Nobody can ever play the Toccata & Fugue in d better then E.P.B. Whenever I hear other recordings, I just fast forward and just go to the next track. Don't forget, E.P.B. also played the same in the Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as well.
In the 1950s, our family had an LP of Bach fugues featuring EPB at various organs, one of which was located in the Lubeck church where my grandfather's grandfather was pastor for 30 years. Whenever Grandpa (a minister for 60 years) had Sunday dinner with us, the Bach LP was always playing on the hi-fi when he came through the front door.
This the greatest piece of music ever written. Complex, intricate, beautiful, powerful. So many layers and textures. I grew up on Bach organ works as played by E. Power Biggs. Amazing. Nobody did it better or ever will.
Apparently this was to have been included in the "Sound track of Earth" attached to the Voyager space probes (not this recording admittedly, but one as good), but Carl Sagan felt it best to leave it off as he felt it would just be "showing off" :)
@TheStevewhelan ....and although I respect Mr. Sagan's genius in regards to science, he was most likely an athiest and therefore would not want this type of music included *they opted for chuck berry and the beatles instead*....Not that those artists weren't deserving-------------------just sayin'
i want dark piano/organ/whatever, but this isnt dark enough, anyone know anything darker than this? not necessarily pure classical, just something to give me nightmares
check out my other vids. Biggs plays this piece 14 different ways on 14 different organs and i have them all uploaded in my vids. this particular version Biggs happens to be playing it right off the sheet music by the book flawlessly with no improvisational distortions
@BigOrganPipes We so totally love this. Bach himself is perfect in his mathematics AND his musicality. E. Powers Biggs is our fave for playing Bach (though I am also a big fan of Ton Koopman). This is a wonderful example of the clarity of tone of a Baroque organ. Love it. Will be looking for other organs to check them out. I was not aware that there were good 20th century Baroque style organs.
Love my local church organ, which is a Casavant Freres, but the Romantic organ is just wrong for Bach.
Mhmm..good execution..but I don't like the sound of this organ, I think it's not powerful..and the end is a bit too fast. I believe Karl Richter had a better interpretation in this piece and played a better organ than Biggs..anyway Bach is ever awesome..:)
As I recall, Power Biggs recorded this verson of the D-minor around 40 years ago, and ever since then every organist I know has whined about how they could do it better...faster, slower, lighter, heavier, etc. Personally I think this recording is the BENCHMARK. Thanks for putting it up here.
@randyclar747 This is exactly as it is off the CD. Unless you mean Biggs is playing too fast and that's subjective. 8 minutes 25 seconds is about average for this piece. I've seen it played as fast as 7 minutes 40 seconds (by Nicholas Danby) and as slow as 11 minutes 34 seconds (by Daniel Chorzempa) and everywhere in-between. If you feed the notes into a computer it comes out to exactly the way Biggs is playing it. Look for the youtube video ipzR9bhei_o
@randyclar747 Check my other videos. There's a version of this where Biggs plays it for 9 minutes 35 seconds and 14 other versions of Biggs playing the Toccata only at all different speeds & registration.
Only Bach knew how fast to play it and unfortunately he's not here to show us.
@BigOrganPipes Watch Fantasia by Walt Disney, this tune is on there, and I beleive you can savor every note rather than being rushed through it. This is rapid. especially in fugue parts.
@BigOrganPipes The movie that really elevated this piece into Gothic horror status was a version of "The Phantom of The Opera" produced in 1962 with Herbert Lom as the Phantom.
This version is an interpretation and as such isn't necessarily "too fast or too mechanical." As already stated, we really don't know what tempi that an Organ virtuoso such as Bach would have used to show off his skills. But I'd bet that he rocked the house.
@randyclar747 The Stokowski transcription was well conceived because Stokowski himself was an accomplished organist. However, for my money, E Power Biggs is one of the great interpreters of Bach's organ works. Bach was also quite the showman, and often used pieces like this one to display his prowess at the keyboard to dazzling effect. I suspect he would've heartily approved of Biggs's performance here.
Fantasia is great, but not a good measuring stick for pieces NOT written for orchestra.
@BigOrganPipes You are speaking of total time played. I have grown up in the fine arts, and have heard and played this piece at correct speeds. The correct speed is unique to the individual artist playing the piece. Sure the total time may stand at close to eight and a half minutes, but certain segments can be hurried, which is not factored. Try "fantasia" and get back to me please.
@BigOrganPipes Not only that, but Bach was not a metronome, and no matter what tempo, the organist has opportunity to bring all of his skills to present an honorable interpretation, as he did in this recording. Frankly, I think that on youtube, those who wish to criticize should first post their own treatment of the piece. That would cut out much of the bull.
@randyclar747 technical finesse will never be the subject of murder. fast and robotic is from the nature of this instrument. If you want something else, listen to the Canadian Brass version and stop complaining...
@randyclar747 - Don't be so pedantic. This is an interpretation. Each interpretation gives us an opportunity to appreciate different aspects of the piece. (PS: i doubt the artist is the author of the video. The author is simply transmitting - my thanks to the "author" for sharing -- and to the artist for a light, swift interpretation.
@randyclar747 Well, the easiest way to settle this is to ask you to post your rendition. But that would only give us your opinion as to the tempo. I think I'll stick with Mr. Biggs' interpretation.
@randyclar747 I find the lively and spritely pace of this piece to be quite refreshing... if it were played any slower it would become a dirge, and I don't believe that Mr Bach had that in mind when he wrote this piece. Just my opinion.
@randyclar747 I have to agree (although your use of "murder" is a bit drastic! LOL). My absolute favourite performance of this piece (also by E Power Biggs) is the early 70s (I think) recording of this being played on the 4 antiphonal organs at Frieburg. Absolutely awe-inspiring and SO powerful, his pace and note-positioning is pure magic. Hoping to find it online one of these days so I can pass the time at work a little more enjoyably. :-)
This is awesome but if you like it you should hear Mr. Biggs play it on the harpsichord. D Minor was actually written for the harpsichord originally. It's great either way and on a cathedral organ it rocks but on a two manual, petal harpsichord? Nothing better.
E. Power Biggs worked very closely with D. A. Flentrop on the tonal design of this organ, still extant and fully operational at Adolphus Busch Hall, Harvard University, MA, USA, as one of the first new organs of the 20th Century optimized for the Baroque repertoire. Here, BWV 565 sounds much as it would on the better organs of Bach's day.
By far and I said BY FAR! Power Biggs plays the BEST interpretation of this incredible work of Bach. And not only the tecnic of the execution, he had the secret of a mistic great registration in each manual and no other organist understood the Kapelmeister as he did. I've heard all the others. Miles away from this. Simply PERFECT.
