More of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
- With Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from start to finish, this copy is practically as good as it gets
- The size and power of a huge organ captured on tape in Living Stereo All Tube Analog
- The organ is so effortlessly clear and relaxed you will soon forget you are actually sitting in your listening room, not a church
- For those of you who know your organ recordings on Living Stereo, it’s Volume 2 that clearly has the better sound
Some audiophiles buy organ records to show off their subwoofers. Exceptional pressings of exceptional recordings such as this one will allow you to do that, but the best of them have musical qualities far beyond simple demonstrations of bass fundamentals. Carl Weinrich understands this music perfectly and makes it come alive in a way I’ve rarely heard by other performers.
For those of you who think technology marches on — which of course it does in some ways — this 1963 recording shows that the RCA engineers were capable of capturing the authentic sound of the instrument with the vintage tube equipment available to them. In my opinion they could do it better back in those days.
Musically speaking there aren’t many organists in Carl Weinrich’s class. The only other Bach organ records of this caliber that we know of are the two volumes that Karl Richter recorded for Decca in the mid-’50s. You can’t go wrong with any of them. At least one belongs in any serious audiophile’s collection. (more…)