Glenn Gould - Bach/ "The Art of the Fugue, Volume 1 (First Half)" Vinyl, LP, Remastered 2015 (Vinyl Passion Classical)

Originally recorded in 1962, this album by Glenn Gould performing and recording Bach's "The Art of the Fugue" on the organ is a sound that pretty much have been in my life for the past 50 or so years.  My parents used to play this album at a very high volume.  As far as I know this is the only recording with Gould playing the organ.    These compositional pieces of music were Bach's exploration in monothematic instrumental works.  Never written for any particular instrument, it is many ways Bach's thinking out a problem from a notebook.  Gould I suspect was a musician who tackled music as an ongoing concern than a finished work of art.  The process or the journey is very much of great importance to Gould, and it is intelligence as well as his skills on the keyboard that makes him such a fantastic artist. 

The description above sounds cold, but the truth is, I often hum this melody in the bathtub.  The ultimate riff builds on other riffs.   It's like building a sand castle, and there is a wave coming in any second to tear down your structure.  Trying to find the original mono Columbia Masterworks version is tough for me.   I want one because that was the version that we had as a child, and I'm trying to recapture my childhood through the medium of vinyl.  To recapture the past is a foolish activity because the memory is always the winner.  Even over physical objects such as a vinyl from one's past.  A European label, Vinyl Passion Classical, put this out in 2015 on vinyl.   Not sure if it's a high-end bootleg label or an official release.   The sound is great.  And there is something magnificent about this music on vinyl.   Gould has done so many superb recordings, but due to emotional reasons, this is my favorite Glenn Gould album. 

Philip Glass - "How Now" / Strung Out" Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition (1000 copies) Recorded in 1968 (OMM)

My guess that this is probably the earliest Philip Glass recordings.  According to Discogs, this is Glass's first concert in New York City.  Side one is "How Now, very much a hypnotic piece of music" and side two is "Strung Out.'  Both recorded at the Filmmaker's Cinematheque in 1968.   "How Now" is Glass on organ and it goes on for almost twenty minutes.  Repetition on the surface, but once you dig into its rhythms and sink into its hypnotic groove, it becomes a work of great pleasure.   For those who love the organ, this is the ultimate recording of this instrument.   The stamina to play this music is saint-like.   I'm a fan of Glass's music, especially his earlier works.  It's amazing that he did this type of music and eventually wrote these magnificent melodic pieces - but still, the Glass sound is contained in these different eras of music composing and making.  There is no way to mistake his work from some other composer. His uniqueness is that his music is rooted in the West, but also it has traces of Eastern drone like aesthetic as well. To be effective, the music needs to be played at high volume.  Think of it as a meditative piece that gets right in the front of your face.  

"Stung Out" is a performance piece with music by Glass.  Musician Dorothy Pixley-Rothschild plays violin while on skates following the music sheets that are taped to the wall of the Cinematheque.   I do not know Pixley-Rothschild's music or what happened to her after this performance/recording, but the ability to play the violin in such a manner, she must have the strength of a Mighty Atom.  She glides and attacks the music with precise attention.   An essential album for those who are into Philip Glass's music and his world.  The ultimate Soho New York 1968 moment. 

Albert Schweitzer - "Bach Volume 5" Vinyl LP

Albert Schweitzer - Bach Volume 5

Vinyl, LP, U.S.

Columbia Masterworks

I’ve been searching for Bach organ music for awhile now.  Specifically Glenn Gould, but can’t find that  on vinyl yet, but I do have this Albert Schweitzer album.   The only thing I knew about Dr. Schweitzer was that he spent time in Africa and he wore a pyth helmet.  I had not the foggiest notion that he was a musician and played Bach on the organ.  Therefore when I found this album in the bargain bin at Amoeba it was a great find for me.  

The fact that this is Volume 5 and therefore must be four other volumes floating in some store’s $1 bins is an exciting thought for me.  But what about his playing or the music?  Well, he is a doctor and therefore must be good with his hands.  The music is played beautifully with that rich sound from the organ that has to be such a heightened experience to hear something like that live.  When he recorded this album is a mystery to me.  There are no dates on it and there is a very long liner notes, that he wrote, but it is all about the music not about the recording of the album.   The pieces played on the album are “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,” “Prelude and Fugue in A Major,” “Prelude and Fugue in F Minor,” & “Prelude And Fugue in B Minor.”  It’s a beautiful recording, and I do wish there was some information about the actual album.  Perhaps he recorded it in the jungle with his pyth helmet on?