Is this from Sony Essential Classics "Bach: Toccata & Fugue; Passacaglia & Fugue; Pastorale; Prelude & Fugue"? I have the Four Great Toccatas & Fugues in CD, but i don't know if it's the Cathedral of Freiburg or the cd itself, but the sound comes up and down, vibrant and clear one minute, and then distant... On the contrary (even with youtube audio), this version is absolute greatness, clear, powerful and a more balanced volume.
@spepper I used to have the Freiburg recordings on a LP which was the 4 Organs of the Muenster playable through a separate 5th console. I miss the Dorian Toccata. This I believe is from an earlier recording as mentioned in the notes at Harvard. Biggs did a number of different recordings of the piece, one on the Art Schnitger St Jakobi in Hamburg. This is one of my favorite version.
Always my favorite performance. He has an animated, but restrained technique. I also can't imagine performing the stuff he did with rheumatoid arthritis.
Had the pleasure and thrill of seeing and hearing Power Biggs more years ago than I care to calculate. Have this on a 33 1/3 disc somewhere, but thanks for presenting it here!
@srlucado It just depends on which video you watch who is best. On Karl Richter videos of this piece, he's the consensus best organist ever for Bach. On Biggs videos, EPB is the best. I think anyone who plays this and gives a good performance can be considered great.
Bloody Hell! That was breathtaking! Thanks for posting this and introducing me to Mr Biggs' work. I am now a confirmed fan. This sounded how I always expect it to sound (hope that makes sense)
@turf1996 I saw VF in concert around 1977--what a showman! The cape, sequins on the heels of his shoes, and all that. Fun, but I always preferred Biggs.
Keith Emerson & Rick Wakeman are in the same league. Rick Wakeman does a unique take on this piece (with a pipe organ and synthesizer) on his Six Wives of Henry VIII album, can't remember the title-guess I comitted to much herbicide in the past. Remember James Mason in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea????
@prueveil There exist universal laws which manifest themselves in different ways, some call them mathematics (ex. fractal patterns), harmony and symetry in architecture and art (ex. the magic numbers 1:1916, or ,Phi, or 1/7 etc..), in the natural world repeating patterns at different scales (branches, leaves, vains in the leaves), interference patterns of light, in music (patterns repeating in each octave, arpegios, chords etc..).
I think J S Bach used this secret / hidden knowlage to compose.
I have heard many organists on many organs and Biggs and Bach go together just like Bogie and Bacall! I think I have everything Biggs performed composed by Bach. Biggs "gets it!"
Bach was a true genius of the mathematics and creative art of music, in his own craft, an equal of Albert Einsteins genius. I feel deeply grateful that E. Power Biggs has remained faithful to Toccata and Fugue in D minor without any "interpretation" or "arrangement".
My first memories at 4 yrs or so was my Dad flat on his back w/ ear to our console stereo system falling to sleep w/ Bach and it is his op. that Biggs had it right. Listening to so many versions of Bach it seems to me that Biggs was about the only one to get "it" right.
Thank GOD for good recording ability by 1958, and that someone had the sense to record E Power Biggs at the height of "Powers"! Both the music, and the playing are Masterpeices!
Thank you for posting this. Is it just me, or is what is so wonderful about Biggs the measured, almost (and please know I mean this in the best way, given that the pipe organ is the grandest of machines) 'mechanical' way--playing it straight, and not cliched like a Dracula movie? Anyway Biggs turned me on to classical music, in 1981, and I have been in his debt ever since.
i can tell you what I think it is: it's the way you can hear Bach's genius projected through the way Biggs plays him. I'm certain it's the way the composer intended.
@jrasche This was cutting edge popular smash hit music when first performed. Imagine the impact it must have had on listners when hearing it for the first time, considering it is still so popular today. Bach rocks.
Is there any film footage of this great man playing this? Come on, Peoples! I know somebody out there has something. (And we'll track you down and come to your house late at night wearing our Bach sweatshirts, if you don't post soon!)
It is always a pleasure to hear E. Power Biggs, as I listened to him in the 40s and 50s as a child. Now that I am a senior citizen, I can appreciate his beautiful music more with the use of a computer. IMHO Biggs had no peer - His only competition was Virgil Fox (correct me if I am wrong on this) & there has been nothing like him for decades since. Again, IMHO, Biggs is what Wanda Landowska is to the harpsichord. Biggs is no doubt a master of this instrument !
Diese Interpretation von Johann Sebastian Bach's bester Komposition für Orgel ist einmalig gelungen. Man kann den Organisten fuer seine Leistung nur beglueckwuenschen! Bravissimo
I believe that the splendid revival of Baroque organs we enjoy today may not have happened had it not been for Biggs' championing the merits of the old ways. This Flentrop organ we are hearing is I think one of the first (the first?) neo-baroque organs installed in this country, and was designed by Biggs and Dirk Flentrop.
The greatest organist who ever lived! (Virgil Fox sucks--and I'm not talking about his sex life.) I'm just disappointed there isn't a movie of him actually playing this.
He did an album in Frieburg,Germany called,'Bachs four Great Toccata's and I wore that album OUT!! In fact my friends borrowed it so much I actually owned 3 of them,lol.I now have it on CD.He and Virgil Foxx were my 2 best Favorites.
I was lucky enough to have heard him play twice in concert in LA and he autographed my program. I still have it framed on my wall. This recording is from Bach Organ Favorites Volume 1. I recommend all 6 volumes of this series. Excellent performing. His strictly metronomic performances are not authentic, but I think it makes the music pop.
Oh man, you lucky, lucky dog! I'd have given a kidney to see him live. "Metronomic" nails it, but that's the biggest part of what has always set him apart, in my opinion. I can savor each note.
It's been said that playing the pipe organ well is the same as flying. Mr Biggs is certainly a flier. Imagine having the genius to play four melodies in harmony at the same time, one with the feet!. Talk about multitasking! While in the military, most of us including me blew our money on expensive audio gear. I bought this album "Bach Organ Favorites" from the Navy Exchange in 1967. Been hooked ever since.
This is unquestionably THE quintessential version of this piece. Biggs' distictive nuances and passion come through his playing as no other rendition does. I've personally seen Mr. Biggs perform this live, which was nothing short of amazing. I could have sworn that he had four arms and six feet! I had the LP with this piece on it and wore it out.
Thanks ever so much for posting this. Actually being able to hear this again after 30 years is serendipitous indeed!
There can be no doubt that Mr. Biggs was a fantastic organist. That said, for such a well-known & oft-played work i would opine that there can be no "quintessential" rendition: the best pieces have been recorded by most of the very best corresponding performers, and each brings their own capabilities and "style" to the piece: different people like different versions better: some may for example prefer the cool, restrained stylings of Glen Gould - what is "best" is a matter of personal taste.
