David Goode performs a grand selection of some of Bach’s best organ works – including the famed Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor – providing modern listeners with a unique chance to hear Bach’s music as congregations of that period may have done.
The Gottfried Silbermann organ of Freiberg cathedral is one of a handful of such 18th-century instruments (built during Bach’s lifetime) to have remained largely unmodified to this day. Bach’s work as an organ inspector shows that he tested and inaugurated a number of Silbermann’s organs in Germany and, although there is no record that he played this instrument, its sound is undoubtedly one that Bach would have recognised and composed for.
Bach played Silbermann’s instruments, so this world of sound – with its silvery mixtures, blazing reeds and characterful flutes – is authentic as well as utterly compelling in a cavernous acoustic … An exemplary introduction to some of Bach’s greatest organ works – The Times
Best of all is the disc’s crowning glory: a blazing performance of the Passacaglia, turbo-charged with immediacy and penetrating lucidity. Goode and Silbermann make a formidable team – BBC Music Magazine
This is a very fine recording of the Freiberg Silbermann, with a lovely variety of registrations – Choir and Organ
A superb Bach recital disc … this is an excellent release in every way – if you seek just one organ disc for your collection, or to add one which may put others to shame – MusicWeb International
