Information
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach; George Frideric Handel
- Bach - Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004: V. Chaconne (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Partita for Solo Violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006: I. Preludio (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80 (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: II. Air (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, cantata, BWV 156: I. Sinfonia (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 (arr. Stokowski)
- Bach - Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478 (arr. Stokowski)
- Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351: I. Ouverture. Adagio - Allegro - Lentement - Allegro
- Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351: II. Bourrée
- Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351: III. La Paix. Largo alla siciliana
- Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351: IV. La Réjouissance. Allegro
- Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351: V. Menuets I & II
London Symphony Orchestra (1-8)
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra (9-13)
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Date: 1961 (9-13), 1974 (1-8)
Compilation: 1997
Label: RCA
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Review
Now we turn to the Bach/Stokowski disc. The material on this CD was previously released on CD. It happens that I got to this CD at the same time that EMI sent me their FDS Stokowski/Bach CD. I will go into more detailed comparison in a review of that disc in another review. In this case, I'll start by recommending both discs and then going into a few comparative analyses.
Leopold Stokowski recorded more "Bach" material than of any other composer. Stokowski started his career as an organist and was noted for his Bach material, some of it transcribed for the organ. When he turned to his other instrument, the orchestra, he brought the organ's reverberation with him. I know how it feels in the legs and arms. From an historical point, we need to be reminded, lest we repeat history, that when Stokowski revealed these pieces to his orchestra's audiences, most of it was new to them. Even in these 1960s and 70s recordings, the music was not as "accessible" as it is perhaps so now. How many of us were introduced to classical music, and Bach, from the Disney/Stokowski film Fantasia?
This RCA release includes an item not in the other two stereo CDs of Stokowski/Bach material (or is it the other way around?). It so happens that it is my favorite Bach/Stokowski transcription: Chaconne (from Partita #2). At 17:55 it may seem impossibly long. It is over 2 minutes longer than the solo performances in my collection: Perlman and Ughi. On the other hand, it is important to report that I turned to those later recordings because I'd heard the Stokowski transcription. You'd almost believe that this was originally written for full orchestra. I think that there may be many people who were influenced to explore more classical music because of early exposure to it from people like Leopold Stokowski. I'd recommend this disc just for this piece.
On the other hand, is this just more-of-the-same Bach/Stokowski stuff? Well, #If you listen to just the three stereo CDs currently available of this material you will hear differences. In the case of the London/Czech CD, there are no duplications. The sound is also much different. The Phase 4 recordings are much brighter, but there is the Stokowski Sound still inherent in the Phase 4. Since there's no duplication here, get both.
This incarnation is better than the earlier "Surround Sound" issue. That one used this method in the whole CD. In this case, for some reason, only two of the pieces are so treated. I can say that this is to good effect. There is a 'feathery' quality to the strings in this CD. On the earlier release the sound was more homogenized and the extra dimension heard here is more interesting to listen to.
You know, it occurs to me that we often read reviews comparing the "sound" of a CD with that of an "LP". When only the latter were available there was discussion of the different 'sound' different LPs had. The root of that discussion is embedded in similar discussions here. When I talk of the 'LP Sound' of an RCA release, it is usually different from the 'LP Sound' of a London release. So, when reading reviews that mention this factor, keep these differences in philosophy of sound reproduction within the producers of the original LPs.
On a brief personal note: The EMI and RCA CDs happened to come together at a particularly stressful time in my life. No details, but it was one of those times when you begin to wonder when it will let up. Listening to the EMI and RCA discs, each in a slightly different way, helped ease the stress.
This RCA disc is filled with Handel's Music For the Royal Fireworks, with the RCA Victor Symphony. Here, again, is the ad hoc orchestra including such greats as Bob Bloom on the oboe, Mitch Miller on the horn, etc. This was originally issue on CD coupled with the same band's Water Music Suite (see above). What I treasure most about this newest issue is the reinstalling of the sound effects of a picnic with fireworks in the background!! This was on my old 'Gold Seal' LP and I remember the first time I heard it. I was not prepared, and it was the 2nd of July in Toledo, Ohio. I was working on a paper for graduate school, when suddenly these sounds drifted across the room. I got up and looked out the window, wondering if someone was celebrating early. When I realized the source, I just smiled. I'd just found another reason to like Stokowski. The previous CD incarnation lacked this 30 second ending and I missed it. It's good to have it back. Good, clean fun, as I said above.