This piece came out on an album by E. Power Biggs called Bach Organ Favorites. From what I've been able to find out, it was released in 1961, two years before I was born. My parents played this album all through my childhood, and I now have my own copy of it, as well as the CD. I never tire of listening to it. This organ, as well as Biggs himself, are the best. I now have a huge collection of his albums. Great stuff!
One day when I was about 8 years old, I went to the library and by mere chance, picked out this album by Biggs and played this Toccata and Fugue. I instantly fell in love with the music of Bach. The genius of Bach really shines through and touches the soul.
My first acquaintance with Bach and indeed the entire Baroque period was through this man. He had a way of making music EXITING and alive - a musician's musician if ever there was one. Thanks for posting this!! Brings back a LOT of memories.
I saw a film/video of Biggs playing a concert. The film was on TV in about 1976 or 77 of a past performance. It would be great to see it posted on Youtube. Biggs stood up on the organ seat and led the audience in a cheer for B-A-C-H. Outstanding personality.
My dad had a 78 of E. Power Biggs and I think it was one of his quadraphonic albums and it sounded great (better than a CD) on his old record player/AM-FM radio/reel to reel console that he had bought back in the 50s from Sears Roebuck. The thing was a beast and had a bunch of vaccuum tubes in it but man did it put out the sound - better than any stereo boombox that I've ever heard
Tell it!! Modern digital recording techniques can't compare to what they did back in the '50s: i have a number of 78s from that era, and they convey the full, rich sound of the music much better than anything the modern day machines can match. We think we've progressed so far in our modern "civilization", but in some ways we've gone backwards - and i;m not talking about just music.....
It's always interesting to find discussion on ancient vs modern technology. I've known audio engineers on both sides, and both disagree. The analog folks swear by vinyl and old time vacuum tubes, and the digital folks swear by "0,1" technology. Analog has more warmth perhaps as reputations go, and digital is more accurate. I've listened to both and prefer digital. The whole idea of electronic equipment is to accurately reproduce a live performance. Digital to me does it better.
There is indeed something to be said for digital reproduction, but as you say there are fans on both sides of the fence!! The older technologies replicated the upper frequencies better - the higher-order harmonics which add a certain "richness" to the sound. With most digital, or at least earlier digital recordings, these higher harmonics are truncated, so something of the fullness of the sound was lost. Perhaps this matter has been addressed by the more recent technology - i do not know.
Very interesting discussion. I was a member of an audiophile network in the early 1990s, which is where I heard the opinions of highly educated sound engineers. Having meetings at members' homes to listen to audio equipment and such. One guy was firmly entrenched in analog, and another guy was in the digital corner. Both knew their stuff through and through. I think one of the worst things about digital which gives it its "bad" reputation is over compression. As for Biggs, he was one of the best
Yes - the compression factor!! This does indeed distort the sound. However, i am certain that the BEST digital recordings now take this into account and modify their practices accordingly-the main problem with digital recordings is that the quality is still quite variable. Of course the quality of analog recordings was also variable.. The quality of the best digital, produced by top-notch technicians, is probably now nearly as ricn and full as the best analog - at least it "should" be by now!
You're right. Compression overdone does hamper the recording. I'm not an engineer, but there are probably other factors as well. Early CDs were ADD or they went through a conversion process which probably affected the clarity. I have a Grado cartridge on a Technics TT, which sounds magnificent and the only problem is "hiss and pops." But modern digital recordings are much better than they used to be. Recording studios I believe have both analog and digital. Both serve the process very well.
E. Power Biggs was approached to make the first quadraphonic album ever. It was comprised of Bach organ pieces. The organ he performed on (actually four organs tied together on a single keyboard,) was the organ of the Freiburger Muenster (one of the first baroque cathedrals.) My future wife was one of those allowed to sit in on the recording. What a marvelous opportunity it was for her. (I am a bit jealous, to tell the truth.) That was in 1977 or there around.
I hadn't heard this for years-another reason to buy a turntable for my LPs! This one is an absolute masterpiece - it's as intoxicating as ever. Virtuoso is so often an overused word but this man was all of that and more. This particular recording brings back memories of being with friends in a dark room -"soaking up" an appetizer of Deep Purple (through stereo headphones)-then overwhelming our auditory senses with a main course of E Power Biggs-played loud, of course. Thank you for posting ;)
Excellent playing, good that the tocotta does not sound like a 'Dracula film song' rather this organ and organist create as CLEAN of a sound as it comes. I much prefer Romantic organs than Baroque, however the music of Baroque era, especially the counterpoint, sound very clean on a good tracker, such as this Flentrop. 25 years ago, I experienced the same while playing a much smaller Flentrop at University of California, Santa Barbara
In 1960 I heard Biggs' album and was whomped by it. Just a kid in 1960 and Columbia House sent me his album. My music teacher, Frank Desby, of revered memory, used to chuckle and call him E. Bower Piggs! Truly the greatest!
I always liked that his version of the Toccata didn't sound like something from a Dracula film.
Biggs was the first performer to spark my interest in classical music. It was 1981, I was 14, and I heard a recording of his on radio, and was so bowled over by it I quickly shoved in a cassette and taped the remainder of the piece, and listened to it literally hundreds of times afterward. Still have the (worn)cassette somewhere, as well as some albums. Thanks for the post!
No need to mince words... E. Power Biggs KICKED ASS. The best there ever was or will be... power.. precision... timing... In the 70's, we'd get back from a ride on our dirtbikes and crank up some Biggs. One of the funniest things I remember from those days was my friend Doug leaving his LP of Biggs on the edge of a picnic table in the sun... it bent at a 90-deg angle... He was, and to this day, is... crestfallen over it. I, OTOH, laugh like a hyena whenever that comes up.
i keep trying to upload Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor off the same album the same way i uploaded this song but youtube says "unable to convert" and i did it the same exact way i did this one
i have been searching for this version all over youtube!! i heard it on a tape for my music class and FELL IN LOVE! i guess it's not the exact same song (like same organist--i have no idea how did it on the tape) but i still love this song so much
He was recording some Handel organ pieces on an organ that Handel himself had played. When Biggs was asked about his feeling on the matter he replied that it was a thrill "to handle the handles Handel handled." What a sense of humor and what a human being! It is such a shame that his life was so tragically cut short.
When my Dad died in 1990 he had dozens of E. Power Biggs albums, mint condition. He would put the record on the turntable, and hold a felt want on the record for one revolution to pick up any "dust" before he played it. I still have two unopened Albums in tribute to my Dad, and Biggs, the organ master of all time. Bobby B.
E. Power Biggs is one of the best organists of all time. Listening to him is nothing short of sublime. I agree with another reviewer, this deserves nothing less then 5 stars.
