RAVEL: La
Valse. Mother Goose Ballet. Menuet Antique. BACH: Toccata and Fugue
in D Minor, BWV 565. Toccata and Fugue in F, BWV 540. Toccata
and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 538 "Dorian." Toccata and Fugue
in C, BWV 564. The E. Power Biggs SACD is something VERY special! These Bach recordings were made October 1-9, 1973 in the Cathedral of Freiburg, Germany, where there are four organs in the rectangular building which produce a massive sound. According to a diagram in the CD booklet they are not in four corners, nor equidistant from each other. Original producer Andrew Kazdin and his engineering team overcame the multitude of problems (including a 6-second reverberation) and now the original quadraphonic recording can be heard in all of its magnificence. Bach's grand music sounds imposing indeed in these superlative E. Power Biggs performances, so spectacularly recorded. Let us hope other Biggs recordings will follow; in the meantime, don't miss this one! R.E.B. (May 2003) |