Bach on disc
Aug. 24th, 2008 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylPrompted by this afternoon's prom — Simon Preston playing an all Bach program — I'm contemplating my position on Peter Hurford's complete Bach cycle, something that I've been meaning to buy for quite some time. My problem isn't so much the price, a hundred pounds, but rather that I already have some of the recordings from the days when Decca released them in three CD sets, which effectively pushes up the cost up from six to nine quid a disc.
And as if that wasn't enough, I also have a complete set of the preludes, toccatas, fantasias and fugues recorded by the Duruflés at Soissons in the mid-60s. But I don't think that this is a serious problem for, good though the performances are, the sound isn't a patch on the Decca and the openness and clarity that Hurford brings to the pieces.
Every year, I seem to think about taking the plunge and every year, I seem to talk myself out of it. Question is, will I do the same this year? Probably.
Updated: As predicted, Preston's prom was excellent, with subtle chorale prelude rubbing shoulders with showy bravuara performances in the two big pieces. The D-minor toccata and fugue featured a number of ornaments and some nice little emphases in the fugue to point out particular elements, and there were some interest registration changes in the E-flat major fugue, with the second theme much quieter than the first and third, adding extra excitement to the finale.
And as if that wasn't enough, I also have a complete set of the preludes, toccatas, fantasias and fugues recorded by the Duruflés at Soissons in the mid-60s. But I don't think that this is a serious problem for, good though the performances are, the sound isn't a patch on the Decca and the openness and clarity that Hurford brings to the pieces.
Every year, I seem to think about taking the plunge and every year, I seem to talk myself out of it. Question is, will I do the same this year? Probably.
Updated: As predicted, Preston's prom was excellent, with subtle chorale prelude rubbing shoulders with showy bravuara performances in the two big pieces. The D-minor toccata and fugue featured a number of ornaments and some nice little emphases in the fugue to point out particular elements, and there were some interest registration changes in the E-flat major fugue, with the second theme much quieter than the first and third, adding extra excitement to the finale.
