musical history through the efforts and achievements of around 50 family members, some of them essentially instrumentalists, and others whose main focus was composition. The best known of them was Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), who began to make a detailed record on his family's history, a task that was later completed by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714-1788). From this it appears that for at least seven generations the family, which originated in Slovakia before moving permanently to Thuringia, had always comprised several musicians.

Because I wanted to provide an overall view of the genius of the Bach family over the centuries, I sought out scores of proven authorship with the aim of bringing stylistic  and historic changes to the fore. The anthology is an eloquent testament  to the unusual concentration of musical talent in a single family. From chorale to variations, from prelude to fugue, from rondo to toccata, the listener is thus able to witness the development of different musical forms and inventions from the 16th to the 20th century.    Sergio Militello 

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Organ Works - Bach

Absolutely beauty, powerful interpretation and astonishing sound. When it comes to the organ, Bach's music deserves a keen understanding. His music expresses not only Bach's music skills, but his own self as something astral covering every single note so that when it listened, shivering. It is a so diligent music that is in many senses self-understandable, and will-less we are just free-sheets  at the mercy of the even the smallest wind. But it can be the opposite as can be noted in the so famous Toccata and Fugue BWV 565 whereupon by force we are lead off our minds.

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The Organ (The Instruments of Classical Music)

Everyone is acquainted with its imposing external form in the interior of churches. But is more difficult to define the instrument. What about this definition?: "The organ is a stationary instrument which is played with hands and feet on one or more keyboards, and in which the sound is produced by pipes (flue or reed pipes) arranged in ranks (voices or registers), which can be switched on individually by the player at will, placed over an apparatus for distributing wind (wind chest), this wind being provided by a special machine (bellows or blower)". After its "invention" by the Greek engineer Ktesibios (around 250 BC), the organ became established in the Hellenic and Roman Empires and, from there, throughout the whole of Europe. The decadent emperor Nero (54-68 AD) used it as plaything, and it was regarded as a symbol of entertainment and as the worldly showpiece of princes' courts until the early 14th century. It was only in the 15th century that this instrument, which had previously been condemned by the high dignitaries of the Church, started to be used for sacred functions as a kind of "machine for accompanying the choir" and took over the rule of the cult and church instrument par excellence.  Different methods of construction and sound ideas developed in the various countries and regions, stemming mostly from the fancies of some prominent organ builder and his successors. With a zeal of almost Olympic proportions organs were constructed which were "bigger and bigger", "more and more beautiful", "more and more sonorous", in some of which it was impossible to use all the registers. In the largest church organ in the world, the five-part organ in Passau Cathedral, the organist could theoretically play on 231 registers with exactly 17,388 pipes, the biggest of which is more than 11 meters long and 47 centimeters in diameter, and the smallest only 6 millimeters long.             U.K.

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Harpsichord Concertos I, II and III - Bach (Cologne Chamber Orchestra)

Virtuosos, lively, armonious, enchanting, etc. etc., are some of a big positive characteristics that applies to Bach's harpsichord concertos. Concertos that reveal a new face of Bach's astonishing imagination.

Fair and passionate playing of the soloist and of the full accompaniment make of this recording one of the best I've heard, whose well appreciation of the tempo allows them to a better exploit of the music.



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Most of the concertos were first conceive for oboe and violin. Although you'll recognize plenty of them,  give a try to this recording.




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Anna Magdalena Notebook - Bach

"The Leipzig choirmaster' s household was a beehive of activity". It is also a quite good characteristic that can be assumed to the notebook dated of 1725 written by the second wife of the Thomasschule cantor. A notebook full of exquisite miniatures by Bach's sons, J. S. Bach himself and a series of musicians closed to Bach's Family, that explains in part the colorful range to these enchanting pieces which brightened up once Bach's household.

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Suittes pour le Clavessin - Bustijn

Very little is known about Bustijn because misfortune doesn't look behind persons, and this composer is one of  many whose oeuvre was almost completely lost. Just these nine suites for harpsichord survived, and its discovery dates just to 20 years ago. 

No doubt this pieces show special value to its composer be reconsidered for further research.

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Goldberg Variations, Italian Concerto, French Overture, ... - Bach

Too many people critizise Pieter-Jan Belder because of his ulter rapid playing, aluding that in that way the poetry inside music cant be displayed. I must admit that in some sense they are right, but at least for this recording those critics do not apply since the Belder's skillful playing adjusts perfectly to the masterpieces in this recording, as example, one of the most difficult pieces to be played in the harpsichord is the ouverture of the of the "French Ouverture BWV 831", where virtuoso playing is needed in order to attain the perfec speed, so, Belder does and it is outstanding. In the other hand, the "Goldberg Variations" claim to measureness and Belder does perfectly, proving that Belder not only is brave in technical means, but exploding out tender emotions that Bach's Goldberg Variations are full of .

In general,  It is perhaps Belder's maximum recording success. Listen and you'll see.

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Pièces de Clavecin - Fiocco - Balbastre

Fiocco is another very gifted composer whose early death impeded his name be spread all around as is dued. But sometimes fortune plays in our favor, which in this case was the lucky printed of his suites for harpsichord. In this suites, Fiocco stands out his musical skills by flawless writing in both styles, french and Italian, and in some movements combining them as in the Gigue of the second suite.

There are also four pieces for harpsichord of Calude-Bénigne Balbastre, also a gifted musician and also a virtuoso in the organ and harpsichord, that unlike Fiocco, he lived a quite longer.

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12 Violin Concertos (La Stravaganza) - Vivaldi

After the Op3  Vivaldi's "L'estro Armonico", the concertos "La Stravaganza", is the set of Vivaldi's violin concertos more outstanding. Vivaldi's imagination is unlimited and once again he premiered  music unique in its kind and in style, but even so, Vivaldi's music suffered the same fate as many of his contemporaries and many others before them, obivlion. 

All the set comprises an extraordinary well balance display of harmony where the soloists interact vividly with the  orchestra, and this last one acquires a role much more participative, not just a mere base for the ongoing movement.

"Thanks to the original releaser"

Enjoy :)
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Violin Concertos BWV 1041-1043, BVW 1064R - Bach

Part of the few surviving orchestral works, these Four violin concertos constitute  part of the little instrumental Bach's output that have survived posterity. After their revival in the early nineteen century their permance have been continously uninterrupted; and with the advenience of the recording equipment, many recordings occupy the stalls of the cd stores, but just few make the difference, specially this one, whose sound quality is unparallel, apart of the extraordinary virtuoso playing of Goltz, Müllejans and Screiber as part of the Freiburger Barockorchester.

"Thanks to the original releaser"

Enjoy :)

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