E. Power Biggs - Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor

[trygbugg]

I've listened to recordings of this marvellous Bach piece by many great organ players (e.g. Alain, Koopman and Richter), and Biggs' version here is by no means inferior to those!

[jayanwalter15031957]

Best play of this Bach's masterpeace!

[russedav5]

Regrettably what is lost here is that if you look in the Schmieder catalog, this is not a two-part work like the Preludes and Fugues but simply Passacaglia, for what is mistakenly understood as a separate "Fugue" is rather the last and greatest of the variations that comes forth from the cadence WITHOUT a break, as the score clearly shows. continued-

[halloerde]

@russedav5 Yes, that is why many performances today refer to it as Passacaglia. The score says fugue (accent ague, or fugued), not fugue.

[Serenityisepic]

First off, FANTASTIC! The organ has such beautiful tone. I prefer the interpretation I have of Thomas Trotter doing this at our church on our electric-action organ, but that may be bias. Anyways, hearing it on an organ that sounds close to what Bach interpreted it as, is... intense :D

[starlite528]

Sounds great :D

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you can use youtube's annotations to stop the video?

[PericoDelLunar]

I have heard this by many organists, but NOBODY plays it nearly as well. E. Power Biggs was the greatest organist of all time.

[halloerde]

@PericoDelLunar Agreed. I have also listened to many performances, and Biggs achieves a unique contrapuntal clarity, which eliminates all muddiness. In the hands of lesser composers, the passacaglia was a cover for inferior writing. Bach judoed it, into such a high form, that, after him; no-one dared to attempt it, until Brahms; at first tentatively, at the end of his Haydn variations; then fully, in the last movement of his 4th Symphony.

[cacciato69]

there was an analysis of this on BACH.NAU but I cannot get it to function

it was super impressive showing the permutations that JSB used until he had completed 18? half but without any repetitions amazing wish i could get it to play

[ReaIly]

1:33 - 1:56 Just check this part.

[furraikenx220]

i played this in a saxophone quartet, i played the bari part which held the main theme for most of the passacaglia...which i was rather glad for; it allowed me to listen to the rest of the song

[VD54K]

@furraikenx220 i want to hear it

[vajramonkey]

The best...thanks for posting this.

[montimer357]

when there's a blue day, and no other music moves me, I listen to this.

[techyesboy]

How difficult is this piece? I'm trying to decide if I should try to tackle it or not, because I would love to be able to play it but im not sure if I would be able to

[Brideshead09]

@techyesboy Overall, it's very hard. The Passacaglia eases up at points, but some of the permutations are devilish. It's playable though. The fugue is absolutely fiendish.

[PromienDrzewa]

It is for me the most beautiful performance of this almost mystically beautiful work of Bach. This brilliant music, performed by E. Power Biggs, evokes the deepest emotions, which is able to give away music ... Divinely beautiful music ...

I love this music ...

[PromienDrzewa]

Jest to dla mnie najpiękniejsze wykonanie tego wręcz mistycznie pięknego utworu Bacha. Owa genialna muzyka, w wykonaniu E.Power Biggsa, wywołuje najgłębsze wzruszenie, jakim jest w stanie obdarować muzyka... Niebiańsko piękna muzyka...

Kocham tę muizykę...

[trespire]

5:46 to 6:07 Im lost for words. Wonderment, suspence, magical moment.

[fossosejore]

Great performance! Bravissimo!

[smokinbill]

There's enough suffering in this one piece to fill the whole world.

[GaryGP40]

Biggs to me personifies all that is beautiful and possible in organ music.... rich texture, impeccable technique and the pure joy of musical understanding.

Biggs has been one of my heroes for as long as I can remember, for bringing the joy and amazing versatility of music to our wanting ears. I think Bach himself would be proud of such a fantastic artist bringing class, skill and emotion to his music, even 350+ years later!!

[aston0708]

Biggs was primarily interested like any good no nonsense musician in sound and phrasing,,,all of his recordings are unique for the beautiful flow and sounds he managedd to tease out of any iinstrument but I imagine this is a Flentrop tracker action in harvard? in any case I will never tire of listening to this unique musician.More please!

[ndiamone]

Too bad there was no Stereo yet in the late 50's. Your church organ would have probably sounded TERRIFIC in Stereo.

Like everybody else, I came upon his music because of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. We wore out so many copies of that album every year at the Haunted House that if you ever run across copies of that LP with only Side 1 worn out, now you know.

One LP vs raggedy old high school record changer you know what loses.

I was the hammiest so I always got drafted to play Dracula.

[raylward1234]

Could somebody PLEASE get Sony to release the entire Biggs catalog on CD (or via ArkivMusic, or even i-Tunes)???? Pretty please??? And there must be hours of recordings that were never released on LP... could we have those too please?

[BigOrganPipes]

yes wallflower. they play this during the baptism scene in the movie the godfather

[waIIflower]

This is in The Godfather. The exact scene eludes me, but this piece is definitely included.

