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Listening further to Christopher Herrick's BWV 552 fugue, I've noticed there's an extroverted quality in his use of staccato that is not entirely to my taste. Of the ones I've heard, my preferences for the e flat major fugue would be Walcha(2nd), Bernard Lagacè, and Hans Fagius.
 
Machaut: Sacred & Secular Songs, Messe de Notre Dame. Neve heard of the guy before a typical Saturday morning's listening of CD review. Early music choral on a couple of discs with some almost Irish folk music bits for the instrumental album. The choral stuff is almost gregorian chant, with a touch of harmony, though other sections are a less extreme version of Gesualdo. 3 CD boxed set for £8 so pretty good value.

If early music's your thing, check it out. A very good find.
 
opening chorus of Saint Matthew Passion - Helmuth Rilling (his first recording from 1978 on CBS/Sony Classical). Great tempo. Great sense of the singers being under the tight control of the conductor (although I don't like how he goes from softer to louder at the beginning, seems out of place for this type of music).

The other recordings I like are Münchinger, Richter(1958), and Gönnenwein. I just don't like the singing on the Mauersberger as much as these others.
 
Amadeus Webersinke - 2 part invention in c minor (BWV 773) and 3 part sinfonia in c minor (BWV 788) on the piano

I enjoy the playing. I like that he basically doesn't seem to add any additional ornamentation (unlike several other recordings of BWV 788 that I've been listening to). I like how his playing seems free of ego and showiness.

In addition to piano, he also played the organ. He and Karl Richter were the two recipients of the first prize for organ at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1950.
 
András Schiff - BWV 849 (first recording on Decca label) - I've always liked the pace that he uses for the fugue. One of my favorite recordings of this piece.
 
Wolfgang Rübsam - BWV 538 (second recording on Naxos label) - I really like the playing and the organ he uses. I greatly prefer this to the earlier recording of this piece that he did on Philips.

Wolfgang Rübsam - BWV 552 fugue (second recording Naxos) - like the playing and organ here as well
 
Grothendieck said:
Wolfgang Rübsam - BWV 538 (second recording on Naxos label) - I really like the playing and the organ he uses. I greatly prefer this to the earlier recording of this piece that he did on Philips.

Wolfgang Rübsam - BWV 552 fugue (second recording Naxos) - like the playing and organ here as well
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I also prefer these recordings to his first integral. But these were also the first he recorded of his second integral, which took him several years in contrast to his first integral, which was recorded in the course of one year. Towards the end of the second integral his style had changed considerably, and had become kind of an acquired taste. Have you heard the passacaglia from the second take e.g., and what do you think of it?

Unfortunately he had a preference for dull Metzler organs, which detracts considerably from his first Bach integral and also from his Buxtehude integral. The Naxos integral is recorded on historical organs or on good style copies hereof.
 
Grothendieck said:
Mogens Wöldike - opening chorus of Bach's Saint Matthew Passion

I think that, for my taste, this is maybe the best recording of this piece that I've ever heard.
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Much agree, that this is an outstanding interpretation. I once heard Wøldike perform the SMP in Copenhagen, and this was- as you may guess - a highly memorable event.
 
Grothendieck said:
... As far as the Schoonbroodt Fantasia Chromatica which I listed earlier, ultimately I just don't like the tempo he uses at the beginning. I find it too slow, interrupting flow.
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I think Schoonbroodt makes the piece sound like a mass of changing harmonies and supresses the counterpoint too much. But his organ is outstanding.
 
premont said:
I also prefer these recordings to his first integral. But these were also the first he recorded of his second integral, which took him several years in contrast to his first integral, which was recorded in the course of one year. Towards the end of the second integral his style had changed considerably, and had become kind of an acquired taste. Have you heard the passacaglia from the second take e.g., and what do you think of it?

Unfortunately he had a preference for dull Metzler organs, which detracts considerably from his first Bach integral and also from his Buxtehude integral. The Naxos integral is recorded on historical organs or on good style copies hereof.
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I listened to the passacaglia from the second integral. I can see how the slower tempo and heavy ornamentation would make it a bit of an "acquired taste." My preference is for a faster tempo without all the ornamentation such as Rübsam on Philips, Lionel Rogg on Harmonia Mundi, or Walcha's first recording. Still, I like the sound of the organ on the Naxos recording and it's interesting to hear it played in a more ornamented way.

You were right that I was referring to Rübsam's 1988 recording of BWV 552 on Naxos. I should have specified the year since I now see that he made another recording of BWV 552 for Naxos later as part of the Clavierübung III.
 
premont said:
I think Schoonbroodt makes the piece sound like a mass of changing harmonies and supresses the counterpoint too much. But his organ is outstanding.
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I'm glad that I bought the recording. I got it because you recommended it. It sounded like an important one to have because the organ is ideal for Sweelinck.

I'll keep in mind your point about harmony/counterpoint when I listen again.
 
Günther Ramin 1952 Saint Matthew Passion - opening chorus - While there are some limitations in terms of sound, this is nonetheless a compelling version. I love the tempo, which is about the same as Wöldike and Gönnenwein.

I've been listening further to Serge Schoonbroodt's recording of Sweelinck's Fantasia Chromatica. The organ really is fantastic.
 
Evgeni Koroliov - BWV 773 and BWV 788 - I like it. Good forward momentum (better than Webersinke in this respect), but not too fast.
BWV 791
BWV 795
 
Nikolaus Harnoncourt - 1st recording of Saint Matthew Passion (1970) opening chorus - I really like the vitality of this recording. The faster approach is a nice complement to my other favorites (Wöldike, Gönnenwein, and Ramin's 2nd recording from 1952).
 
Gloria from Missa Pange Lingua by Josquin des Prez sung by Ensemble Clèment Janequin

Bach's six voice ricercar from Musical Offering - Bernard Coudurier at the Treutmann organ
 
youtube Ars Aureum Bach Art of Fugue contrapunctus 1

Davitt Moroney - Art of Fugue canon alla decima, contrapunto alla terza
 

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