Leopold Stokowski recorded more "Bach" material than of any other composer. Stokowski started his career as an organist and was noted for his Bach material, some of it transcribed for the organ. When he turned to his other instrument, the orchestra, he brought the organ's reverberation with him. I know how it feels in the legs and arms. From an historical point, we need to be reminded, lest we repeat history, that when Stokowski revealed these pieces to his orchestra's audiences, most of it was new to them. Even in these 1960s and 70s recordings, the music was not as "accessible" as it is perhaps so now. How many of us were introduced to classical music, and Bach, from the Disney/Stokowski film Fantasia?
This RCA release includes an item not in the other two stereo CDs of Stokowski/Bach material (or is it the other way around?). It so happens that it is my favorite Bach/Stokowski transcription: Chaconne (from Partita #2). At 17:55 it may seem impossibly long. It is over 2 minutes longer than the solo performances in my collection: Perlman and Ughi. On the other hand, it is important to report that I turned to those later recordings because I'd heard the Stokowski transcription. You'd almost believe that this was originally written for full orchestra. I think that there may be many people who were influenced to explore more classical music because of early exposure to it from people like Leopold Stokowski. I'd recommend this disc just for this piece.
On the other hand, is this just more-of-the-same Bach/Stokowski stuff? Well, #If you listen to just the three stereo CDs currently available of this material you will hear differences. In the case of the London/Czech CD, there are no duplications. The sound is also much different. The Phase 4 recordings are much brighter, but there is the Stokowski Sound still inherent in the Phase 4. Since there's no duplication here, get both.
This incarnation is better than the earlier "Surround Sound" issue. That one used this method in the whole CD. In this case, for some reason, only two of the pieces are so treated. I can say that this is to good effect. There is a 'feathery' quality to the strings in this CD. On the earlier release the sound was more homogenized and the extra dimension heard here is more interesting to listen to.
You know, it occurs to me that we often read reviews comparing the "sound" of a CD with that of an "LP". When only the latter were available there was discussion of the different 'sound' different LPs had. The root of that discussion is embedded in similar discussions here. When I talk of the 'LP Sound' of an RCA release, it is usually different from the 'LP Sound' of a London release. So, when reading reviews that mention this factor, keep these differences in philosophy of sound reproduction within the producers of the original LPs.
On a brief personal note: The EMI and RCA CDs happened to come together at a particularly stressful time in my life. No details, but it was one of those times when you begin to wonder when it will let up. Listening to the EMI and RCA discs, each in a slightly different way, helped ease the stress.
This RCA disc is filled with Handel's Music For the Royal Fireworks, with the RCA Victor Symphony. Here, again, is the ad hoc orchestra including such greats as Bob Bloom on the oboe, Mitch Miller on the horn, etc. This was originally issue on CD coupled with the same band's Water Music Suite (see above). What I treasure most about this newest issue is the reinstalling of the sound effects of a picnic with fireworks in the background!! This was on my old 'Gold Seal' LP and I remember the first time I heard it. I was not prepared, and it was the 2nd of July in Toledo, Ohio. I was working on a paper for graduate school, when suddenly these sounds drifted across the room. I got up and looked out the window, wondering if someone was celebrating early. When I realized the source, I just smiled. I'd just found another reason to like Stokowski. The previous CD incarnation lacked this 30 second ending and I missed it. It's good to have it back. Good, clean fun, as I said above.
-- Robert Stumpf II © 1997, Classical Net
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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from Italy and France. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach
***
George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 (O.S.) [(N.S.) 5 March] – 14 April 1759) was a German-born, British Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, he is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with extremely popular works such as Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Messiah. His music was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frideric_Handel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frideric_Handel
***
Leopold Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor of Polish and Irish descent. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th Century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and for appearing in the film Fantasia. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed. Stokowski made his official conducting debut in 1909 and continued making recordings until June 1977, a few months before his death at the age of 95.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Stokowski
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Stokowski
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