Bach - Passacaglia in C minor BWV 582 - Smits | Netherlands Bach Society

[@yaroslav_kaiuk]

0:07 Passacaglia 7:26 Fuga

[@Rosangela161]

Good job. Thank you.

[@carlosalbertoteixeira375]

Kaiuk, thanks! And greetings from Rio!

[@nixczski]

Thank you so much for the time stamps.

[@DaviSilva-oc7iv]

But... this video has only 6 months

[@DaviSilva-oc7iv]

@Caiden Mateo what is her name?

[@hunterhalo2]

I walked into St. Thomas cathedral in NYC while friends were at a basketball game. I didn't know what was going on. I sat down, listened to this whole thing, nobody clapped, it was a musical prayer. Honestly changed my life, why else would I be commenting here. I wish you all the MOST.

[@trespire]

I find it profound that the most uplifting music, that lifts the spirit to great hights and speaks to glorification of the mysterious divine, was created by one of the most secular composers.

[@tomowenpianochannel]

Had a similar experience in Madrid years ago... heard organ music (that I knew) from the great cathedral. Went into listen, it was Bach's mighty major Toccata/Adagio/Fugue in C major. The whole stone edifice vibrated to the music, like an earthquake, you could feel it through your feet as well as your body and ears, one of the most impressive moments of my travels. Bach and God are surely related!

[@славабогомаз-ц4д]

Я живу в стране агрессоре! Мы напали на Украину! Я в шоке, вся жизнь перевернулась, я люблю Украину, и весь мир , почему так?

[@cheuk5917]

Instead I've visited the Thomaskirche in Leipzig for the first time last September.

[@hunterhalo2]

​@@славабогомаз-ц4дit's OK man. A lot of things are out of our control.

[@nickb602]

The thing about Bach, no matter how many times you listen to the piece, you will always hear something new. Like Shakespeare, in that everywhere you look there is more substance and meaning. Heifetz said of the Chaconne, “I have been studying and performing this piece for 50 years and I still do not understand it all”. That is true for many of Bach’s pieces.

[@piter_sk]

...no matter how many times you play the piece, you will always find something new and fascinating about Bachs geniality... If I have any problems, I start to play Bach, there is something even in his non-complicated pieces, that gives you the inner peace and just gets you to feel his majestic music..

[@davidhancock8861]

Bach's is the only genius I cannot fathom in music. You can know his works intimately but never reach where they originate from. He is an ineffable mystery and I just love him that way! All credit to the Netherlands Bach Society for creating this permanent treasury of his work.

[@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy]

I think part of the reason some Bach works like this are hard to understand is due to Bach's paradigm of counterpoint first, chords second. The chords are almost incidental and not the guiding framework of the composition. They come as a consequence of the independent melodic lines.

[@MrCimiciotto]

I fully agree! That's one of the reasons of the greatness of J.S. Bach

[@PKim-xo9rj]

Exactly: never boring. So addictive

[@mercy2409]

Cried first time I listen this years ago, cried again today lol. only bach and mahler can move me this way. amen bruh

[@juancarlossaavedra6757]

SAME HERE

[@aimilios439]

Young and ambitious Bach... This piece has to be my favorite ever. It really bends the term Baroque. I've listened to it hundreds of times, from pedal cempallo, piano, organ, orchestra and legends as Stokowski, Richter, Fox and my dearest Biggs, and with wildly different highlights and registrations and conservation... But every single time, my whole body shivers. The slowly progressing passacaglia that gives you an interesting breath before taking it away with three pedal points and the bass so known it works as one... And then pause. You can't take in air, because you are waiting. After that is the fugue. A complex but familiar from before theme that gets stretched and stretched until it comes on bass and on soprano, letting you know the end is near. You don't want it but your heart and breath need it. It must be over, or it will ruin everything. And it's the most majestic not overly pompous finale ever. The Neapolitan, the pause, the suspension and the pedal, the flat second, all in perfect timing for a full C major that resonates with your heart. The shivers peak and slowly disappear; I never cry with music but this piece cracks me up. Every time. Whenever I listen to it on purpose, or it's on the background, or I remember it, it's in the center of my attention. It's the reason I love music so much, the piece that tought me the most beautiful things can be and are created by man... In the modern Era that everyone can find everything from classics to alternatives, from professionals to amateurs, from irrelevant music about this matter to Bach, a performer has every opportunity to create a great performance. And it's done here. Thank you very much for your performance, Mr Smits. And the NBS. Thanks for letting me experience the piece for the first time again... I may seem overreacting, but I'm not, and of course anyone can skip all this. But it can happen with every piece of Bach, every piece of music, every piece of art, every piece of human thought and strivingness for beauty. And it can happen to anyone. Thanks again, and keep up the good work... All of this is coming from a listener of the piece (still relevant with music, though). Can't imagine from the performer's perspective...

