The East German "Bach auf Silbermannorgeln" is a mixed bag because it was recorded over about 20 years from the early/mid 1960s until the 80s by a half dozen different organists. The organs sound quite wonderful although they were not all in authentic shape at that time and it's also been argued that other organs, e.g. by Schnitger or Hildebrandt might be better suited to Bach. You might want to look for separate volumes/twofers as this set was published in several forms.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer you main question.

 

Thank you!

 

Do you mean the one on Aeolus which Ewald Kooiman pioneered? That seems to be still available on Amazon for download

Complete Organ Works played on Silbermann Organs - 19 Super Audio CDs

This is the first complete Johann Sebastian Bach Organ Edition on Super Audio CD available in surround sound and played on famous historic organs on a label ...

aeolus-music.com

https://www.amazon.fr/s?k=kooiman+bach&__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&ref=nb_sb_noss

Be aware that Ewald Kooiman died before the series could be completed -- the set was completed by his students.

Silbermann was a family of organ makers, the ones on the Kooiman set are by Andreas and his son Johann Andreas . The German recordings whicch @Kreisler jr mentioned are with organs by Gottfried Silbermann.

 

Do you mean the one on Aeolus which Ewald Kooiman pioneered? That seems to be still available on Amazon for download

Complete Organ Works played on Silbermann Organs - 19 Super Audio CDs

This is the first complete Johann Sebastian Bach Organ Edition on Super Audio CD available in surround sound and played on famous historic organs on a label ...

aeolus-music.com

https://www.amazon.fr/s?k=kooiman+bach&__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&ref=nb_sb_noss

Be aware that Ewald Kooiman died before the series could be completed -- the set was completed by his students.

Silbermann was a family of organ makers, the ones on the Kooiman set are by Andreas Silbermann . The German recordings whicch @Kreisler jr mentioned are with organs by Gottfried Silbermann.

Thank you! The one I mentioned was the older set, @Kreisler jr has mentioned as well. Didn't know that the one you provided the link for even existed. Would you recommend it?

 

There's a lot to enjoy in it, the organs are characterful and colourful and well recorded, Kooiman's performances are outstanding and his students were well able to stand in after his demise. One could cavil about the appropriateness of using (Johann ) Andreas Silberman organs for German music from the first half of the 18th century, but that's an erudite organological issue.

 

There's a lot to enjoy in it, the organs are characterful and colourful and well recorded, Kooiman's performances are outstanding and his students were well able to stand in after his demise. One could cavil about the appropriateness of using Andreas Silberman organs for German music from the first half of the 18th century, but that's an erudite organological issue.

Thank you for the help. I will consider that as well, then

 

Loads to choose from. Hurford on Decca was my imprint, but I also enjoy Kooiman on Coronata.

 

I have the Helmut Walcha stereo set. Very good, though depending on my mood, it can strike me as a bit staid. Since it’s OOP, it may not be the ideal one to get. It has some novelty value due to Walcha being blind.

From sampling bits and pieces of other cycles on YT, I find myself liking Lionel Rogg’s cycle on Harmonia Mundi the best. It sadly seems to be OOP, otherwise I’d jump on it immediately.

Marie-Claire Alain’s 1st cycle (still available) has the nicest sounding organs in my subjective opinion, but many also love her 2nd (which is OOP, but seems quite solid from hearing bits of it). Her third cycle is said to be the most historically informed, but I’ve never heard anything from it (and it too is OOP).

I also have one CD from Simon Preston’s cycle on DG, but nothing beyond that. He seems quite good, and uses period-appropriate organs (Walcha does as well, but his approach is un-HIP).

 

Thank you, that was very helpful!

 

Rogg's cycle is how I cut my teeth on Bach's organ music - love it!!

 

Thanks!

 

I'd definitely sample a few.

I like Marie-Claire Alain's first cycle, and also Preston on DG.

But neither of them play organs of the period - for that I'd recommend Koopman on Teldec.

 

I second the recommendations for Walcha and Koopman. I also enjoy Christopher Herrick's survey on Hyperion played on Swiss Metzler organs.

Also, don't miss Karl Richter's recordings on DG. It's not the complete organ works, just a survey of the "big" works. It's traditional like Walcha but played with incredible fire and drama.

 

Given the actual situation with most of the important integrals being OOP I tend to say Foccroulle (Ricercare) or David Goode (Signum).

