Bach - Passacaglia BWV 582 - Karl Richter - Organ

[maricahn]

THIS VERSION IS BAD, THE VOLUME KEEPS GOING UP AND DOWN. ITS VERY ANNOYING. Reported.

[Osamabinjackson]

@maricahn the volume goes up and down because Richter is using many different sets of pipes on this organ for dramatic effect, the volume changes because the actual volume of the pipes is changing. You should just listen to it played on a smaller organ.

[jimamia77]

I love how Bach transitions his fugues. If it is in the key of minor, you may hear a segment of the piece played in major. Even the dark fugue in D minor sounds briefly delightful when it hits it's major segment. I'm not a classical musician but u know what i'm talking about.

[JOELALVARADO95]

I fell in my knees.. i cried with myself.. But then I listened to this and it gave me hope!!!

[resonantdave]

@JOELALVARADO95 Why? It's a secular dance song in a minor key?

They danced to strange things in Spain...

[jimamia77]

Only the Great People of Europe can create such music, erect beautiful buildings, and design such seaworthy vessels in that time. I know that the original Tower of st. Marks collapsed but it was centuries old. It was rebuilt exactly as it was.  All of us have been greatly influenced by that continent!

[Vectorcomputer]

@jimamia77 Joshua Humphreys (from the U.S.) came up with some impressive design changes to frigates that even Nelson acknowledged as an important advancement. The English were the leaders in ship design before then, starting with John Hawkings, Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh; in the height of the age of sail, Peter the Great of Russian went to England to study shipbuilding.

[donnyab]

@Karlemann66

just what kind of a dick are you ?

[sweetnymphetamines]

My all time favourite.

[MrJamesconn]

I want this played at my funeral

[causabon99]

I really cannot see the connection between the miltaristic images and this great work.

[cthtyflf]

Each piece throughout BWV582 it's a bit of our stormy and dirty life seen and rendered by genius. But there are crystalline sounds from 6:08 as universal redemption existing before and forever and for everyone

[MegaEfestos]

vry very nice. wonderful music, orgasmica.

[PopCultureSucks]

Incredible!

[jimamia77]

Yeah, It took me a few hours to paint those scenes. Such an awesome piece of music to accompany the displaying of my great works!!

[MrBooker39]

Wonderful performance...Richter plays as though he's in love with every note.

Thanks.

[ouillemouth]

@MrBooker39 : check the Piano transcription from E. Naoumoff (available on Youtube too). Brought tears to my eyes. He too plays as if he's in love with each and every single note.

With regards to organ, I am no expert, but while I do love Karl Richter's interpretation here, I prefer the registration chosen by Lionel Rogg for this BWV582.

[GabrielPadecopeo]

El gran Maestro Richter hace de esta versión, una obra de gran profundidad y emotividad insuperables. Gracias Maestro.

[trygbugg]

Richter was one of the greatest organ masters ever, no doubt about it - such a pity he died much too young!

[Nermalton77]

Sinister and terrifyingly beauty and epic

[lporans]

According to Robin Friedman's comment on this recording on Amazon:

"Richter ... made most of these recordings between 1964 and 1969 performing on a modern organ at the Jaegersborg Church near Copenhagen. The final three works in the collection date from 1978 and were recorded on a historic Silbermann organ at the Freiburg Cathedral. This instrument has a warmer sound than the modern instrument at Jaegersborg Church."

[IEOUAMS]

" Very Beautiful!...Greatest...pictur­es and Music...KARL RICHTER: Sublime..."

[sweetnymphetamines]

I would love to be able to listen to this played in a cathedral... I think I would just die of too much beauty.

[MegaBeerFart]

@sweetnymphetamines I want this played at my wedding

[sweetnymphetamines]

@MegaBeerFart Oh I would love too!

[sweetnymphetamines]

This is the most amazingly beautiful piece of music ever ever ever. I'm not being subjective, no ! This is objectivity!

[eoghdes18]

Wonderful performance, but am I right in thinking that the pedals at the beginning are sharp?

[achantus1]

Even a metalfan must love this. I cant think of any music created by man that surpass this (and some of the other things written by Bach). If aliens visited our planet now and asked: What can you show us that would impress us? What should we show them? I'm convinced that the music of Bach would really impress them. Then we could ask: Can you show us something similar? I think they would be hard pressed. Bachs music has sometimes been compared to gothic cathedrals. The comparison is reasonable.