In the spring of 1981 I took a music appreciation class at Mercer University in Macon, GA. The results of this were threefold-I gained a passionate love for classical music, I became a music minor, and above all I began a love affair with organ music in general and E. Power Biggs recordings of Bach organ music in particular. I even transcribed the intro of this piece to electric guitar. Bach and Biggs have meant so much to my soul these last twenty seven or so years.
Nobody can ever play the Toccata & Fugue in d better then E.P.B. Whenever I hear other recordings, I just fast forward and just go to the next track. Don't forget, E.P.B. also played the same in the Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as well.
ekul1021 1 week ago
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Hi,i am looking for a fugue speciallist to tell me what is that chromatic fugue:
youtube.com/watch?v=yotypIIavlQ&list=HL1326399726&feature=mh_lolz
I found it as notes and then i made it with a music notation program
Enlightenment82 2 weeks ago
I disagree with some of the below--he plays it sublimely with clarity and emotion--its not muddy. There's archecture here.
windstorm1000 2 months ago
i love it
fallbread 2 months ago in playlist Spooky stuff
I've never heard anyone play this with such perfection.
imjustpassinthru 3 months ago
Richard Harrow brought me here!!
choloamericangangsta 4 months ago
This is technical perfection on display!
trygbugg 4 months ago
In the 1950s, our family had an LP of Bach fugues featuring EPB at various organs, one of which was located in the Lubeck church where my grandfather's grandfather was pastor for 30 years. Whenever Grandpa (a minister for 60 years) had Sunday dinner with us, the Bach LP was always playing on the hi-fi when he came through the front door.
7927jackpark 5 months ago
Wasn't it Biggs that performed this for the movie RollerBall (the original)
Rmvr53 5 months ago
The name says it all; E. Power Biggs. It doesn't get any bigger or powerful than this.
moproducer 5 months ago
This the greatest piece of music ever written. Complex, intricate, beautiful, powerful. So many layers and textures. I grew up on Bach organ works as played by E. Power Biggs. Amazing. Nobody did it better or ever will.
drewjen1219 8 months ago
Simply outstanding, performed by the Master and was written by the Master!
quixote182 8 months ago
pure perfection.
This is the standard by which all others are judged
crazyoldbastard 1 year ago
fucking tune
lemon20071 1 year ago
HEAVENLY!!
TheGrasslander 1 year ago
Apparently this was to have been included in the "Sound track of Earth" attached to the Voyager space probes (not this recording admittedly, but one as good), but Carl Sagan felt it best to leave it off as he felt it would just be "showing off" :)
TheStevewhelan 1 year ago
@TheStevewhelan ....and although I respect Mr. Sagan's genius in regards to science, he was most likely an athiest and therefore would not want this type of music included *they opted for chuck berry and the beatles instead*....Not that those artists weren't deserving-------------------just sayin'
peace
technocrash09 11 months ago
Amazing. This is by far my most favorite recording of this piece.
Maazel456 1 year ago
E. Power Biggs... the greatest pipe-organist since Johann himself. Fantastic.
darkenna 1 year ago 2
this whole play is a piece of art
appistogramma 1 year ago
Five people were so blown away by this they hit thumbs down.
anonymityismyname 1 year ago 2
@anonymityismyname They were scared.
Butteroux 1 year ago
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i want dark piano/organ/whatever, but this isnt dark enough, anyone know anything darker than this? not necessarily pure classical, just something to give me nightmares
SmashedUpFetus 1 year ago
@SmashedUpFetus check my other videos for the Bach 582
BigOrganPipes 1 year ago
my band class is playing this song
packedpower 1 year ago
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jmuslvr 1 year ago
@jmuslvr Sorry mate, nobody asked for a description of your "fantasy home" :/ just comment mostly on the music.
EpicCommenterX 1 year ago
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jmuslvr 1 year ago
am I the only one that thinks that this sounds just a bit sharper than D?
Daver869 1 year ago
@Golmon251 Concur 100%
Bronzebk 1 year ago
E. Power Biggs: In my opinion there is NO Greater Interpreter of that Masterpiece as E. Power Biggs… NONE!
Just wish you were still here
Bronzebk 1 year ago 2
check out my other vids. Biggs plays this piece 14 different ways on 14 different organs and i have them all uploaded in my vids. this particular version Biggs happens to be playing it right off the sheet music by the book flawlessly with no improvisational distortions
BigOrganPipes 1 year ago 8
@BigOrganPipes We so totally love this. Bach himself is perfect in his mathematics AND his musicality. E. Powers Biggs is our fave for playing Bach (though I am also a big fan of Ton Koopman). This is a wonderful example of the clarity of tone of a Baroque organ. Love it. Will be looking for other organs to check them out. I was not aware that there were good 20th century Baroque style organs.
Love my local church organ, which is a Casavant Freres, but the Romantic organ is just wrong for Bach.
TheRatsCats 1 year ago
@BigOrganPipes This is my favorite version of this piece. Is this the one from "Bach Organ Favorites"?
mattkraj 1 year ago
@mattkraj It is the one found on Bach Organ Favorites.
davewvu1 8 months ago
Mhmm..good execution..but I don't like the sound of this organ, I think it's not powerful..and the end is a bit too fast. I believe Karl Richter had a better interpretation in this piece and played a better organ than Biggs..anyway Bach is ever awesome..:)
BAxitorCH 1 year ago
original keyboard wizard :-)
owlforeva 1 year ago
As I recall, Power Biggs recorded this verson of the D-minor around 40 years ago, and ever since then every organist I know has whined about how they could do it better...faster, slower, lighter, heavier, etc. Personally I think this recording is the BENCHMARK. Thanks for putting it up here.
RailroadBill76 1 year ago 3
@RailroadBill76 Couldn't say it better if I tried. Thanks
Bronzebk 1 year ago
this song helped me write my final. i love the evil sound in it!!
Enkaged 1 year ago
According to the mp3 at Amazon (from the Fantasia soundtrack), it's 9 minutes 25 seconds.
BigOrganPipes 1 year ago
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too fast. The author of this video is murdering the music by making it too fast and robotic.
randyclar747 1 year ago
@randyclar747 This is exactly as it is off the CD. Unless you mean Biggs is playing too fast and that's subjective. 8 minutes 25 seconds is about average for this piece. I've seen it played as fast as 7 minutes 40 seconds (by Nicholas Danby) and as slow as 11 minutes 34 seconds (by Daniel Chorzempa) and everywhere in-between. If you feed the notes into a computer it comes out to exactly the way Biggs is playing it. Look for the youtube video ipzR9bhei_o
BigOrganPipes 1 year ago
@randyclar747 Check my other videos. There's a version of this where Biggs plays it for 9 minutes 35 seconds and 14 other versions of Biggs playing the Toccata only at all different speeds & registration.
