Best's Bach

In this SACD William Thomas Best (1826-1897), with his arrangements of selected organ works and the Chaconne for Solo Violin by Bach, makes his appearance as a dramatic director: his stage directions in matters of choice of tempo, articulation, registration, selection of manuals and, where appropriate, the use of the swell pedal, enable the great free-standing organ works to appear as dramatic scenas or ballads, while the smaller-scale works and chorale preludes come across as poetry. Carsten Wiebusch dramatises Bach on the new Klais organ in the Christuskirche, Karlsruhe, in a way that is both poetic and powerful.