J.S. Bach – Complete Organ Works performed by George Ritchie
J.S. Bach – Complete Organ Works performed by George Ritchie
George Ritchie recorded Bach’s Art of Fugue for Fugue State Films, a brilliant performance that was reviewed in Gramophone Magazine as “the finest recording of the Art of Fugue”. George made this set of recordings of the complete Bach organ works before recording the Art of Fugue.
11 neatly packaged CDs contain the complete organ works played on nine pipe organs built in the United States, with registrations and extensive notes. George’s excellent performances make this a very good survey of Bach’s many organ pieces, and the organs, built in America in various German Baroque styles, will be a real revelation – there are some superb instruments built on a scale and with an attention to detail not often seen in Europe.
“Impossible to recommend highly enough!” reviews The American Organist
“George Ritchie turns in benchmark performances that are consistently at the highest level of musicianship, artistry, attention to contemporary and historical scholarship, intelligence, imagination, sensitivity to text relationships, phrasing, regsitration, and other details, high virtuosity, and exquisite elegance,”
writes James Hildreth, The American Organist, July 2007
“This is Bach as Bach intended his music to be heard,”
writes John Holland, The Diapason
“You couldn’t ask for a more concise showcase of the last 20 years of ‘historically informed’ American organ building,”
writes Jonathan Ambrosino, Choir & Organ
“[Bach would] empathise with Ritchie’s incisive yet never finicky articulation, be it . . . lyrically flowing or . . . multi-stop climaxes. . . . Ritchie’s linear clarity and effortless execution of the difficult pedal writing is world class. . . . engineering is consistently excellent,” reviews Jed Distler in the Gramophone, November 2006
“These performances are ripe with a depth of scholarship, musicality, and knowledge . . .”
Haig Mardirosian, The American Organist
- 18 Preludes and Fugues
- 4 Toccatas and Fugues
- 4 Fantasies
- 6 Fugues
- 2 Partitas
- 4 Concertos
- 6 Trio Sonatas
- 10 Miscellaneous Works
- 103 Chorale Preludes including the Great 18 Leipzig Chorales, Shubler Chorales, Clavierubung Part III, Orgelbuchlein, and free chorales.
The Organs:
- Fritts-Richards, Seattle
- Taylor & Boody organs in Worcester, Mass., Munetaka Yokota, Chico, California
- Fritz Noack, Houston
- Paul Fritts, Tacoma, Washington
- Martin Pasi, Omaha
- C. B. Fisk, St Paul, Minnesota
- 11 CDs and fully illustrated booklet
£18.50
Out of stock