Bach Family - Complete Organ Music - Box Set 24CDs

 

Label : Brilliant

Format : Flac track

Cover : Yes

The extensive Bach family was a dynasty unusually rich in musical talent, counting among its ranks numerous composer-organists active in the Northern European Baroque tradition. This remarkable set gathers together not only the monumental corpus of J.S. Bach's incredibly sophisticated organ music, but also that of the most noted (and best-known to today's musicologists) of four generations of his relatives, from great uncles and uncles to cousins and sons.

The collection offers a rewarding opportunity to follow the stylistic evolution of organ music from the decades before J.S. Bach's birth through to the creative years of his sons and their younger distant cousin, Johann Ernst, each of whom witnessed the decline of Baroque complexity in favour of Classical balance and grace and conformed to this new trend to varying degrees.

The other strand that can be traced in this set is the musical 'DNA' of a clan, whose members were taught by family elders, inherited compositions from them, and who studied and copied the works of their cousin contemporaries, creating a family school of impressive quality. Internal musical borrowing between the Bachs was such that musicologists are still unraveling the mystery of some works' true authorship, as well as identifying pieces by other composers, who borrowed the Bach name in hopes of attaining a share of their glory.

This set presents organ music by uncles, nephews and children of Johann Sebastian: Heinrich, Johann Christoph, Johann Bernhard, Johann Friedrich, Johann Lorenz, Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Ernst. The booklet cover features an illustrated Bach family tree.

All of the organ music is attributed to:

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

• his sons Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) and

• Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)

• his cousin’s son Johann Lorenz Bach (1695-1773)

• his second cousin Johann Bernhard Bach I (1676-1749) and

• son Johann Ernst Bach II (1722-1777)

• his great uncle Heinrich Bach (1615-1692) and his sons

• Johann Michael Bach I (1648-1694) and

• Johann Christoph Bach I (1642-1703) and his son

• Johann Friedrich Bach I (1682-1730)

as well as works of uncertain attribution

Played by leading organists specialized in the performance practice of the Baroque: Stefano Molardi, Filippo Turri and Luca Scandali, playing a variety of organs, among which many magnificent historic instruments by Silbermann, Volckland, Trost, Thielemann and Hildebrandt.

CD 1 – 15

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)

Stefano Molardi (organ)

T.H.G. Trost Organ, Stadtkirche ‘Zur Gotteshilfe’, Waltershausen, Thuringia, Germany, 2013

G. Silbermann Organ, Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden, Germany, 2013

Zacharias Hildebrandt organ, St. Jacobikirche, Sangerhausen, Germany, 2013

J. G. Thielemann organ of the Dreifaltigkeitskirche, Grafenhain, Thuringia, Germany, 2013

CD 16 – 17

Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788)

Luca Scandali (organ)

Dell’Orto e Lanzini organ, Chiesa di Sta Maria Assunta, Vigliano Biellese, Italy 2013

CD  18 – 19

Johann Ernst BACH (II) (1722-1777)

Johann Bernhard BACH (I) (1676-1749)

Johann Lorenz BACH (1695-1773)

Johann Friedrich BACH (I) (1682-1730)

Heinrich BACH (1615-1692)

Works where attribution is uncertain

Stefano Molardi (organ)

Dell’Orto e Lanzini organ, Chiesa Parrocchial di S Tomaso, Gresso di Zola Predosa, Bologna, Italy, April 2018

CD 20 – 21

Wilhelm Friedemann BACH (1710-1784)

Filippo Turri (organ)

L. Patella Chest Organ, Abbazia di Santa Maria delle Carceri, Carceri (Padua), Italy, 3rd April 2017

F. Zanin Organ, Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate, Padua, Italy, 9th April 2017

CD 22 – 24

Johann Christoph BACH (I) (1642-1703)

Johann Michael BACH (I) (1648-1694)

Stefano Molardi (organ)

F. Volckland Organ, Cruciskirche, Erfurt, Germany, September 2016

Tracklist : https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/b/bach-family-complete-organ-music/