[12345qazx1]

very nice , tempo and registration extraordinary ,

[Joshology21]

Such a beautiful piece...Bach's music has really won me over from being a mainstream media music fan. Never again will I follow the crowd in listening to horrendous music that just happens to be a popular. Bach's works are absolutely timeless and will endure forever.

[cb77305]

That ancient tracker in Vermont - is that a Tanenberg?

[locomotifx]

Cool.

[sigbangschmidt]

Hey! BIG ORGAN PIPES! THANK YOU

FOR POSTING POWER BIGGS!

[Ludicanti]

Best version ever.

[marrieter08]

search for creativity and intellectual power, Bach did not compose this for himself but composed it so it can achieve that divine intercession of human achievement'..........

[marrieter08]

the greatness of this piece lies on the intertwining melodies and the contrapuntal elements which were carefully placed on the passages to describe a certain 'algorithm of music' Bach composed this as if there was already a dominant assumption that it would be great and very philosophical.... and he is right. Liszt said that this piece is like a ' towering cathedral on the precipice of the mankind ..

[ReaIly]

5:43 - 6:08 & 6:30 - 6:50. This piece has alot of magical peaks and stands as a timeless monument for human creativity.

[alikisssa]

Speechless...

[techyesboy]

Amazing piece.

[JoEbYX]

From 3:08 to 3:29 you can hear one of the most masterfully crafted segments of music ever written, a moment of true "musical magic." If you haven't yet found the undescribable joy of discovering, by listening to his music and studying his scores, the profound genius that was Bach's musical mind, I suggest examining the score of these 8 bars alone as a start, one voice at a time, and see how they fit together in various combinations.

[TheOrganiston9th]

@JoEbYX , you are SO right re 3:08 to 3:29!! TRUE musical magic. Are you familiar w/E.P. Biggs' recording (on Columbia, c. 1949) of 2 Cesar Franck pieces (Side 1; 2nd track was Piece Heroique) & (Side 2) Poulenc's Concerto for Organ & Strings/Gm? Sheer beauty! Would you know if it's available on CD?

[tentons10]

This piece has a different mood depending on when I listen too it. Sometimes it gets me pumped, while other times i'm on the verge of tear. So complex and yet so beautiful. (I'm transcribing it for sax ensemble at Long beach State if anyone is in town)

[trespire]

@tentons10 Sounds like you experience an effect on your emotions, a precise / mathematical / scientific cause and effect. There exist very rare pieces of music that affect us in a certain way every time. These rare compositions are a result of a conscious effort by the composer. Ever heard about Objective Music or Objective Art?

[brooklynrtony]

@tentons10 im not in town but i would love to get a copy if you wouldnt mind i would love to play this with my sax ensemble

[MarkHarmer]

I've always liked his playing ever since my parents bought me an LP of his, many many years ago. Loved it then and great to come across this on YouTube. Thanks for posting.

[tenor175]

This is one lovely piece I have been practicing on for awhile now for my recital. My organ teacher is excited, and I love this piece!!I hope to do it justice and play it proud!!!

THanks for showing such a beautiful piece of master works from Bach!

[msuber]

I certainly would NEVER diminish the art that is E. Power Biggs. He is simply amazing as well. I think you will like the #C minor by Heinz Wunderlich even MORE.

[msuber]

I cant wait to hear it again. It has been MANY years since I have heard the recoding that I have. I can send you a picture of the St Jacobi Hamburg organ that Heinz Wunderlich recorded on if you like.

[msuber]

By the way the St Jacobi HamburgSchnitger Organ was built in 1512 and finished in 1516. It was rebuilt after the Second World War, as all the pipes and major parts survived the Allied bombing of Hamburg in a bunker underground.

[BigOrganPipes]

is that St. Jacobi organ the one that has the faces on the stop knobs that are carved out of wood ?

i saw that organ on the joy of music with Diane Bish

[Bachlives2]

@msuber Then enlarged in 1693 by Schnitger then in the 1800's by Johann Jakob Lehnert. These organs are never really finished till hundreds of years after they are started.

[virginiaorganbuilder]

@msuber 1693, actually (Schnitger did re-use some old pipes). Schnitger live from 1648-1719. Still, it's one of the great baroque organ that survived the war more of less intact.

[msuber]

FYI, I just purchased a USB MPE turntable for Christmas and I will pot THE BEST recording of the Cminor EVER as stated in my previous posting. It will come soon my friends!!

[BigOrganPipes]

thank you. that will be great !!!

[bimjales]

Back in the late 50's when I was a teenager, a VW bus pulled up in front of our house as I was mowing the lawn.

A man stepped out and introduced himself as E. Power Biggs and wanted to know if he could go into our church and record the organ. (Ancient tracker) in Vermont. I was an avid lover of the organ, so I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to him record our church organ.

[BigOrganPipes]

awesome story !!!

thank you for sharing that :)

[jawa423368]

I'd take a live show by Mr.Biggs, over a half million $ lottery win, in a heartbeat...

[PancraceRoyer]

Great story!!!!

