Bach: Organ Works, Vol. 9

Advantages: Wonderful transcriptions of JS Bach's majestic music; sensitive, tender, vivacious, effortless and fluid playing.
Disadvantages: Nil.

...Her latest CD from EMI Classics, ‘Bach/Works for Trumpet’, already tops zerbine28's list for Classical CD of the Year. (I know, I know, it's only April as I post this, but that's how strongly I feel about this recording.) Readers, if you please, do welcome young British trumpet player Alison Balsom, who now joins the ranks of Mssrs Miles Davis and Herb Alpert in my teeny-tiny list of favourite trumpeters. No, I never heard of her, either, before yesterday, when I first sampled her CD at the local Borders book and music shop. Released just this past January, the CD is an absolute stunner. The title is a little misleading, because Johann Sebastian Bach never wrote pieces specifically for the instrument (discounting the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, of course). Besides which, the ‘trumpet’ in Bach’s time... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful relaxing music. Rich instrumentation. Played with passion.
Disadvantages: Not all instruments are from the period.

...works by Bach. This was not always the case however. They were originally not very well received. Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the giants of the baroque period, presented the set of concertos as a gift to the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg in 1721. The Margrave never even acknowledged the gift let alone thanked Bach for his work. For the next thirteen years, the concertos were to languish in the marquis' library untouched. It was only on his death, that they were then released and shared with the public. There are many, many recordings of the Brandenburg concertos. This particular album is a 1959 recording of Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Orchestra published in May, 1995 by Emi Classical. Can a recording from nearly 50 years ago possibly stand the test of time? The simple answer is yes it can and does so superbly... Read review

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Advantages: Reassures and comforts me!
Disadvantages: Taste, might not work for everyone

...♣Doubting the miracle♣ It was around this time last year that my airplane phobia increased to an intolerable level. We were visiting my boyfriend?s family for Christmas ? and I simply could not face the plane journey back. His mother kindly told me that I needed to ?snap out of it? and handed me a little yellow box with Bach?s Rescue Remedy. I eyed it suspiciously. I never believed in such herbal miracles. But I took the box and sitting at the airport, I remember taking quite a bit of this product to calm my nerves. I honestly do not remember if it worked at the time, but I did make it back home somehow ? didn?t I? The bottle then disappeared in a draw, not to be remembered until ? ? I next encountered the Rescue Remedy when I left my somewhat quiet job for a hectic city job. A colleague handed me a leaving present in... Read review

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