[@bengunn99]

The Chaconne is number one for me.

[@aimilios439]

Not that different as a piece. I love it too. Bach and all other composers have many pieces that can be favorites and number ones though.

[@carolyncimerro6006]

Thank you God, Bach, the organist, All are wonderful!

[@EliotKiti]

Emilios, you couldnt be closer describing what I feel exactly about this celestial piece of art. I am familiar with this piece for about 2 years now, and I still listen to it once a week. I just adore bach, and his special talent of bringing emotion to the counterpunkt. He was more than just a creative genius, he had the purest of all souls - and he was gifted with the ability to make us cry even 300~ years afyer his era.

[@aimilios439]

I'm happy I wasn't only talking for myself. Bach's the man!

[@denisnicholson2528]

Amazing that Bach only wrote one Passacaglia and its the only one he had to write. What a masterpiece.

[@chambord860]

Also works for some other forms! How many badinerie most people know apart from the finale of Orchestral Suite #2? Or air (OS #3)? 😁

[@emsv-earlymusicscorevideos7076]

Who knows what he wrote more ;)

[@jean-yvesPrax]

He also wrote the chaconne in D minor which is an other master piece, mays be the "ultimate" one !! And in late 17e cent. the difference in between Passacaille and Chaconne is more and more fuzzy.

[@smuecke]

Crucifixus from the b minor mass is a passacaglia

[@jean-yvesPrax]

@@smuecke May be, good point..., but if it is, it's very far from the original "dance" form, specially with the counterpoint at the choir that "breaks" completely the "swing". But indeed we have a ternary rhythm with strong beat on the 2nd to the bar, and we have a basso ostinato... I'm not expert enough, but I will ask some a get back to you ;-)

[@ofsabir]

I just realized that if there would be just one channel that I am allowed to watch in youtube, this would be it! I don't know how to thank you for keeping Bach's legacy alive...

[@apokatastasispantonnn]

kayıtların kalitesi ve otantikliği gerçekten takdire şayan değil mi

[@carlosalbertoteixeira375]

Agree 100%!

[@ferrazne]

Concordo plenamente!

[@keremaydogan306]

dimi kanka süper yaw

[@cloud15489]

We shall thanks Mendelssohn for bringing him back. Bach was such an amazing composer

[@lordlufas4347]

Bach is the Greatest Musician of All Time.

[@svetsarkirurgen2]

No doubt

[@Frederic_Francois_Chopin]

Hold my piano.

[@CobbleBompster]

Agreed.

[@BRUH-lf2ss]

Nah playboi carti

[@nyon979]

After Mozart

[@LoKimLinProject]

this might be the greatest piece of music ever written.

[@boschevartist]

Listening to these 12 minutes of music is like hearing the sound of water sliding over silvery stones in a narrow river, or the song of a bird waking up in the morning, or the afternoon light brushing the bricks of a London street. But unlike all of these, it was not nature that made it possible, but a man-an utterly sensitive human being. Thank you, J.S.B.

[@silv3r97]

I think Bach is the greatest musician of all time.

[@VallaMusic]

omg - i heard this piece over 40 years ago - did not know what it was called - could never manage to find it again - until now today !!! my favorite organ work finally found !!!

[@jameslove-vani797]

Such a good feeling, when you rediscover an old song or book thought to have been forgotten.

[@catherinearroyo5359]

​@@jameslove-vani797❤❤❤

[@lukeluke7082]

That must have been driving you mad. But not the easiest piece to find if you don’t know the name - the amount of organ works alone Bach has and that doesn’t get used in films and adverts

[@pelaugfi62]

Reitze Smiths is a one-in-a-lifetime organist and Bach interpreter. This rendition is a miracle -listen, learn and be humble. It’s a terrible loss that he don’t record for NBS anymore .

[@t.r.9542]

J.S. Bach is for me the best in history... Nobody can come even close to this man....

[@happyherbert1984]

That's true...

[@ducminhnguyen7835]

I think possibly Mozart if he could have lived for another 30 years.

[@federicoyanezf.y.8359]

@@ducminhnguyen7835 I dont think so... Bach is the deepest sh*t. This is an early work. Bach was in his 20's....

[@ducminhnguyen7835]

@@federicoyanezf.y.8359 Mozart also had very deep works, especially the later ones like piano concertos no. 21-27, symphonies 39-41, the Requiem, and Clarinet concertos. It's hard to imagine what could have Mozart accomplish if he would have lived into the romantic era.

