NOTE: The 2 CDs in Vol. 6 (OAR-740) are contained within the 11-CD set of the Complete Organ Works of Bach, Raven OAR-875, and are no longer available as a separate Vol. 6.

Youthful Brilliance

Project Completed This sixth volume completes George Ritchie's series of recordings which comprise all of the works for organ by J. S. Bach. Together, the recordings survey ten organs which have been built in America by artisans who work in a style based on historical precedents. Each volume includes registrations of the works recorded, stoplists and descriptions of the organs, and musicological notes on the works by George Stauffer and George Ritchie. Five of the six volumes contain two CDs each, and are offered at the price of a single CD.

Two Organs: Martin Pasi built the three-manual organ for Saint Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska in 2003 as his firm's Opus 14. The organ features dual temperaments: one well-tempered and the other 1/4-comma meantone (George Ritchie uses the meantone temperament for the Prelude and Fugue in C Major). The 78 ranks include two at 32' pitch. Charles Fisk (1925-1983) built his largest instrument in 1979 for the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Like the Pasi organ, the Fisk was built to play a wide range of historical literature. The Great and Brustwerk divisions follow North German Baroque models located in the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. Some characteristics derive from the work of Andreas and Gottfried Silbermann, blending German and French ideas of the 18th century. Fisk has incorporated stops in the style of 19th-century organs by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The organ has four manuals and 86 ranks, two of which are at 32' pitch.

CD 1 Martin Pasi & Associates Organ, 2003, Saint Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
Prelude Concertato in E Major, BWV 566
Prelude and Fugue in A Major, BWV 536
Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535
Prelude and Fugue in E Minor Cathedral, BWV 533
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 549
Fugue in C Minor on a Theme of Legrenzi, BWV 574
Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531
Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her, BWV 701
Allein Gott in der Höh sei Her, BWV 711
Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721
Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731
Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein, BWV 734

CD 2 C. B. Fisk Organ, 1979, House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minnesota

Fugue on the Magnificat, BWV 733
Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582
Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 550
Partita on O Gott du frommer Gott, BWV 767
Prelude and Fugue in D Minor Fiddle, BWV 539
An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653b
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 720
Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727
Valet will ich dir geben, BWV 736

Paul Aldridge reviews in the January, 2006, The American Organist: "Everything about this production exhibits the highest quality. When the need is to hear Bach played to perfection, this set should be at hand. Impossible to recommend highly enough!"