Product Description

Even amongst the many churches of Europe, St. Thomas in Leipzig, Germany is special; not only has it housed a world famous boys choir but has been the site of considerable music creativity. Composers such as Mendelssohn and Mozart have performed there and Wagner was baptized there, but certainly the greatest works ever done there are the compositions of J.S. Bach. The organ featured in this recital by Mr. Böhme is a restoration of the Sauer organ which was first built in 1889 by Wilhelm Sauer. The restoration was begun in 1988 by Christian Scheffler, who reconstructed original mixtures and some of the other altered stops. Plans have been made to restore the organ to its 1908 disposition. The program Mr. Böhme has chosen includes some of Bach’s Organ Chorales, Prelude and Fuge in A minor and "Jesu, bleibet meine Freude" and several other of Bach’s familiar and not so familiar compositions. This church and organ are important pieces of European culture both musically and historically.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115913 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-10-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 56 minutes

Customer Reviews

"I'm glad I got this DVD but...."
There are more thrilling organ videos out there...Phillip Delacour and Hans Andre Stamm come to mind. This organ has no ornamentation on the keyboard or stops compared to the organs on the Delacour and Stamm videos. The program is 1/2 chorales and 1/2 Bach's showier more concert type pieces. There are 5 chorales from Orgelbuchlein, plus Jesu meine Freude, Nun Danket alle Gott, Jesu bleibet meine freude, and Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit. The concert type pieces are Toccata in d minor BWV565, Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV543, and Toccata and Fugue in F major BWV 540. The video is good, showing the player's feet on relevant passages, and good video of the organ pipes and placement within the church. I had to turn the volume way up and it still wasn't impressive sound that you would expect from such a great organ.

Horrible sound
The quality of the recording is below all standards. A real pity since the organ has a beautiful sound and the organist is excellent. It does not justice to J.S. Bach, the DVD that is.

Ullrich Böhme Bach Concert at Saint-Thomas
How to rate this thing ? CD or DVD ?

Beautiful CD ! and I say so since I use to listen this DVD without watching it. This performance of The Master, J.S.Bach by Ulrich Böhme is a pure pleasure despite the poor satisfaction watching the DVD.

Saint-Thomas, which architecture didn't change since 15th century is more than an historic temple loaded with religious and musical history. Most of all, It was the temple where Bach worked from 1723 to 1750. That's why Saint-Thomas is better known as the temple of pilgrimage for organists.

The organ played by Böhme was inaugurated in 2000 and is located in the transept just in front of the leaded glass window representing Bach himself. The console is a replica of the original organ while the instrument is brand new.

Too bad I had to find these precious informations outside the DVD. After a while, watching it means returning on and on to the same point and finally, loosing interest.

Concert itself is great and the program perfectly balanced for an audience that looks quite small. Few good moments in the Prelude and Fugue in A minor, and Jesu, meine Freude, without mentioning the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. At least, you will enjoy a good pedal work and a sober registration.

Despite the fact that viewers are put on the side without useful historical details, the sound is crisp and clear, and Bach, well, the eternal Bach ! I can understand the idea of pure concert tradition focused on the performer, and if so, I'm not sure the DVD formula is appropriate. A good CD with a fine booklet may have served better the audience.

In short, watching it for Böhme with good hands and pedal work, the elegance of his play and the enjoyable repertoire of German classical organ music. Listening it for a good performance of Bach, the brilliance of the organ and the quality of recording.