Hans Vollenweider - J. S. Bach: Preludes & Fugues (2022)

In building the organ for Zurich’s Grossmünster in 1960, the firm of Metzler Orgelbau set a benchmark. Every well-known organist wanted to play on this instrument. Hans Vollenweider, organist at the Grossmünster from 1970 to 1986, recorded the works of Bach over several years. Everything Bach wrote for the organ is here, from unknown youthful works to the late chorales of the Leipzig years. The unique musicality and masterly technique of Vollenweider’s interpretations are delightful. We encounter a vibrant personality to whom music is everything – his Bach, dynamic and luminous, captivates the audience. This gift of conveying the music’s spirit to his contemporaries made Vollenweider one of the very great organists. The spontaneity, immediacy and vividness of his recordings, available for the first time on compact disc, remain compelling.