 

Not the complete works (yet) but Masaaki Suzuki has released five albums of Bach organ music to date, most of them on celebrated church organs in different parts of Germany. As you would expect from Suzuki, the recording and sound quality are demonstration level (and the discs are hybrid CD/SACD, on the BIS Records label). Volume 1 was released in 2015 and volume 5 came out this year.

For me the sound of these performances and instruments are extremely satisfying. I’m sure when he’s finished with this series there will be a box set. There always is.

 

Thank you, I'll look into it as well

 

I have Andre Isoir on Calliope, reissue by La Dolce Volta, performed on 6 different organs. I like it and and have no complaints, but I listen to other organ composers more often and haven't really compared Isoir to any other Bach collections. I especially like his dynamics which never seem overcooked.

 

I couldn't recommend just one.
(Apologies for that. )
A lot depends on the availability of the various sets, too.
But some OOP sets may be downloadable or streamable somewhere (to be honest though, I have no idea).

My personal favourites are Bram Beekman on Lindenberg (OOP) and Ewald Kooiman on Coronata (OOP).
If still available, then I would also recommend my 'fun' sets Bernard Foccroulle (Ricercar) and Olivier Vernet (Ligia).
Beekman, Kooiman and Foccroulle play historic instruments, mostly of the North German/Dutch type.
Vernets plays a mixture of modern and historic instruments. Most of the modern instruments are built in a baroque-influenced way though. Generally: very nice!

A very interesting set is a rather expensive integral, played by Ewalk Kooiman and former pupils (mentioned above) on historic instruments of the Silbermann family, built in North-East France.
The label is Aeolus. The sound quality is really superb, but the set may be OOP, too.

Besides that, organists like Marie-Claire Alain and Lionel Rogg are trustworthy solid choices, no matter what kind of instruments they play.
The 'good ole' Silbermann set with various interest (mentioned above) is interesting, too. The same goes for the Profil/Hänssler set with various organists (f.i. Kay Johannesen, Andrea Marcon, Wolfgang Zerer, Bine Katrine Bryndorf).

Personally, I prefer (restored) historical instruments, but the amount of solid to great sets is rather impressive.
Younger organists are still wild about Bach, so I may have missed one or two more recent sets. But, if you like this part of Bach's oeuvre, the listening experiences are mostly very worthwhile. All those instruments and organists have their own individual characteristics and style. It's a fun travel!

 

Thank you so much for the help... Not sure yet, but I think I'll get the Marie-Claire Alain's second one, which I saw available yesterday

 

Maybe it's fun to check out this thread, too:

Bach on the Organ | Classical Music Forum (talkclassical.com)

 

Imho, the cycles with Walcha (both cycles), Stockmeier and Preston are boring. Very even and uniform playing. if that's what you are looking for, go for it.

Bach had 21 children. And he was known for loving a good joke and eating and drinking. So I think he wasn't just head-driven.

I find more phantasy with Koopman, Fagius, Bowyer and Weinberger. Kooiman is an excellent choice, too.

Neither northern German organs nor Silbermann seem to be ideal for Bach, although playing his works on those organs isn't too bad. He preferred organs were built by Trost, a fact, that could be established not earlier than in the 1980s.

 

Well, I think Bach was also rather content with instruments built by G. Silbermann, Hildebrandt and Schnitger (Hamburg).
I know it's Weinberger's take that Silbermanns aren't all that well suited for Bach and he explains that in his booklet. So far, I have enjoyed plenty of Bach discs on Silbermann organs, but I do realize that he of course is the truly informed guy.
Mind you, his good friend Ewald Kooiman was pleasantly surprised by the 'Alsace' Silbermanns and admitted that he had underestimated their beauty and their suitability for Bach. It's a pity that he died before completing that cycle. Luckily three former pupils were willing to finish the job.

I.c. Walcha & Stockmeier (for instance): their playing may be considered a bit old-fashioned nowadays, even though Walcha had a positive influence on the revaluation of Bach's organ music and on the playing on historic instruments.
Stockmeier is more 'good ole' legato, but the Kreienbrink organs are actually very crisp and fresh sounding, which I've always considered a bonus.
Preston: I don't like his 'hip hop' playing of most of the free works, but his chorales and the sonatas are well worth listening to imho.

Anyway, so many persons, so many tastes.