Only Bach knew how fast to play it and unfortunately he's not here to show us.
BigOrganPipes 1 year ago 8
@BigOrganPipes Watch Fantasia by Walt Disney, this tune is on there, and I beleive you can savor every note rather than being rushed through it. This is rapid. especially in fugue parts.
randyclar747 1 year ago
@randyclar747 I know that's the movie that made this piece famous yet I have never heard it. I will try to find it. Thanks.
BigOrganPipes 1 year ago
@BigOrganPipes The movie that really elevated this piece into Gothic horror status was a version of "The Phantom of The Opera" produced in 1962 with Herbert Lom as the Phantom.
This version is an interpretation and as such isn't necessarily "too fast or too mechanical." As already stated, we really don't know what tempi that an Organ virtuoso such as Bach would have used to show off his skills. But I'd bet that he rocked the house.
Baggs4299 3 months ago
@randyclar747 The Stokowski transcription was well conceived because Stokowski himself was an accomplished organist. However, for my money, E Power Biggs is one of the great interpreters of Bach's organ works. Bach was also quite the showman, and often used pieces like this one to display his prowess at the keyboard to dazzling effect. I suspect he would've heartily approved of Biggs's performance here.
Fantasia is great, but not a good measuring stick for pieces NOT written for orchestra.
dkawewehi 1 month ago in playlist YouTube Mix for E. Power Biggs
@BigOrganPipes You are speaking of total time played. I have grown up in the fine arts, and have heard and played this piece at correct speeds. The correct speed is unique to the individual artist playing the piece. Sure the total time may stand at close to eight and a half minutes, but certain segments can be hurried, which is not factored. Try "fantasia" and get back to me please.
randyclar747 1 year ago
@BigOrganPipes Not only that, but Bach was not a metronome, and no matter what tempo, the organist has opportunity to bring all of his skills to present an honorable interpretation, as he did in this recording. Frankly, I think that on youtube, those who wish to criticize should first post their own treatment of the piece. That would cut out much of the bull.
sailing19100 1 year ago
@randyclar747 technical finesse will never be the subject of murder. fast and robotic is from the nature of this instrument. If you want something else, listen to the Canadian Brass version and stop complaining...
jjbriggs77 1 year ago
@randyclar747 - Don't be so pedantic. This is an interpretation. Each interpretation gives us an opportunity to appreciate different aspects of the piece. (PS: i doubt the artist is the author of the video. The author is simply transmitting - my thanks to the "author" for sharing -- and to the artist for a light, swift interpretation.
poissonnoir 1 year ago
@poissonnoir I can't play this stuff anymore, I got rusty. So however it sounds is awesome. Sorry, I critiqued the piece.
randyclar747 1 year ago
Comment removed
poissonnoir 1 year ago
@randyclar747 Well, the easiest way to settle this is to ask you to post your rendition. But that would only give us your opinion as to the tempo. I think I'll stick with Mr. Biggs' interpretation.
Azishome 1 year ago
@randyclar747 I find the lively and spritely pace of this piece to be quite refreshing... if it were played any slower it would become a dirge, and I don't believe that Mr Bach had that in mind when he wrote this piece. Just my opinion.
merinakutha 1 year ago
@randyclar747 I have to agree (although your use of "murder" is a bit drastic! LOL). My absolute favourite performance of this piece (also by E Power Biggs) is the early 70s (I think) recording of this being played on the 4 antiphonal organs at Frieburg. Absolutely awe-inspiring and SO powerful, his pace and note-positioning is pure magic. Hoping to find it online one of these days so I can pass the time at work a little more enjoyably. :-)
TripleTransAm 6 months ago in playlist a favorite classical
@randyclar747 -- Who the hell are you and what do you know?
kenspurling 1 month ago
This is awesome but if you like it you should hear Mr. Biggs play it on the harpsichord. D Minor was actually written for the harpsichord originally. It's great either way and on a cathedral organ it rocks but on a two manual, petal harpsichord? Nothing better.
JoAnne90068 1 year ago
E. Power Biggs worked very closely with D. A. Flentrop on the tonal design of this organ, still extant and fully operational at Adolphus Busch Hall, Harvard University, MA, USA, as one of the first new organs of the 20th Century optimized for the Baroque repertoire. Here, BWV 565 sounds much as it would on the better organs of Bach's day.
bcschmerker 1 year ago
By far and I said BY FAR! Power Biggs plays the BEST interpretation of this incredible work of Bach. And not only the tecnic of the execution, he had the secret of a mistic great registration in each manual and no other organist understood the Kapelmeister as he did. I've heard all the others. Miles away from this. Simply PERFECT.
boriset 1 year ago
E. Power Biggs! What an awesome name.
fiddlestyxify 1 year ago
Is this from Sony Essential Classics "Bach: Toccata & Fugue; Passacaglia & Fugue; Pastorale; Prelude & Fugue"? I have the Four Great Toccatas & Fugues in CD, but i don't know if it's the Cathedral of Freiburg or the cd itself, but the sound comes up and down, vibrant and clear one minute, and then distant... On the contrary (even with youtube audio), this version is absolute greatness, clear, powerful and a more balanced volume.
spepper 1 year ago
@spepper I used to have the Freiburg recordings on a LP which was the 4 Organs of the Muenster playable through a separate 5th console. I miss the Dorian Toccata. This I believe is from an earlier recording as mentioned in the notes at Harvard. Biggs did a number of different recordings of the piece, one on the Art Schnitger St Jakobi in Hamburg. This is one of my favorite version.
Renshen1957 1 year ago
Power Biggs what a name what great music!
This was a still is power
sigbangschmidt 1 year ago
Always my favorite performance. He has an animated, but restrained technique. I also can't imagine performing the stuff he did with rheumatoid arthritis.
greenspacesforever 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Lame. Very lame version. This is 2010. Pick it up a bit mate.
dave0mary 1 year ago
Had the pleasure and thrill of seeing and hearing Power Biggs more years ago than I care to calculate. Have this on a 33 1/3 disc somewhere, but thanks for presenting it here!
KB
ohioclock 1 year ago
Was anyone ever better than E. Power Biggs?
srlucado 1 year ago 2
@srlucado It just depends on which video you watch who is best. On Karl Richter videos of this piece, he's the consensus best organist ever for Bach. On Biggs videos, EPB is the best. I think anyone who plays this and gives a good performance can be considered great.
jrssjdca 1 year ago
Christ didn't come to earth and die so that we could get help (saved?) fby organ music. "Believe on Him and have eternal life."
heesendr 1 year ago
Comment removed
carltonpowers 1 year ago
ya!!!!!!!!!!
sandwich451 2 years ago
Bloody Hell! That was breathtaking! Thanks for posting this and introducing me to Mr Biggs' work. I am now a confirmed fan. This sounded how I always expect it to sound (hope that makes sense)
doctordrew66 2 years ago 3
I'm proud to say that I've worked on this organ at the Harvard museum.
viol999 2 years ago 2
By far, one of the BEST versions around!