[aardvaark069]

@achantus1 Yes, and I would also add the magnificent game of three-cushion billiards to this list Richters prelude and fugue in Bminor performance is so good that it sounds as if both Bach and Richter are being spoken to by God himself. In fact all of richters performances are like that. This Passacaglia is so magnificent and this playing matches perfectly.

[hfdsaaasd]

One of the greatest piece of Music. And amazing performance — bravo Maestro.

[jimamia77]

This piece was my intro to classical music and to the more intense works of Bach when I was younger. The organist used similar registrations displaying many of the tone colors of his tracker organ. been hooked ever since. It was performed in a cathedral in Harrlem.

[numbers3934]

God

[lordtaw]

I have heard this piece played by Koopman, Stamm and others. None of them can touch Richter. they are excellent players in their own respect but often times I find their playing a bit harsh (especially Koopman).

When you see video of Richter playing he looks like the stereotypical cold German, tense and serious looking. But he lets those bottled up feeling and emotions flow out in his performances. At least that's the way I see it.

[drummassa06]

What I like about this performance is that it is very passionate without getting pretentious. Some organists try to get too expressive with the piece and end up ruining one of the most powerful pieces of music every written by the hands of man. Hats off to Mr. Richter for staying true to the feel of the piece. The last 2 minutes are without a doubt the most intense 2 minutes in the history of music. And this is coming from someone who also listens to death metal :)

[lordtaw]

@drummassa06

I am a Metal head as well. And I agree with you, Richters registration and playing is amazing and intense. Most other organists follow the classic registration but Richter knows how to draw all the right stops. Just listen to his performance on the Holy Trinity Organ in the Ottobeuren Monastery, bloody powerful stuff. Nearly brings me to tears every time I listen to it (I am man enough to admit that!).

Nothing beats the organ for its sheer sonic power! Rock on.

[jovanov4]

Bach is the greatest composer in history............

[mc0558]

@jovanov4 Every other composer can from time to time miss it--too superficial; to repetitive--but never Bach. Every piece is a masterpiece!

[mesho512]

@jovanov4 sure he is

[naneo]

I NEED to smoke a whole flower on this execution

[sweetnymphetamines]

4:05 - I feel like I'm going to heaven... !

This is so amazing, organ has such a unique power... and Bach is a genius.

[lobster583classic]

This is absolutely beautiful. Definitely my number 1.

[emifisa]

Fantastic music. i love this....congratulations even for image very good

[lobster583classic]

@darijussan what the hell?

[kenjin03]

From what history tells us, how Bach played the organ, with such ease and passion, Karl Richter might be the only who shows how the old Master of true music, played this piece on an organ. Karl Richter was a true master of the organ and until now I've never heard anyone else playing this piece so deep, with so much emotion,..Words can not describe how I feel when I listen to this divine masterpiece interpreted by a master,.. Thanks a bunch for the upload and education for others :)

[OSCARA320]

This is just awesome, really, I thought this was a mistake.... i thought this was going o be Passacaglia from Handel but in organ, but when I read it was J.S Bach who did it i was like: oh my, the master... lets take a look at this

[kniphofia]

This is for me the greatest recording of this magnificent piece. Karl Richter was a true master of this instrument.

[minasgekos]

yes Richter was a great organist.

[mike13lowe]

Great video, the artworks are both appropriate and powerful

[frontmann7]

@mike13lowe Music is often more than words can express, and Bach's music is " a dialogue of god with himself, moments before the creation". A galaxy, a sunset, a mountain, a tree,but even a caterpillar on a branch or a spider in its cobweb would fit better with this perfect and timeless sounds than churchs, monuments and battles, all very human things.

[MsEmanuele75]

La Passacaglia rimane la mia composizione bachiana preferita ma per valorizzarla è indispensabile un organo potente e purtroppo a Roma ce ne sono pochi veramente ben funzionanti.

[elopez4024]

Indeed... bach is the master...

[Egestus18]

Do you know when/where this was recorded?

But first of cause: a BIG thanks for this wonderful recording of Richter playing this masterpiece of THE MASTER