[Organistcomposer21]

@bimjales That is absolutely amazing, what a blessing!! What church was it? I would love to research the organ!

[bimjales]

@Organistcomposer21 It was the United Methodist Church in Northfield Vermont.

Thankyou for writing.

[vajramonkey]

@bimjales Beside the fact that Biggs is my favorite Pipe Organist, what makes this story just that much more amusing to me is the fact that he drove a VW bus. How fortunate of you to have had that time to sit and listen to him in person.

[bewareofzealots]

@bimjales Wonderful comment. I know that he recorded a number of pieces from King's Chapel in Boston, where I was a parishioner for many years. His playing is magnificent.

[menagold3]

it's in a c# minor! no c minor!!!

[SiegfriedHorner]

c minor!! NO c# minor!

Too many fine organists to claim one as greatest.

We have only to wish for the right notes and the right rests to be played.

Bach will do the rest.

[LifeforArt]

yes! i think this is transposed to c-sharp or the organ ist uptuned more than a quarter tone.

[msuber]

I will see what I can do. I am thinking about buying an LP USB converter to copy some of my Old Classics.

[VD54K]

That would be awesome!

[lordbemylight]

I use a stereo receiver and an LP player to convert LPs to MP3's. I know that's not the best idea, but it's another way. It's more complicated, stick to the USB converter.

[msuber]

The ONLY recording of the C Minor that rivals, and surpasses this in my opinion is The 1971 recording done by Heinz Wunderlich on the Arp Schnitger Organ of St. Jacobi Church, Hamburg Germany. It is LONG out of print, but I have it archived on vinyl 33.

[VD54K]

Can you post it?

[AussieReds]

E.Power Biggs was the best organist ever ! He really knew how to get that instrument to play. Rare to hear one play with the talent he had. I have listened to him since a child over 50 years now. This is one of his best !

[lechopin]

This Bach piece constantly flows with a new adventure within each phase. I think no one else was as this gifted as J.S Bach!

[legato699]

This is also my favorite JS Bach piece for organ. Like a audio kaleidoscope. It puts me into some sort of meditative transe or ecstasy.

In my book, JS Bach is great for that. He creates ambiances with such deep intensity.

[mullah06]

E Power Biggs is THE GOD of the organ!

[TGarzarel]

Too bad it got cut off due to Youtube's 10 minute limit. Thanks anyway

[BigOrganPipes]

check my other videos for the ending. just the fugue

[TGarzarel]

Great, thanks!

[passacaglia28]

I love the "chiffing" of the flutes at the beginning

[edmundnschrag]

Wow, it's been years since I heard EPB. Masterful.

[lemonite1]

Oh man, this rocks! E Power Biggs has a new fan!

[mitzjob]

one of the creepiest songs ever written by a human

[tubamanic]

I'll agree - it could be thought of as creepy. If you really want creepy then look up the Liszt Fantasia and fugue on the theme of B.A.C.H. That's my favourite for the organ Creepy Stereotype.

[MiAnimale]

at 4:44 min I got goose pimples..this so good !!

[RichardLong]

Totally! So beautiful! To me, this is the best part of the Passacaglia, even better than its end.

[4Topwood]

Wonderful. Thanks.

[pipeorganloverNJP]

Hey, could you post the Fugue separately? The ending is something I'm really looking forward to hearing. Thanks. =)

[BigOrganPipes]

which time should i start it from ?

[pipeorganloverNJP]

8:06

[BigOrganPipes]

thanks. i'll work on a "part 2"

:)

[mullah06]

I've played this on tracker organs and on a Hammond B3, and the emotion is always the same overwhelming sad love...for me and my listeners; Thank GOD FOR BACH!!!!!!!!!!!

[pipeorganloverNJP]

Power Biggs is one of my favorite organists. His choice of registration is supreme, and every note he plays is crystal clear. Sometimes even little things like Power Bigg's nationality make me proud to be an American.

[Arch5280]

About registration: you're absolutely right. Nobody used clearer registration; every note can be heard.

About nationality: he was born British, of course, and came to the US during WW2.

[pipeorganloverNJP]

yeah well, my bad. :)

but naturalized or born as a citizen, an american is an american. ^_^

[yourfatmuma1990]

he is english

[pipeorganloverNJP]

i kinda get that already ^_^;

[TXPSS]

This was absolutely wonderful. It brought me back to the days when I could still play this and I loved it... The ending was a bit sudden-- you know you can *sometimes* get special approval from youtube to add a vid longer than10 minutes for special circumstances... I thinkthis song is elegant, graceful, and amazing enough to qualify for that... Great vid! Thanks!

[robertgift]

The Passacaglia should have been one post and the Fugue the other.

I yearn for a break in the Passaglia theme after the G when the theme begins to descend.

The first two notes of fugue countersubject should be tied, as they are, and the rest detached. (But not staccato)

[1prairiegal]

I grew up on E. Power Biggs. My parents had some of the recordings mentioned on other videos and I would play them when I was at home alone at earthshaking volumes. Thank you so much for posting these classics and giving me back one of my favorite artists.