 

You can't go wrong with Marie-Claire Alain. One of the supreme organists of the 20th century, grew up in a distinguished musical family that was obsessed with Bach. She duly proved a determining force in her life, and she made no fewer than three complete recordings of his mighty catalogue of organ works. She embarked upon the first of these in 1959, when she was 33, and completed it eight years later. Described by Alain as the most “instinctive” of her assembled interpretations of Bach, it is now released on CD for the first time, specially remastered from the original tapes. It's available for about $40 on Amazon. However, there is a LOT of organ music, (15 CDs) so unless you are a die-hard fan, a smaller 3 or 4 disk set of the most common works may work just fine. There are several fine small sets by Karl Richter or E Power Biggs.

 

Thank you so much! I was also thinking about getting Marie-Claire Alain at the end. But I was more prone to get the second cycle of hers, which I've found second hand.

 

This the one I have and it is outstanding played on 4 European pipe organs.

 

This the one I have and it is outstanding played on 4 European pipe organs.

View attachment 211020

I don't know what they included in the CD collection, but in the LP boxes from Telelfunken (2 LP's in each box) there were pictures of the organs, essay explaining each piece and the scores to each piece! One of the great joys of my life was to go hear Felix Hell perform all the Bach organ works at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD in 2006 at the age of 21! If you haven't heard of him you can read about him here, www.felixhell.com.

 

E. Power Biggs recorded on the Flentrop Organ in the Busch Reisinger Museum of Harvard University

 

Thank you for the tip!

 

My gold standard is Alain's set on Erato from 1986 (I didn't know she had two other cycles until now!) Very relaxed and natural playing with eloquent phrasing and consistently inspired registration choices, but she can also really let loose when needed—her Great Fugue in G Minor is simply the finest recorded performance of that work. It's red-hot! In contrast I find Walcha to be a bit grim, unrelenting, and not as interesting in registration, with harsh recorded sound (even in the stereo set). Here is how I would rank the other sets I have heard:

Suzuki (I don't think it's quite complete and certainly not compiled in a large collection, but he has a more brash and angular way of playing which makes for something uniquely different, and the historical organ he plays on is superb)
Goode (straightforward and pleasing, but with some daring and effective registration choices)
Hurford (he does the big preludes, fugues, and toccatas better than few others)
Rogg (another great choice for a historical organ sound)

For individual discs you also can't miss out on the old-fashioned splendor of E. Power Biggs and Karl Richter.

 

Thank you so much! That's the one I'm thinking of getting

 

Carl Weinrich anyone? On Vårfrukyrka church's organ in Skänninge, Sweden.

 

Dr Weinrich was an unforgettable choir director at Princeton, where I was priviliged to sing in the Chapel Choir. I have a few rare CDs of his on obscure labels; I don’t think he recorded a cycle.

 

For me Karl Righter NAILS Bach.

Absolutely breathtaking

 

Sampled Walcha, Koopman, Alain, Richter...wondered what on Earth Koopman was doing to the opening of the Toccata and Fugue

 

This recording is one of the best things ever produced by mankind!

 

The best I heard so far in terms of interpretation is Alain's three cycles. If you care a lot about audio quality and prefer HIP-like performances, then pick her 3rd cycle (1990s). If you don't care sound quality at all, you could pick either one of the three. If you care sound quality to some extent, pick either 2nd (1978-1980) or 3rd cycle. Generally speaking, Erato's sound engineering in 1970s or before is fairly good but not on a par with Hurford on Decca or Rubsam on Philips from the same period.

 

Given the actual situation with most of the important integrals being OOP I tend to say Foccroulle (Ricercare) or David Goode (Signum).

Many of the older sets are being reissued, or are otherwise available, in varying conditions, at places like eBay. Do a goog shopping search.

This the one I have and it is outstanding played on 4 European pipe organs.

View attachment 211020

Chapuis is more dynamic than Walcha — this inexpensive box is a true steal, as I acquired the original series on individual discs on Valois, with its exquisite notes. This is barebones release as far as documentation is concerned but an important second or third set. One disc at sunrise every morning for two weeks. It may change how you approach your daily tasks.

 

Many of the older sets are being reissued, or are otherwise available, in varying conditions, at places like eBay. Do a goog shopping search.

Chapuis is more dynamic than Walcha — this inexpensive box is a true steal, as I acquired the original series on individual discs on Valois, with its exquisite notes. This is barebones release as far as documentation is concerned but an important second or third set. One disc at sunrise every morning for two weeks. It may change how you approach your daily tasks.

I originally bought it on the Telefunken label in the '70s. Each box had 2 LP's, essays on each piece, the musical score of each piece and pictures and registers of each organ they were played at.