HeyDufus 2 years ago
I listen to this daily............. Loud in the Mansion... I am old, and near the judgment.. Life is a mystery,, This helps..
douglascblack 2 years ago 42
@douglascblack really? That's kind of interresting :D How old are you?
Lity10 2 years ago
Cool!
sigurjonv02 2 years ago
@douglascblack dude.....is your alias by any chance "Monty Burns"
thetitanshow 2 years ago
@douglascblack
indeed it does
MrDonowens 1 year ago
No Virgil Fox Fans ?
turf1996 2 years ago
i am
check my favorites
BigOrganPipes 2 years ago
@turf1996 I saw VF in concert around 1977--what a showman! The cape, sequins on the heels of his shoes, and all that. Fun, but I always preferred Biggs.
srlucado 1 year ago
I love Biggs and Bach as well. This recording and several others are on SACD. You are setting at the bench with feet on the pedals when you listen!
Artaxerxes99 2 years ago
No one can match E. Power Biggs for Bach organ music!
ctrymaus 2 years ago
Keith Emerson & Rick Wakeman are in the same league. Rick Wakeman does a unique take on this piece (with a pipe organ and synthesizer) on his Six Wives of Henry VIII album, can't remember the title-guess I comitted to much herbicide in the past. Remember James Mason in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea????
usm7j 2 years ago
E. Power Biggs, emphasis on "Power!"
lasalleman 2 years ago
Truly one of my favorite classics!
maybejones 2 years ago
I rather like this...
silverstartrucker 2 years ago
Bach is a master of blending mathematical patterns into a tapestry of acoustical mystery and form.
prueveil 2 years ago 3
@prueveil There exist universal laws which manifest themselves in different ways, some call them mathematics (ex. fractal patterns), harmony and symetry in architecture and art (ex. the magic numbers 1:1916, or ,Phi, or 1/7 etc..), in the natural world repeating patterns at different scales (branches, leaves, vains in the leaves), interference patterns of light, in music (patterns repeating in each octave, arpegios, chords etc..).
I think J S Bach used this secret / hidden knowlage to compose.
trespire 1 year ago
Ever heard Rick Wakeman play this? Also awesome....
1962beachboy 2 years ago
Ever heard Rick Wakeman play anything? Also awesome... XD
Xylence 2 years ago
Wakeman is an absolutely insane wildman on the keyboards! Keith Emerson ain't no wuss either.
usm7j 2 years ago
One cannot mess with perfection, Biggs and Bach are as one
TheNukewizard 2 years ago 26
@TheNukewizard AGREE.
Bronzebk 1 year ago
@TheNukewizard Very well put. I daresay that Biggs was the only one who could channel Bach accurately.
davewvu1 8 months ago
I grew up learning music played by Biggs. It's amazing after all this time, someone still recognizes him for his skill at the keyboard =)
SarahAurelian 2 years ago
I have heard many organists on many organs and Biggs and Bach go together just like Bogie and Bacall! I think I have everything Biggs performed composed by Bach. Biggs "gets it!"
Cuzilla47 2 years ago
Bach was a true genius of the mathematics and creative art of music, in his own craft, an equal of Albert Einsteins genius. I feel deeply grateful that E. Power Biggs has remained faithful to Toccata and Fugue in D minor without any "interpretation" or "arrangement".
Teamtuxedo 2 years ago 3
Einstein is not a great enough comparison with Bach. Newton is the only one I see almost fit enough to be compared with Bach.
Avishkush91 2 years ago 3
I've read where S. Bach and Shakespeare felt more than any other artist by far. Not hard to believe. All other great musicians would agree.
jimbobboyorganist 2 years ago
Although sometimes, to be a great artist (let alone musician), you also need to feel less than humanly normal.
Avishkush91 2 years ago 2
My first memories at 4 yrs or so was my Dad flat on his back w/ ear to our console stereo system falling to sleep w/ Bach and it is his op. that Biggs had it right. Listening to so many versions of Bach it seems to me that Biggs was about the only one to get "it" right.
DavidMansfield463 2 years ago 4
E. Power Biggs is the true master of this piece.
TMusic5 2 years ago 6
I can tell you something: This is THE piece for organ!!!
so easy, but so genius!!!
horstmeinname 2 years ago
Easy-not so much ;P
Genius-of course!!
;}
Avishkush91 2 years ago 2
I have this Lp, bought it at a goodwill for 59 cents! and it was in GREAT condition, Love it. To bad my record player broke :(
soad825 2 years ago
Thank GOD for good recording ability by 1958, and that someone had the sense to record E Power Biggs at the height of "Powers"! Both the music, and the playing are Masterpeices!
poplogan 2 years ago 4
so what song goes 1st? Toccatta or Fugue in D minor? its our lesson for school.....
animeaddict6678 2 years ago
The Toccata goes first...Then the Fugue!
Painter7500 2 years ago
It's not nearly as cut and dry as that. The toccata, then the fugue, then the toccata returns, intermingled with the fugue at the end.
sabombardonist 2 years ago
I never get sick of hearing this. I would kill to hear this done live in a church or better yet, on that gigantor organ they got at the Met.
lemonite1 2 years ago 4
check for pipe organ concerts in your area
BigOrganPipes 2 years ago
I took your advice and looked. It seems they are rare but if one looks one will find.... St Thomas Church has one.
lemonite1 2 years ago
Amen to that!
ShadowMonkey123 2 years ago
Thank you for posting this. Is it just me, or is what is so wonderful about Biggs the measured, almost (and please know I mean this in the best way, given that the pipe organ is the grandest of machines) 'mechanical' way--playing it straight, and not cliched like a Dracula movie? Anyway Biggs turned me on to classical music, in 1981, and I have been in his debt ever since.
jph3660 2 years ago
i can tell you what I think it is: it's the way you can hear Bach's genius projected through the way Biggs plays him. I'm certain it's the way the composer intended.
r06u3AP 2 years ago
I completely agree with the last comment! E. Power Biggs.. um.. rocked this song! LOL!
jrasche 2 years ago
@jrasche This was cutting edge popular smash hit music when first performed. Imagine the impact it must have had on listners when hearing it for the first time, considering it is still so popular today. Bach rocks.
trespire 1 year ago
It wouldn't surprise me if Bach asked Biggs for a couple of organ lessons upon his arrival in Heaven.
PrecicyJax 2 years ago
Is there any film footage of this great man playing this? Come on, Peoples! I know somebody out there has something. (And we'll track you down and come to your house late at night wearing our Bach sweatshirts, if you don't post soon!)