[@rogergoldring3599]

Quite agree, the best. I discovered him properly when I was about 40. I listened to the Matthew P, and my mind totally exploded. I remember it so well. He has brought such joy into our lives.

[@MelancoliaI]

Bach is a force of nature. Bach is the Fifth Season.

[@Airy59]

and the fifth evangelist, by the way.

[@krisjustin3884]

Listening to Bach is like hearing the voices of heaven.

[@pietvandijk1349]

No. Heaven doesn't exist, it's part of our imagination. Listening to Bach IS heaven. There's nothing more and nothing better than this.

[@krisjustin3884]

@@pietvandijk1349 Bach would have been far more outspoken on his Christian faith and belief and heaven than me. Even his concertos were devoted to Christ. You like the music of a devout Christian. Anyway, I’m glad you like his music.

[@pietvandijk1349]

@@krisjustin3884 true. I respect that.

[@billybobthekidiswack]

@Piet van Dijk how you know? You died and found out?

[@pietvandijk5084]

@@billybobthekidiswack no I try to say that we never can and will know if there is a heaven in real, the only thing we really know is that it exists in our imagination and in the old stories from the Bible.

[@joselopes2293]

This Passacaglia only could be composed by a musical genius. The sentiment and the harmony are sublime. The interpretation is outstanding. Viva Bach!!!

[@rykehuss3435]

Bach is the king of harmony

[@TadeodeWiesent7]

¡¡¡Viva!!!

[@sorenstirling8795]

This to me is Bach's ultimate masterpiece - the whole species could do worse than to be remembered by this one piece of music

[@pamelafrancis4476]

Yes, and as in much of Bach's music there is a steady progression like people starting off on a walk through a forest with others joining along the way. All of us bound for home!

[@vladimir7941]

interesting thing is that the each year I discover a new piece of Bach's masterpieces. Ten years ago I was listening to Passacaglia every day for 2 or 3 years. It seemed so fascinating to me. Then I discovered Chaconne, Partita No. 2 BWV 1004, played by Hilary Hahn. That was like a travel through the Universe. The more I listen to Bach and live , the better I realize that it is unreal to understand this world, but it's possible to feel, let's say, deeper with the help of J.S.Bach.

[@ketanfernandes4094]

While BWV 565 is his most recognizable organ work, I personally think this work is Bach's best organ work. The way which he layers up a simple motif and eventually interwinds it into a double fugue. It's almost like painting with only three colors given.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

It's only because somebody decided that BWV 565 serves as a good Halloween theme. That's the only reason BWV 565 is the most popular Bach's organ piece. In terms of composition Passacaglia (and many other works : BWV 542 for instance) is on a completely another level. But hey ! The crowd always follows some silly ideas :-)

[@aidenmalan4151]

You only need red, blue and yellow to create a masterpiece. Which bach used

[@alwatt8011]

565 may not be Bach's

[@classicalmusic-hu9gx]

Each of Bach's works has its own color, smell and can not be compared with each other. I think all Bach's works are wonderful.

[@ttwiligh7]

@@alwatt8011 I don't know why that non-sense is wide spread. Nobody could write that Toccata and Fugue other than Bach. The way he develops a motif is quite unique and no one can copy that.

[@French-Dutch-English-blooded]

Bach's most soulful piece (that I've heard) and probably the greatest piece of music ever (specifically Passacaglia).

[@lordlufas4347]

For me, the Greatest Musical Work of All Times is BWV 1080: The Art of Fugue.

[@tomowenpianochannel]

The Passacaglia is 6-7 minutes of soulful pain. But when the Fugue starts, it goes in many directions. It builds. New keys are discovered which relieve the pressure! Bach's mathematics lead to infinite upward staircases (about 9 mins in), an incredible effect. Then there is the Coda, which is incredibly impressive. While the first half is soulful, the second half (Fugue) is even better!

[@rocketsroar1]

One of my favorite Bach organ works, the "underwater" opening always raises my hackles.

[@MitchBoucherComposer]

In a good way, or bad way? I find starting with a soft registration and then growing gradually louder to be really effective. Richter's recording on Ottobueren is a wonderful example.

[@rocketsroar1]

@@MitchBoucherComposer In a good way!!!

[@siavasharya7111]

Makes me think of Davy Jones

[@MitchBoucherComposer]

@@siavasharya7111 I like Davy Jones.

[@nigelmiller951]

Raising ones hackles means one is angry?...Perhaps raising spirits, inspiration or becoming awestruck?

[@mbashirov1]

I am at loss for words... How can a mortal being compose this magnificent of a piece?

[@34Arran]

There is something about this piece which always reduces me to tears of gratitude for the genius of JSB.

[@videoDemon]

After the din of centuries, after the dust of history, after the banality of us all there will remain the genius of Bach. Would that anyone of us could have achieved in a lifetime what Bach achieved in a day.

