J. S. Bach: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major BWV 564 | Bálint Karosi

[@RechtsstaatBRD]

Toccata 0:00 Adagio 5:55 Fugue 10:00

[@christianschwarz1574]

Bálint Karosi's playing is breathtaking in technical and musical terms. In my opinion he belongs to the top five of the best and most musical organists of our time. Because anyone who can play Bach's trio sonatas flawlessly on a pedal clavichord is a true genius. And all this without being conceited combined with a bright smile on his face. I can't stop revelling, but mentioning all his specialist skills would go beyond the scope.

[@peterwatchorn411]

Exemplary technique, musicianship and stylistic insight, not to mention video quality - but you do not need me - or anyone - to state the obvious! This performance is a perfect illustration of the truth that "less is more", with endless layers of subtle nuance amongst the necessary panache and bravura. Like Bach himself (so the reports go), the feet are as subtle and expert as the fingers - Many thanks for all the great videos you continually post. They are a great tonic for me whenever I emerge from my own daily Bach practice and a generous contribution. Thanks, Balint!

[@pieterluijk9403]

I have utmost respect for this organist.

[@williammitchell1864]

I tell you, It's fun being an organist☺️

[@andrewmarvell4604]

He's my favorite organist. This is, however, the first time I have heard him butcher Bach.🤪

[@gregfolland8452]

@William Mitchell - Would you care to elaborate on that ...? 😃

[@jgdmlw]

This is one of my favorite pieces of music of any instrument or genre. It blows me away every time I hear it.

[@Mr05241948]

I would suspect Mr Bach himself would have smiled at you in approval ,with the way you executed this. Beautiful

[@dawidspangenberg4699]

This is one of my most favourite of The Great Masters compositions. Bach was the absolute organ genius. There were other fantastic organ composers, but JS Bach towers head and shoulders above them, and you do his music absolute justice. Thank you Balint for bringing this wonderfull music to us.

[@chrisrose6200]

I have heard this musical master piece by numerous organists in my 90 years but I have never heard an organist race through the toccata with such speed yet precision and pipe clarity. Superb!

[@Scaw]

I guess no one who happens to pass by this church in CT would realize just what lovely music can be heard in it. Thanks for doing this.

[@voxpopulivoxdei1155]

What a nice modern church and a nice Organ! And the fugue ...precisely intonated like a sewing machine. Respectful greetings from Hamburg/Germany!

[@bkarosi]

Would love to do a demo at the St Jacobi and Katherinenkirche!

[@Quintade8]

@@bkarosi please do that!!

[@ryanfrederick3376]

Probably the best reading of this I've ever heard. Definitely the best reading of the fugue.

[@jofido]

As a student, I never had the opportunity to study u tube. It did not exist. This is a real revolution for all of us. Absolutely amazing. We are all able to learn from the very bes; easily available and at will. What a wonderful gift. Thank you so very much, Balint.

[@charlessiegler6303]

You sure know how to bring Bach’s music to life. Well played 👏

[@farahmohammed1963]

What a wonderful rendition!! Your footwork is so light and precise. Second movt Adagio was so beautiful and moving. Also, your video production is so clear. Thank you for an excellent performance and presentation on all fronts!!🌺😊

[@WINCHANDLE]

Superb performance. Read carefully: The structureless, almost random beginning of the piece is Bach showing us how he warms up to play the organ, and then runs through some random thoughts and sketches, while the piece is taking shape in his head. Comments? This is the only piece where a composer includes, and lets us hear his preparatory mental machinations by including them in the beginning of the piece. Then when everything is crystalized, he follows through with the finished and polished music. Does this make sense to you ? or did he fool me? C'est une Grand Mystere To be able to go back in time and hear Back warm up at the console!!! Amazing how after 300 years, Bach can have me scratching my head. It's like an artist painter including his preparatory sketches in the final painting. Maybe I'll do that next time I compose some music. Dont worry, will pass out some ear plugs! Just retired, and have time to go to organ concerts...but there aren't any to attend! (Covid)

[@marioalgandona9132]

Excellent Dr. Balint Karosi.

[@TGarzarel]

Same experience here. KZbin started making fake copyright claims against my own videos of myself playing classical piano...and I am just a novice. They used to drop the claim after I appeal, but now they deny my appeals. I'm not happy with YT anymore, and wish there were other options. BTW, great playing. I love 564

[@Frederico21101984]

Thank you, Balint Karosi, for this wonderful recording! Played with such care and clear, without rushing :) greetings from Brazil

[@jofido]

Balint, this is a magnificent performance. The organ, registration and your interpretation has made this old friend come brilliantly alive. Throughly enjoyed getting reacquainted.

[@hardmuscl4life]

Balint, Thank you for bringing BWV564 to life for us in this marvelous performance. This was one of the very first Bach compositions I was exposed to in my youth. Each time I hear it it’s as though an old friend has come to call. I particularly enjoy the way you treat the various cadence points as you give each note it’s due. This is my new favorite recording of this piece.

[@johnpattan3763]

Igazan kivalo, nagyszeru, meses, csodalatos = Truly outstanding, magnificent, fabulous, miraculous.

