Galaxy Playlist for March 20, 2006

Today we celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born March 21, 1685.

Composer's name is listed where notable (i.e. Classical Performance, Jazz Performance).

For more information on any of the rock, pop and Jazz music featured on this program, I frequently utilize AllMusic , an excellent free database holding a huge plethora of information about music and the artists that make it.

Composer	Performer	Title	Genre	Label	Notes
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)	Munchener Kammerorchester, Christoph Poppen, dir., -w- The Hilliard Ensemble (Monika Mauch, soprano, David James, countertenor, Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor, Gordon Jones, baritone	Cantata No. 4 "Christ Lag in Todesbanden" (Christ Lay In Death's Bonds)	Classical, Baroque era, choral	ECM, 2003	Arrangement of this well-known cantata that reduces the scale of the work to that of chamber music. This is something that I've seen several examples of recently, and the different perspective can be quite revealing. This is a new acquisition, and an excellent addition to our repertoire.
E. Power Biggs, pipe organ	Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565)	Classical, Baroque, solo music for pipe organ	CBS, 1974	Recorded on the four antiphonal organs of the Cathedral of Freiburg, Germany, 1973. These organs were designed so that they could be played independantly or together, with multiple keyboards available for the organist's choice. E. Power Biggs is commonly considered on of the premier pipe organists of the 20th century, and is an excellent interpreter of Bach's many pipe organ works.
English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard, conducting from the harpsichord	Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, BWV 1049	Classical, Baroque, music for orchestra and bosso continuo, with solo instruments featured.	Phillips, 1974	One of six concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721, but they are believed to have been composed at different times during Bach's Weimar period (1708 - 1717). The featured instruments are harpsichord and recorders.
Geraint Jones Singers and Orchestra, Geraint Jones, dir., -w- Joan Sutherland, soprano, Helen Watts, contralto, Wilfred Brown, tenor, Thomas Hemsley, bass	Cantata No. 147: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Living)	Classical, Baroque era, choral	EMI, 1958	A somewhat older recording (1957), but well-recorded and rather nice. Features the well-known melody, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which closes the two halves of the cantata. The cantata originated in 1716 (No. 147a, which is not commonly recorded), but was extensively rewritten and extended into this more common form for a 1723 Leipzig performance (a common practice for Bach - many of his more well-known works are adaptations of previous works of his).
Peter Hurford, pipe organ	Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582	Classical, Baroque, pipe organ	London/Decca, 1994	Part of a series of recordings where Hurford undertook to record the complete catalog of Bach organ works. Hurford tends to use unique voicings and registrations as part of his individualistic interpretations, and this is completely in line with what Bach himself probably would have done. Bach was the acknowledged master of the organ in his day, and was well known for his virtuostic performance technique. This piece is believed to have been composed for such an occasion, although there are multiple theories and stories as to the origin of the piece. The piece is considered to be among the best examples of the passacaglia form of composition

Composer

Performer

Title

Genre

Label

Notes

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

Munchener Kammerorchester, Christoph Poppen, dir., -w- The Hilliard Ensemble (Monika Mauch, soprano, David James, countertenor, Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor, Gordon Jones, baritone

Cantata No. 4 "Christ Lag in Todesbanden" (Christ Lay In Death's Bonds)

Classical, Baroque era, choral

ECM, 2003

Arrangement of this well-known cantata that reduces the scale of the work to that of chamber music. This is something that I've seen several examples of recently, and the different perspective can be quite revealing. This is a new acquisition, and an excellent addition to our repertoire.

E. Power Biggs, pipe organ

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565)

Classical, Baroque, solo music for pipe organ

CBS, 1974

Recorded on the four antiphonal organs of the Cathedral of Freiburg, Germany, 1973. These organs were designed so that they could be played independantly or together, with multiple keyboards available for the organist's choice. E. Power Biggs is commonly considered on of the premier pipe organists of the 20th century, and is an excellent interpreter of Bach's many pipe organ works.

English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard, conducting from the harpsichord

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, BWV 1049

Classical, Baroque, music for orchestra and bosso continuo, with solo instruments featured.

Phillips, 1974

One of six concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721, but they are believed to have been composed at different times during Bach's Weimar period (1708 - 1717). The featured instruments are harpsichord and recorders.

Geraint Jones Singers and Orchestra, Geraint Jones, dir., -w- Joan Sutherland, soprano, Helen Watts, contralto, Wilfred Brown, tenor, Thomas Hemsley, bass

Cantata No. 147: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Living)

Classical, Baroque era, choral

EMI, 1958

A somewhat older recording (1957), but well-recorded and rather nice. Features the well-known melody, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which closes the two halves of the cantata. The cantata originated in 1716 (No. 147a, which is not commonly recorded), but was extensively rewritten and extended into this more common form for a 1723 Leipzig performance (a common practice for Bach - many of his more well-known works are adaptations of previous works of his).

Peter Hurford, pipe organ

Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582

Classical, Baroque, pipe organ

London/Decca, 1994

Part of a series of recordings where Hurford undertook to record the complete catalog of Bach organ works. Hurford tends to use unique voicings and registrations as part of his individualistic interpretations, and this is completely in line with what Bach himself probably would have done. Bach was the acknowledged master of the organ in his day, and was well known for his virtuostic performance technique. This piece is believed to have been composed for such an occasion, although there are multiple theories and stories as to the origin of the piece. The piece is considered to be among the best examples of the passacaglia form of composition

The Galaxy Playlist

March 20th, 2006

A Bach Extravaganza