[@ettorealbertogelli8893]

Yes David!!!

[@threethrushes]

...and yet in a few short millions of years the Universe will never know that Bach ever existed. We are blessed that it is mere centuries since his death, and we can listen to these celestial notes.

[@paulregner5335]

How can anyone not appreciate an instrument so huge it's as big as a building, and takes more than one person to play.

[@grahamnancledra7036]

Oh NBS, NBS, How could you?How could you wait nearly seven years to publish this performance on KZbin?. I've listened to Reitze Smits recording three times before posting my remarks. I'm listening with my noise reduction headphones on and it is GLORIOUS! The Passacaglia is one of Bach's ten most wonderful offering to mankind. I gave up writing notes after the first four minutes of the performance. With my headphones on the bass of the 8 bar motif is amazing. at the start you can just hear the air passing to the pipes from the pedals. The bass is deep and thunderous. The whole sound recording is crisp, though I did wonder if the organ was a little too big for the work. The vision was extremely clear even out here in Papua New Guinea. How I would have loved to be at Mr. Smits side aiding him with the pipes and turning the page of the score. Would Bach have liked this recording. Heavens Above I'm certain he would be as delighted as I am. Bravo and thanks once again from Port Moresby! After 7 months here in Port Morseby, continuing my work, I am now very belatedly travelling back home to the far South West of England until the New year 2021, when I will return here. This will be the last recording from all of you at NBS I will hear out here in Papua, and what a work to end on for the time being. So many many thanks to you all for the work you have done and for publishing all the works I have come to listen to over the past weeks of isolation and work. You have been a godsend. and kept my sanity and faith. Thank you. I'll still be listening in. :)

[@TheSdevries]

Magnificent - this organist is a Master...

[@theonoo]

The organ is a masterpiece also...

[@luwrig4185]

Beatifully played. Bach was a genius...

[@jaikee9477]

Not "a" but "THE".

[@djkim4681]

The genius of music can be defined by Bach himself.

[@carlosalbertoteixeira375]

Luwrig, for sure not from this world.

[@michaelescobar524]

The S Word man why are you if you don’t like it?! It’s not for everybody, some people like it and some people don’t. I can live with that, but don’t disrespect an artist of this level in such way.. he is a genius, period. And he obviously doesn’t need your approval

[@wakkowarner4288]

@@carlosalbertoteixeira375 I've been thinking this since my teen years in the mid 80's. "Bach isn't from around town.," His own kin don't quite sound like him, no one does... only him. Soli Deo Gloria!

[@Musicmadness101]

We often find ourselves content by that which is less than perfect; but let us remember - this is perfection.

[@Wazoox]

I've listened to this piece all my life, and each time it's better than before.

[@Leopold3131]

That is one of the best performances of Pasacaglia in C minor I’ve heard. Bravo.

[@edigabrieli7864]

There is one version that may be better, Varnus at the Budapest Synagogue

[@Leopold3131]

@@edigabrieli7864 , excellent suggestion. Smit keeps better time than Varnus. But there is something organic about Varnus’ performance that I love. Also, the clarity of each individual note was great in the Varnus performance.

[@Npvsp]

You may want to hear Hans Andre Stamm’s one and maybe reconsider 🙃

[@Leopold3131]

@@Npvsp , I just listened to it. I like the tempo. And Andre-Stamm is quite precise. The guy is a human metronome. That having been said, I feel that if I was to envision what it would be like to hear a computer play this piece that Andre-Stamm's performance is it. Unfortunately, that's not quite what I'm looking for. But I DO appreciate the suggestion. Thank you very much.

[@KSfan4ever]

Yes, it is magnificent but I really love the Olivier Latry performance.

[@thomasramdasvoegeli]

Ich spielte sie auch, die Passacaglia. Wundervolles Instrument hier, hervorragende Interpretation durch Reitze, makellos, Hochgenuß von A bis Z, danke! Und danke für's Hochladen.

[@robertcaldwell707]

Smits' performance is a superb performance. My lifelong journey in the world of Classic Music, and what a wonderful journey it has been!, began in 1970 with this composition with Virgil Fox playing it on the Rogers Touring Organ at The Filmore East Auditorium in New York City. The music was accompanied by Revalation Lights. Fox started the show by declaring, "Johann Sebastain Bach is glad you are here!," emphasizing the immediacy of the experience in the present moment embracing composer, performer and listener. One of the highlights of my life!

[@johntiggleman4686]

I saw Virgil Fox in Grand Rapids, MI at the old Civic Theater with the same organ and light show. Of all the other kinds of concerts I've attended over the years, that one will always remain in my memory as a real "mind blower!" And especially this piece. Virgil played the Passacaglia a tad slower. And he had no musical score to read as he played. All that aside, this is a great performance.

