Empire Brass - A Bach Festival for Brass & Organ (1986)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD. My edition is the 2005 re-release.

An hour's worth of  Bach compositions - most originally written for vocalists - transcribed for organ and brass quintet. Quintessential works, expertly arranged, beautifully performed. What's not to like?

Album chart peaks:

• Billboard Top Classical: #19
• Billboard Classical CD: #27

Tracks: Includes many of what might be considered "Bach's greatest hits"

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I associate this album with another record I owned back in the '80s - Brass in Berlin by The Canadian Brass & The Berlin Philharmonic Brass. I listened to both quite a bit while pursuing a music degree. I wasn't a very good trumpet player, but that didn't stop me from giving it the old college try (literally).

Glenn Gould - Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1955)

Note: the CD I own is the 1992 remaster with 2 bonus tracks from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier II. The 1992 CD cover is on the left, with the original 1955 LP cover on the right.

A few months ago, I read a decent biography of Gould titled Wondrous Strange by Kevin Bazzana. Gould was an interesting man, but even after reading that tome, I still don't understand. Gould's technique is outstanding and is on display here, but the unique interpretations that made him a star just aren't for me. I'll admit that it could be jealousy: how can Gould get away with doing whatever he wants and he's considered a genius when I couldn't do anything like that when I was a music student? In those days, when I tried to offer a unique interpretation or tried to be creative in any way, I was immediately shot down and, at times, laughed at. Yes, sadly, more than one music professor laughed out loud at me when I was in college. (Sounds like great teaching, huh?) So I'll readily concede that my personal issues probably play a part in not giving Gould his full due. This is one of those times when I'll shrug and say I just don't get it.

High Fidelity, February 1956, p. 75

Anyway, if you have any interest in Gould and his eccentricities, then you should check out the above biography and/or the 1993 film, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. However, this will most likely be Gould's only appearance on this blog.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None with the CD, but now that I've remembered what I went through in college has me upset (again) at the poor music education I received there.

Brian Slawson - Bach on Wood (1985)

Bach with a backbeat? Someone thought this was a good idea? I guess I can forgive the record label since this was released only a few years after the inexplicable Hooked On Classics phenomenon. This CD contains baroque music played on percussion instruments with the occasional flute. Meh. The novelty wears off quickly. As my friend Richard always says, "It was good idea, but not a great idea." If you liked Bach interpreted by the Swingle Singers or Wendy Carlos, then you might like this disc, although these arrangements are far inferior to those of Carlos. Slawson is technically adept, but there's no real baroque interpretation here. Basically, it's a novelty CD, right down to the clever title.

Tracks: The least offensive tracks are Winter from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Bach's Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring from Cantata No. 147. I've heard plenty of bad arrangements of Pachelbel's Canon, but this may be the cheesiest ever recorded. Whoever suggested that temple blocks be used on that piece should have their AFM union card taken away before they are taken out back for their beating. I couldn't even begin to explain the horror of the final track, so I'll leave it at that.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This CD was released when I was in college. I had good friends who were percussionists and heard a few of them discussing this disc. I didn't hear it back then, but thought it sounded like an interesting concept. In my mind, I was hearing beautiful versions of Bach played tastefully on rosewood grand marimbas. Boy, was I wrong. I never forgot the title (which is the point of having a punny title) and picked this disc up many, many years later out of curiosity. Listening to it for this blog is only the second time I've heard this disc in its entirety.

J. S. Bach - The Great Organ Works (1996)

I picked up this used CD a few years back and don't think I've listened to it all the way through until now. The organist is heavy on the ornamentation, but, overall, good performances. At 76 minutes, there's a lot of organ music to absorb in one sitting. Too much for this listener.

If you're interested in such things, there's specifics about the pieces and organs available here: organlive.com.

Tracks: Starting with the infamous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, this CD indeed includes many of the great organ works. Of the 7 works included, my favorites are Fugue in g Minor and Jesu bleibet meine Freude.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.