Thank you. :) RB
Aphidboy 2 years ago
It is always a pleasure to hear E. Power Biggs, as I listened to him in the 40s and 50s as a child. Now that I am a senior citizen, I can appreciate his beautiful music more with the use of a computer. IMHO Biggs had no peer - His only competition was Virgil Fox (correct me if I am wrong on this) & there has been nothing like him for decades since. Again, IMHO, Biggs is what Wanda Landowska is to the harpsichord. Biggs is no doubt a master of this instrument !
Amunhotep4th 2 years ago 8
search youtube for Cameron Carpenter or just check my favorites
BigOrganPipes 2 years ago
the prestissimo before the adagio was extrememly smooth. IIt was a great performance, one of the best i've ever heard!
adiopunkskater03 2 years ago
Teilweise komische hohe töne ...
dafür aber verdammt gleichmässig vom Tempop und zusammenhängend sauber ohne störende pausen gespielt !!!
Respekt!!!
stresser87 2 years ago
Diese Interpretation von Johann Sebastian Bach's bester Komposition für Orgel ist einmalig gelungen. Man kann den Organisten fuer seine Leistung nur beglueckwuenschen! Bravissimo
heinzi44 2 years ago
Actually, Biggs was/is from another 'planet'. He is remembered as "The Template".
ArgotMay 2 years ago
I believe that the splendid revival of Baroque organs we enjoy today may not have happened had it not been for Biggs' championing the merits of the old ways. This Flentrop organ we are hearing is I think one of the first (the first?) neo-baroque organs installed in this country, and was designed by Biggs and Dirk Flentrop.
bachkirche 2 years ago
6:57 what the fuck!!! Bach was from another planet, I really believe this :)))
KZM9484 2 years ago
The greatest organist who ever lived! (Virgil Fox sucks--and I'm not talking about his sex life.) I'm just disappointed there isn't a movie of him actually playing this.
RoyFeni 2 years ago
the best part starts at 2:29 :):)
kisborzi 2 years ago 2
Amazing version
shkeni 2 years ago
j.s. bach lo máximo
1omarlasvocez 2 years ago
He did an album in Frieburg,Germany called,'Bachs four Great Toccata's and I wore that album OUT!! In fact my friends borrowed it so much I actually owned 3 of them,lol.I now have it on CD.He and Virgil Foxx were my 2 best Favorites.
SpeckledPerch 2 years ago
Biggs puts the 'Power' into Bach. Pedal to the metal, you might say. He definitely kicked ass on the organ. Sorry I never heard him play in person.
lasalleman 3 years ago 2
I was lucky enough to have heard him play twice in concert in LA and he autographed my program. I still have it framed on my wall. This recording is from Bach Organ Favorites Volume 1. I recommend all 6 volumes of this series. Excellent performing. His strictly metronomic performances are not authentic, but I think it makes the music pop.
bachkirche 2 years ago
Oh man, you lucky, lucky dog! I'd have given a kidney to see him live. "Metronomic" nails it, but that's the biggest part of what has always set him apart, in my opinion. I can savor each note.
jph3660 2 years ago
Because they're metronomic they're not authentic?
KennYWooD2 2 years ago
It's been said that playing the pipe organ well is the same as flying. Mr Biggs is certainly a flier. Imagine having the genius to play four melodies in harmony at the same time, one with the feet!. Talk about multitasking! While in the military, most of us including me blew our money on expensive audio gear. I bought this album "Bach Organ Favorites" from the Navy Exchange in 1967. Been hooked ever since.
navyctr2 3 years ago 2
This is unquestionably THE quintessential version of this piece. Biggs' distictive nuances and passion come through his playing as no other rendition does. I've personally seen Mr. Biggs perform this live, which was nothing short of amazing. I could have sworn that he had four arms and six feet! I had the LP with this piece on it and wore it out.
Thanks ever so much for posting this. Actually being able to hear this again after 30 years is serendipitous indeed!
bonzeroo 3 years ago
There can be no doubt that Mr. Biggs was a fantastic organist. That said, for such a well-known & oft-played work i would opine that there can be no "quintessential" rendition: the best pieces have been recorded by most of the very best corresponding performers, and each brings their own capabilities and "style" to the piece: different people like different versions better: some may for example prefer the cool, restrained stylings of Glen Gould - what is "best" is a matter of personal taste.
HolyMotherofGrid 3 years ago
This piece came out on an album by E. Power Biggs called Bach Organ Favorites. From what I've been able to find out, it was released in 1961, two years before I was born. My parents played this album all through my childhood, and I now have my own copy of it, as well as the CD. I never tire of listening to it. This organ, as well as Biggs himself, are the best. I now have a huge collection of his albums. Great stuff!
MillerMeteor74 3 years ago
One day when I was about 8 years old, I went to the library and by mere chance, picked out this album by Biggs and played this Toccata and Fugue. I instantly fell in love with the music of Bach. The genius of Bach really shines through and touches the soul.
LoneMonk1 3 years ago
I agree. I have several Biggs LP's and they are so much more dynamic that CD
TheAudioCritic 3 years ago
My first acquaintance with Bach and indeed the entire Baroque period was through this man. He had a way of making music EXITING and alive - a musician's musician if ever there was one. Thanks for posting this!! Brings back a LOT of memories.
HolyMotherofGrid 3 years ago 2
I saw a film/video of Biggs playing a concert. The film was on TV in about 1976 or 77 of a past performance. It would be great to see it posted on Youtube. Biggs stood up on the organ seat and led the audience in a cheer for B-A-C-H. Outstanding personality.
billybobsbest 3 years ago
This is the greatest YOUTUBE clip I have EVER seen, thank you for making it available, may you never walk alone!!
ashtonkfan 3 years ago 2
My dad had a 78 of E. Power Biggs and I think it was one of his quadraphonic albums and it sounded great (better than a CD) on his old record player/AM-FM radio/reel to reel console that he had bought back in the 50s from Sears Roebuck. The thing was a beast and had a bunch of vaccuum tubes in it but man did it put out the sound - better than any stereo boombox that I've ever heard
bigcat0615 3 years ago
Tell it!! Modern digital recording techniques can't compare to what they did back in the '50s: i have a number of 78s from that era, and they convey the full, rich sound of the music much better than anything the modern day machines can match. We think we've progressed so far in our modern "civilization", but in some ways we've gone backwards - and i;m not talking about just music.....