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Listen to Edgar Krapp - St Hedwigs Cathedral in Berlin. Recording from 1979. IMHO that's the best performance of Passacaglia.

[@robertcaldwell707]

@@KrystofDreamJourney I found it, it is on KZbin, with a search using the information you have provided. Magnificent!!!

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

@@robertcaldwell707 I grew up in Poland, 15 minutes drive to Germany (half way between Prague and Berlin). Edgar Krapp gave many concerts in the entire region - including in Leipzig, where Bach was a kapellmeister, and also Eisenach where Bach was born. Eterna Edition record company was releasing on vinyl tons of performances, including entire Silbermann Orgel series. Those are worth checking out too - big time !! IMHO - those are best performances of Bach’s music ever. My teacher was a German organist - goodness Gracious... brilliant ! Obviously it was in 1970s when I was a kid. No recordings of him playing at all. Nobody bothered... no recording equipment around yet, the technology didn’t exist back then. You should hear Bach’s pieces in HIS interpretation !

[@焼き芋-w1g]

In Japanese videos, this song is said to be the masterpiece of Bach's organ song. The development from static to dynamic is wonderful, and I feel the spirit of Bach who composed the song. Dear performer, thank you for playing a great song.

[@ZAWARUD00]

I also believe this is the best Bach's organ piece, and maybe the best ever.

[@RobertArbroath]

Perfect registration, you can hear each one of the internal parts!

[@vijayjagtap2301]

Listening it for more than 40 years. Floors me everytime. Magic. What else.

[@Riccardo_Silva]

You drove me to tears. No silly and cheap sentimentalism here, just pure emotion. It's so powerful and magnificent, and your performance is utterly flawless!!! Pure emotion!!! Thank you!!!

[@gregmountain1438]

Bach is an anchor for many classical romantic composers after him. Sometimes they embraced him, sometimes they wanted to get away from his shores to new oceans but they always came back to him never could get too far away. As beethoven said once, he was not the brook as his name suggested, he was actually the ocean itself

[@tunakaymak1203]

9:16 How can a human brain can form that kind of harmony ? Pure genius

[@timshred1255]

I also use this harmony in my own songs, i love neoclassic, but don't ask me which sharp it is :(

[@Ludwig1625]

@@timshred1255 T. J. S Bach

[@ettorealbertogelli8893]

Human brain? Are we sure?...

[@RedRose4711]

It was a pure stream of consciousness.

[@frereM]

@@ettorealbertogelli8893 Astute observation. After all, "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her." :)

[@RedRose4711]

That's quite possibly the best version I have yet heard, and I have heard most of them here on KZbin.

[@astro-phoenix4461]

Bach is one of, if not the greatest musical minds to ever live

[@MalcolmWeir-h2x]

No. He is by far the most genius of them all

[@tomowenpianochannel]

Certainly the greatest musical and mathematical mind combined. Who else came up with the Well-Tempered Klavier? (the tuning for the early fortepiano). And who else has written music as imposing as this? the effect of Bach's music on the brain is yet to be studied, but drugs can't beat it.

[@hape3862]

This is still the absolute peak of all (organ) music. Nothing before or after Bach came even close to this. (Not even he himself!)

[@stuartparsons4948]

I love it too. (I love pretty much everything by Bach for that matter) But recently, his Clavier Übung III has also felt to me like another great pinnacle of organ music...Especially the "St. Anne" prelude.

[@giobrach]

What about the Canonic Variations on »Vom Himmel hoch«, the Trio Sonatas, the other individual works such as the Dorian, the Wedge, the Pièce d'Orgue...

[@berkeleygang1834]

I'm split between this, and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Both were on the first side of a Reel to Reel tape my father had, and I wore it out on his Hi-Fi as a kid. Both will take the air out of my chest, and send shivers up my spine. Nod has to go to Passacaglia and Fugue. In High School, I played Baritone (Euphonium to those that hold their nose high), and the concert band played an arrangement which had a Baritone (ahem, Euphonium) solo for the 8 bar intro. I added the pedal C at the end, omitted at the end because most Baritones (err.... Euphoniums) can't play that note. But I knew better having heard the piece a bazillion times.

[@georgesmelki1]

@@berkeleygang1834 Some Bach scholars, including Malcolm Boyd, have recently considered that the T&F in d could be spurious...

[@ludovicmusy5784]

The Ricercare is not bad either but I agree this is just paramount

[@desanson]

Words cannot convey how much I love this rendition.

