Johann Sebastian Bach composed his most renowned organ works — the Toccatas, the Fantasia in G minor and the Passacaglia in C minor — in Weimar, in the stylus fantasticus so beloved of his Northern German masters Buxtehude and Reinken. Bach here follows in his predecessors’ footsteps in all of these large-scale works: the freely inventive writing in the preludes is linked to the rigour of the fugal construction and so brings them to a majestic conclusion. This recording includes all of these magnificent masterpieces. Bernard Foccroulle was born in Liège (Belgium) in 1953. He began his international career as an organist in the mid-70s, playing a wide range of repertoire from Renaissance to Contemporary Music. His discography as a soloist includes more than forty CDs. He has won awards including the Diapason d’Or for his recording of Dietrich Buxtehude’s complete organ works for the Ricercar label, as well as for the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, which he recorded on beautifully preserved historic instruments.