HolyMotherofGrid 3 years ago
It's always interesting to find discussion on ancient vs modern technology. I've known audio engineers on both sides, and both disagree. The analog folks swear by vinyl and old time vacuum tubes, and the digital folks swear by "0,1" technology. Analog has more warmth perhaps as reputations go, and digital is more accurate. I've listened to both and prefer digital. The whole idea of electronic equipment is to accurately reproduce a live performance. Digital to me does it better.
jrssjdca 3 years ago
There is indeed something to be said for digital reproduction, but as you say there are fans on both sides of the fence!! The older technologies replicated the upper frequencies better - the higher-order harmonics which add a certain "richness" to the sound. With most digital, or at least earlier digital recordings, these higher harmonics are truncated, so something of the fullness of the sound was lost. Perhaps this matter has been addressed by the more recent technology - i do not know.
HolyMotherofGrid 3 years ago
Very interesting discussion. I was a member of an audiophile network in the early 1990s, which is where I heard the opinions of highly educated sound engineers. Having meetings at members' homes to listen to audio equipment and such. One guy was firmly entrenched in analog, and another guy was in the digital corner. Both knew their stuff through and through. I think one of the worst things about digital which gives it its "bad" reputation is over compression. As for Biggs, he was one of the best
jrssjdca 3 years ago
Yes - the compression factor!! This does indeed distort the sound. However, i am certain that the BEST digital recordings now take this into account and modify their practices accordingly-the main problem with digital recordings is that the quality is still quite variable. Of course the quality of analog recordings was also variable.. The quality of the best digital, produced by top-notch technicians, is probably now nearly as ricn and full as the best analog - at least it "should" be by now!
HolyMotherofGrid 3 years ago
You're right. Compression overdone does hamper the recording. I'm not an engineer, but there are probably other factors as well. Early CDs were ADD or they went through a conversion process which probably affected the clarity. I have a Grado cartridge on a Technics TT, which sounds magnificent and the only problem is "hiss and pops." But modern digital recordings are much better than they used to be. Recording studios I believe have both analog and digital. Both serve the process very well.
jrssjdca 3 years ago
E. Power Biggs was approached to make the first quadraphonic album ever. It was comprised of Bach organ pieces. The organ he performed on (actually four organs tied together on a single keyboard,) was the organ of the Freiburger Muenster (one of the first baroque cathedrals.) My future wife was one of those allowed to sit in on the recording. What a marvelous opportunity it was for her. (I am a bit jealous, to tell the truth.) That was in 1977 or there around.
riskyrieske 3 years ago
Beautiful organ. Great sound. My grandfather was also a great craftsman and artist. The organ and I share the same birthday.
anhacus 3 years ago
that is so cool!
picmeco 3 years ago
I hadn't heard this for years-another reason to buy a turntable for my LPs! This one is an absolute masterpiece - it's as intoxicating as ever. Virtuoso is so often an overused word but this man was all of that and more. This particular recording brings back memories of being with friends in a dark room -"soaking up" an appetizer of Deep Purple (through stereo headphones)-then overwhelming our auditory senses with a main course of E Power Biggs-played loud, of course. Thank you for posting ;)
edncda 3 years ago
wow, that's awesome. thanks for sharing that.
BigOrganPipes 3 years ago
Excellent playing, good that the tocotta does not sound like a 'Dracula film song' rather this organ and organist create as CLEAN of a sound as it comes. I much prefer Romantic organs than Baroque, however the music of Baroque era, especially the counterpoint, sound very clean on a good tracker, such as this Flentrop. 25 years ago, I experienced the same while playing a much smaller Flentrop at University of California, Santa Barbara
steelersfanhawaii 3 years ago
In 1960 I heard Biggs' album and was whomped by it. Just a kid in 1960 and Columbia House sent me his album. My music teacher, Frank Desby, of revered memory, used to chuckle and call him E. Bower Piggs! Truly the greatest!
ArgotMay 3 years ago 2
Can anyone post Bach's Fugue in G Major "Gigue" performed by E. Power Biggs on this organ, on YouTube?
Best of Gigue I have ever heard anywhere.
Is Biggs' "mordent" in the pedal an accident or intentional?
I play it purposely.
robertgift 3 years ago
I always liked that his version of the Toccata didn't sound like something from a Dracula film.
Biggs was the first performer to spark my interest in classical music. It was 1981, I was 14, and I heard a recording of his on radio, and was so bowled over by it I quickly shoved in a cassette and taped the remainder of the piece, and listened to it literally hundreds of times afterward. Still have the (worn)cassette somewhere, as well as some albums. Thanks for the post!
jph3660 3 years ago 2
No need to mince words... E. Power Biggs KICKED ASS. The best there ever was or will be... power.. precision... timing... In the 70's, we'd get back from a ride on our dirtbikes and crank up some Biggs. One of the funniest things I remember from those days was my friend Doug leaving his LP of Biggs on the edge of a picnic table in the sun... it bent at a 90-deg angle... He was, and to this day, is... crestfallen over it. I, OTOH, laugh like a hyena whenever that comes up.
xrm1996 3 years ago 6
i keep trying to upload Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor off the same album the same way i uploaded this song but youtube says "unable to convert" and i did it the same exact way i did this one
BigOrganPipes 3 years ago
E. Power Biggs also does a phenomenal interpretation of this on pedal harpsichord.
Here's the title of the album: Bach on the Pedal Harpsichord Columbia Masterworks MS 6804
ElizabethTalbot 3 years ago 2
I have that LP. It's great!
BigOrganPipes 3 years ago
i have been searching for this version all over youtube!! i heard it on a tape for my music class and FELL IN LOVE! i guess it's not the exact same song (like same organist--i have no idea how did it on the tape) but i still love this song so much
blissroadmusic 3 years ago 2
Here is a true anecdote about E. Power Biggs.
He was recording some Handel organ pieces on an organ that Handel himself had played. When Biggs was asked about his feeling on the matter he replied that it was a thrill "to handle the handles Handel handled." What a sense of humor and what a human being! It is such a shame that his life was so tragically cut short.
riskyrieske 3 years ago 3
When my Dad died in 1990 he had dozens of E. Power Biggs albums, mint condition. He would put the record on the turntable, and hold a felt want on the record for one revolution to pick up any "dust" before he played it. I still have two unopened Albums in tribute to my Dad, and Biggs, the organ master of all time. Bobby B.
pompom11 3 years ago 5
E. Power Biggs is one of the best organists of all time. Listening to him is nothing short of sublime. I agree with another reviewer, this deserves nothing less then 5 stars.
nilan66 3 years ago 7
In the spring of 1981 I took a music appreciation class at Mercer University in Macon, GA. The results of this were threefold-I gained a passionate love for classical music, I became a music minor, and above all I began a love affair with organ music in general and E. Power Biggs recordings of Bach organ music in particular. I even transcribed the intro of this piece to electric guitar. Bach and Biggs have meant so much to my soul these last twenty seven or so years.
byardw 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
You get the feeling that he is making sure that we all count...1,2,3,4...so we don't get lost.Hello modernity...Goodbye Baroque
smithsherman 3 years ago