[@PatrickBateman191]

This absolute masterpiece is shrouded in mystique. Simple, meditative and profound, it rapidly engulfs me in a trance where I contemplate the great questions of life (birth, death, God). Certainly among humanity's greatest achievements.

[@zizarronix]

me too men.

[@gab-sk5sz]

Mr Smits, you are a fantastic musician. Thank you so much for this Bach. You know you give us so much energy! In the eternal struggle between life and death, life wins definitely in your music. Life and love win, and we can see the true beauty coming directly from God Almighty. I am 54, I think I'll listen to this amazing fuge at least one a month for the rest of life. Thank you again!

[@jonnsmusich]

I've been listening to this work for 6 decades. It improves each decade. You have much to look forward to.

[@l.g.8028]

Well said, I agree with you. I keep coming back to this wonderful video in total awe!

[@theovanwyk5333]

This is the epitome of what a Passacaglia should be. It encompasses everything that came before it and what was to come.

[@paolopantaleo7135]

The ending in major is so moving, like the inevitable accomplishment of destiny

[@bob-q9u7j]

Well said

[@toonieven]

A mindblowing performance! Whether you like this kind of music or not, you have to stand in wonder at the genius of the composer and virtuosity of the performer... So who in Bachsname are the 75 trolls who disliked this video??

[@dominiekschrijvers1424]

Maybe the descendants of Louis Marchand?

[@nickb602]

@@dominiekschrijvers1424 LOL. That anecdote is probably not true, though, as it was not reported by any contemporary sources only later after Bach’s death and only by Germans.

[@dominiekschrijvers1424]

@@nickb602 Well, according to Titon du Tillet (French source), Marchand returned from Dresden because of homesickness for Paris.... But as a Bach adept, I only believe the German version. :-)

[@casimiralexander]

Who could merely “like” this piece?…?! And what could possibly dislike this masterpiece of the eternal human soul? There is only love for this, if one has a soul.

[@paulmichaelwaterman-ca]

J.S.Bach would dedicate his work "to the Glory of God". With aspirations such as that, is it any wonder then his work is inspired, transcendent, magnificent and food for the soul, homesick for Paradise. Centuries later, brilliant virtuosi give life to Bach's compositions and joy to both mortals and angels. Humanity can achieve greatness when the goal is to honour the Creator. Amen.

[@floriandevuyst]

Quel bonheur de pouvoir accéder gratuitement à de telles interprétations via youtube, merci aux équipes audio-visuelles de la NBS aussi

[@georgesbegon4252]

Absolument d accord avec vous. Nous pouvons par ce média accéder à de plus grandes diffusions d interpretes et élargir nos propres points de vue.

[@frereM]

I suspect you would find the interpretation by Jean-Baptiste Dupont at St Sernin in Toulouse to be quite wonderful as well. It is available on youitube.

[@НатальяКириллова-н7р]

Excellent and magical!💖 Thank you for allowing us to feel the flight of the soul. With gratitude and love from Russia.

[@gianpaga11]

Grazie Natalia. Un pensiero alla mia amatissima Russia!

[@daangroeneveld5308]

This videos shows how the human soul is actually the instrument, played by Bach, instead of the other way around. You can very clearly see on the face of organist Smits that the way the music builds up is taking him over untill he is in a state of trance/ecstasy in which he is able to play so magnifically beautiful and virtuosic. He's gazing as if he sees the revelations of John happen right before his eyes.

[@stalhandske9649]

An excellent, passionate performance. Apart from the obvious genious of JSB, good condition of the instrument and tender handling by the performer, there is something deeply satisfying in observing co-operation between player and assistant in an organ performance. Turning the sheets and stops, needing an assistant to keep the performance going, brings home the enormity of device, giving almost.. _dwarven_ feeling about it. Truly a fitting musical symbol for Baroque Era.

[@penjamfilms]

Great performance of some of the finest music ever written.

[@allencadwallader8803]

This is a beautiful rendition of this magnificent piece.. I played the Passacaglia and Fugue for my senior recital as an undergraduate. At the Eastman School of Music, I wrote my masters theses on the stylistic evolution of his organ works. The piece brings back many fond memories. It is certain that no other composer could match Bach's contrapuntal invention.

[@derbar7051]

Thank you for sharing your story and knowledge and achievements! From one musician to another, I'm proud of you! And I thoroughly agree, no composer could ever match JS Bach's Contrapuntal mastery. As Mozart, Beethoven and even Shostakovich would agree that he was the great musical Grandmaster the world will ever know.

[@james.flores]

My favourite part of the week is when these videos get published. Thank you 🙏

[@AndrewStockley]

Marvellous. The organist presents the mind of the music, the organ he is playing is the perfect vehicle. He is the servant of the piece and it speaks beautifully in his hands.

