Originally broadcast as a late-night series for BBC2, 21st Century Bach presents performances by the world-class organist John Scott Whitely in the churches and abbeys where Bach himself worked and performed (for this DVD in Amorbach abbey and the Stadkirche Walterhausen).
The organs that Whiteley performs on are themselves works of art, captured in all their glory by use of pioneering camera-work - a key feature of which allows viewers to select multiple camera angles for certain performances.
This the first release in a series that will eventually cover the complete organ works of J.S. Bach.The cover design itself is a still from the opening credits for the series, designed by British artist Damien Hirst.
November 2009
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“…the filming of the music, a billowing reverie of action shots and architectural exploration, is anything but fusty. …the idea of matching the musical rhetoric with a visual equivalent is intriguing… The performances are… lucid, thoughtful and informed by an eminently unrufflable technique....”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
