BACH ORGAN WORKS
This page is devoted to sharing some of my Bach MIDI files with you - why not take a listen to some of this music ?
You'll need to have a decent sound card with a wavetable synth to fully appreciate these MIDI files, and a good pair of Hi-Fi speakers. I've used plenty of 16 and 32 foot tone in some of the files; this means your speakers need to be able to reproduce frequencies down below 20 Hertz -quite a tall order even for good Hi-Fi speakers.
Although these MIDI files should sound reasonable on any General MIDI setup, they are perhaps best experienced with a Creative
Labs AWE 32 soundcard, using the Emu 8MB GM soundfont, as that is what they have been mixed for.
18 Choral Preludes This is collection of large choral preludes completed during the last years of Bach's life.
Fugue in G major BWV 577 ('Gigue') This is Bach at his most jolly. A lively dance-like theme in 12/8 time is woven into a
somewhat loose fugue. The theme is mainly accompanied by homophonic chords forming a highly rhythmic counter-subject. With
the exception of the final entry, the pedals play a slightly modified form of the theme, perhaps to make it more practicable for the
feet. Even with this slight simplification, it is still a work of considerable technical difficulty. Bach seems to have delighted in
attempting to tangle the organists hands and feet like a plate of spaghetti !
Prelude in E flat BWV552a This is the opening movement of the Clavierubung Part 3 - a collection of choral preludes on hymns associated with the Lutheran Mass. The various choral preludes are prefixed by this grandiose prelude, and followed by the famous 'St. Anne' fugue. The prelude is based on three themes, representing the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
Prelude and Fugue in B Minor BWV544 This is the 'Great B Minor' prelude and fugue. This one of the very best of Bach's organ works, overflowing with bold harmonies and rhythmic ingenuity - enjoy !
Fantasia and Fugue in G minor BWV542 Another of the large works composed while Bach was working at Weimar. The Fantasia is a masterpiece of harmonic writing, full of great passion and torment. It is said that Bach wrote this at about the time that his first wife died - perhaps there's a connection ! The fugue is a wonderful virtuoso showpiece based on a dance-like theme that some writers have suggested may be based on a Dutch folk tune.