[@Digibeatle09]

A huge unstoppable force - like a number of the world's greatest waterfalls cascading down in front of one simultaneously - bravo !!

[@notaire2]

Wunderschöne Aufführung dieses perfekt komponierten und technisch anspruchsvollen Meisterwerks im polyrhythmischen und veränderlichen Tempo mit durchsichtigen doch polyphonischen Tönen der historischen Orgel und mit möglichst effektiver Dynamik. Wahrlich genialer Organist!

[@Ytterbio]

A fantastic performance! I played this as the final piece of my senior recital in college, and it is an absolute beast to learn, and to get that awesome phrasing throughout (I definitely did not do the piece nearly as much justice as this performance). I especially like how the registration slowly builds during the passacaglia as one giant crescendo.

[@olavpileberg1035]

Bach ist Anfang und Ende aller Musik. 💖

[@Bodamann]

... Max Reger said.

[@frankterutz6733]

So ist der Übersättigungseffekt leider auch nicht weit...

[@Bodamann]

@@frankterutz6733 Sicher. Aber die Dramatik hält sich in Grenzen.

[@frankterutz6733]

@@Bodamann keine Frage eines der perfektesten Werke der Musikgeschichte, aber da gibt es für den Hörer bzw. Spieler kaum noch Möglichkeiten des Hinzutuns

[@arnoldvdwaals]

Next to Mozart

[@admiralmyxtar3702]

I love how they actually put audio from outside the keyboard room to prevent clicking sounds of the keyboard going to the video (you can hear them in other video where Smits explains this score).

[@davidbukowski3463]

I love that there's still new recordings of this piece being released, it's simply one of Bach's best.

[@wolkowy1]

The same shivering of the spine I have now while hearing this Passacaglia, as I had many many years ago when I first heard this piece while page-turning to the organist Valery Maisky (1942-1981). It struck me as a tragic dramatic motive with elaborate variations. One of Bach's highest picks in organ-literature if not the highest one, got here a very fine realization by the organist Reitze Smits. Bravissimo! I thank him and NBS.

[@alilo821]

This is my #1 favorite song played on pipe organ, and I LOVE to hear all the different renditions of it ❤️

[@robinvonlossow]

Die "Passacaglia C-Dur, BWV 582" ist für mich eines der interessantesten und schönsten Stücke, die Bach je komponiert hat. Auch hört man hier deutlich heraus, dass Passacaglia und Fuge nicht voneinander getrennt werden (dürfen). Sie gehören zusammen wie Feuer und Licht. Bach war nicht nur auf der Orgel ein Genie. Er schuf Messen, Orchesterwerke, Kammermusik und Kantaten, Cembalo- und Violinkonzerte. Und jede Komposition auf höchstem Niveau. Seine Vielfalt ist einfach unübertroffen. Vielen Dank fürs Hochladen! 👍💖 The "Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582" is for me one of the most interesting and beautiful pieces that Bach ever composed. One can also clearly hear here that Passacaglia and Fugue are not be separated from one another. They belong together like fire and light. Bach was not only a genius on the organ. He created masses, orchestral works, chamber music and cantatas, harpsichord and violin concertos. And every composition at the highest level. Its diversity is simply unsurpassed. Thank you for uploading! 👍💖 (Mit Google-Translator ins Englische übersetzt /Translated into English with Google Translator)

[@redbrian3655]

These registrations Smits uses are simply magnificent

[@barbarab4632]

What a miraculous work - and what an inspired performance! Thank you.

[@kevinmorgan8534]

This is now my favorite version of the Passacaglia in C minor...wonderful!

[@snorlaxmunchlax1886]

that true,but it's easy to sleep😂

[@gab-sk5sz]

Smits you are a genius! Thank you so much for this wonderful Bach! Fantastic!

[@gauriblomeyer1835]

This piece of music leads me into some sort of inner ecstasy and I wonder how this extreme inner happiness is achieved. No other music has got this effect.

[@cuadrantmobile2997]

Bach is indeed the greatst musician, but nobody talks about Reitze Smits. This was a legendary performance. If it wasnt recoreded we woulndt have heard anything close to this in our lifetimes!

[@rocketsroar1]

A perfect example of the fact that certain human feelings can ONLY be communicated by music.

[@conallmckayguitar]

One of a number of Bach's works that make me wish I was an organist, but if I had to choose only one organ work, this would be it. Beautifully played, thank you.

[@marciomartin7296]

So beatiful. The piece, the registration and, of course, the performance. I discovered this preciousness from Bach in the year 2013 and this recording released after so long reminded me of that unforgettable discovery. Thank you NBS!

[@ckaufmancpa]

Superb performance of one of the greatest pieces of music that will ever be written.

[@효정씨-e9c]

I really need CD version of this. This is the best passacaglia I’ve ever heard of

[@juanon777]

Yes, this is my favorite passacaglia too

[@francoisvigour220]

Magnifique interprétation. L'organiste est imprégné de la 🎶 sublime de Bach

[@johntiggleman4686]

I've loved this composition for close to 50 years. I first heard it on a Virgil Fox album; then I went to a Virgil Fox concert where he played this (with an astounding light show [was around 1972]). And I enjoy finding other "interpretations" of this work. This is a great one.

[@MD-md4th]

I love the dark intensity that Smits brings to the Passacaglia, the end of which is like a Danse Macabre. And then the climb to salvation.

[@061mozart123]

Thank you so much for your performance. It is so inspiring to see a work of pure genius performed by a master. The Passacaglia is surely one of the greatest achievements for the Organ, a work you could spend a lifetime pondering. Thank you again.

[@metaxa999]

この曲は、Bachのすべての作品の中で一番好きな曲です。 素晴らしい演奏をありがとうございます。

[@johanneswilhelmgerhardtosb1800]

My Favorite Organ work of all times. I remember learning this piece at University and still play it when I have a decent Pipe Organ available. Excellent performance and Registration.

[@mk5244]

…the great JSB is one of the miracles of mankind, a direct line through the universe to…..whatever you call it. I call it the almighty God.

[@blueeyes6852]

I've always adored Bach. This performance was just beautiful! Thank you! 🥰

[@altoclef6688]

This work was my favourite when I was a little kid. Dad had a precious recording with Helmut Walcha. Really liked this recording, the registration and the tone of this organ is soft as the fur of a Persian cat, still everything is very clear and crisp. Well chosen tempo. One of Bach's best works well performed on a fantastic instrument. Thank you!

[@pamelafrancis4476]

A marvellous work to develop your mind! (thank you for mentioning Helmut Walcha).

[@patrickmicalef6204]

Bach n etait autre que le disciple de dieux !! Une page musicale d une pure beauté ! Quel génie !!

[@donnaterkildsen7211]

what genius music, Bach and this musician! Thank you both!!!

[@Solidxx]

The Ego's mania of comparing and cataloging artists to feel that what I hear is the best. There is no best and worst, just enjoy. God Bless you.

[@dariogiorgiutti9418]

Excellent. Perfect phrasing, perfect articulation, fascinating stop selection, good enhancement of all the accent, and very very few technical imperfections. Definitely this is a first class performance.

[@markbell9973]

Someone once said: No matter how fine the performance, it will never be as good as Bach's score up on the rack. [The inbuilt insurance of humility when I look up at Kant's "starry heavens," or upon Nature, or read Isaiah (like Bach surely did).]

[@wvangalen]

What a wonderfully satisfying rendition! Because of the gorgeous playing, yes. But also because of the choice of organ and registrations. This performance makes me feel I could listen for hours to the work of maestro Smits utilizing so excellently the work of maestro Bätz! Zeer bedankt!

[@AlexanderMcAllister]

If the creation of the universe had a soundtrack, this would be it. Bach truly was living on a higher plane of existence

[@45smonday]

This has quickly become one my favorite Bach organ pieces. It is quintessentially Bach.

[@thehuwedwards]

Superb insightful playing of (probably) the greatest organ work ever composed

[@fernandosoares5812]

A 582 é de arrasar! Não há meio de me cansar, minimamente, de a ouvir...

[@pilpie]

Heerlijk, dat we er weer aan voorbij zijn om dit meesterwerk louter in de plenum-klank te spelen. Ja en de kwaliteit van het spel van Smits is boven elke discussie verheven. Hulde !

[@guylebras9880]

La NBS a attendu longtemps pour enregistrer cette œuvre magistrale du répertoire pour orgue de Bach et du répertoire de l’instrument tout court... Il fallait trouver l’interprète et l’instrument. Et bien c’est fait et de merveilleuse façon avec cette interprétation qui nous montre à quel point la registration est importante dans les œuvres pour orgue. Merci à la NBS pour cette merveille. À noter que le thème provient de Pachelbel et qu’il est répété 14 fois dans la passacaille ce qui correspond à la valeur de l’addition du rang des lettres B-A-C-H dans l’alphabet 😘

[@henriqueferreira7721]

Wonderful performance and great organist!!!

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

The coordination of hands and feet in this intricate piece is truly astounding!

[@gjwolfswinkel]

"Wow, this beautiful recording has very few views!" I thought. And then I checked the upload date.. it's today :-) Obviously many people enjoying it right after it got uploaded!

[@georgerobertodlugosz2428]

Mixing partitas and fugues Bach shows us the grandeur of his compositor.