[@carlomilani2066]

Interpretazione magnifica, rigore Bachiano, mi piace molto, registrazione impeccabile, grazie

[@FraserGartshore]

Brilliant performance as always! Beautiful “old” organ in a new church. I wish we saw more of this instead of organs being replaced by other forms of music... greetings from rainy Germany! F

[@MegaMobass]

This definitely moves into the second slot of my favorite versions of toccata, adagio, fugue in C. I love listening to Balint play. However, my top favorite of this is the Robert Elmore 1955 recording on the Midmer Losh organ. I’d love to hear Balint play some ferocious Bach on the M-L.

[@Richard-vq7ud]

So glad to hear that church has acoustics

[@williammitchell1864]

On Adagio, it sounds like the 8' Principal and the 8' Flute Celeste II was selected. My Rodgers Essex 645 has those two stops. The principal is on the Great and the flute Celeste II is on the Swell.

[@karlrovey]

I have had issues with youtube incorrectly tagging Bach recordings, the Widor Toccata, the Lemmens Fanfare, etc. I've disputed it each time simply saying that it a recording of myself playing a public domain work. So far youtube hasn't rejected those disputes, but I haven't recorded anywhere near as much as you have.

[@gravicembalo74]

Krass gespielt. Schnell und musikalisch. Super und vielen Dank!👌👌👌

[@paqman67]

ThankYou. Horrible day, made better by my hero JS BAch and Mr. Karosi. Thank You!

[@chriscarson2547]

Thank you for listing the registrations. That is always interesting information. Absolutely beautiful footwork--super crisp dotted rhythms, in tempo runs and trills--it is just superb. A fantastik performance, all around. The fugue tempo is just right, ebullient, but not rushed. It is a blessing to be able access this and your other uploads.

[@thunderhands3274]

Nice performance. Feeling like melt my ice Gradually. Although it will be winter soon.

[@laurentlouisducourretgravereau]

Bravo monsieur Balint Karosi. Les oeuvres du Maestro sont parfaitement bien interprétées. Les jeux employés sont bien utilisés. Pour l'interprétation de l adagio personnellement je l interpretais plutôt lento amabile avec flute 8 /et cornet. Mais à part cela, tout est parfait. Merci de nous faire rêver.

[@jaimevarelarodriguez6444]

La interpretación más limpia y perfecta, que vi en todo KZbin, genial felicidades..

[@ElieElKhoury19]

Such a beautiful performance, thank you!

[@james.flores]

Inspirational playing and the registration was 👌

[@g.k.failla9389]

So clear and detailed. (From the clavichord playing)? Surprised to see that type organ in what looks like a 1960's style church. From Chicago, U.S.A.

[@jandevries9123]

Prachtig, prachtig! Fantastische uitvoering!

[@KravchenkoAudioPerth]

Nice tempos. Enjoyed the pacing. THe registration was solid. Nothing to different. I enjoyed your performance a lot. Thanks for sharing Balint!

[@tleekauai]

Thanks for another superb performance! So sorry to hear about your KZbin struggles. Please keep sharing your wonderful talents and skills!

[@superpipes100]

Glorious - as always! Thank you Balint.

[@edwardkarev6734]

Огонь. Я такого исполнения ещё не слышал. Отлично, Балинт!

[@xavieramaya8388]

Suprema Obra de JSBach

[@johnnowacki6903]

BRAVO!! Beautifully done. I believe Bach himself would be pleased...

[@tony1961chl]

Bellísimo porque los sonidos bajos no se saturan con la acústica, preciosos sonidos ,muchas gracias.

[@davidbaranowski4963]

Very beautiful. The principal you used as the solo stop in the adagio is very warm and expressive; the organ is gorgeous. Great ornamentation throughout- inspirational.

[@gyorgyagh4378]

Gyönyörű zene kitűnő előadásban! Köszönöm a föltöltést!

[@rafikbaladi6555]

Just brilliant and full of character

[@jlee29170]

I had the CBS vinyl recording of E. Power Biggs performing this on the Flentrop organ. One of the first organ pieces i studied. Sublime.

[@hopelessnerd6677]

An excellent performance. I think Biggs might have a little bit of an edge on it, though.

[@jofido]

@@hopelessnerd6677 I prefer this performance. Tha Biggs performance, may to some degree, be accentuated by arthropathy at the time of the recording. Nothing taking away from Biggs wonderful and classic interpretation. My personal preference only. I too have studied Biggs early in my learning.He is the benchmark.

[@g.k.failla9389]

The "arthropagy" mentioned is rheumatoid arthritis. (I was a medical school secretary to a PhD. that had this. She showed me a photo of Biggs' hands and pointed out the similarity to hers. We both collected his recordings). From Chicago, U.S.A.

[@luuktorn]

Very nice performance! The organist is very good, his technique is splendid!

[@jfp2816]

A famous baroque organist told me to use the heel in the pedal solo.

[@class87srule]

Traditionally, most Baroque pedal passages avoid the heel as it wasn't common in the Bach era, although many passages can be made easier by heel use. I was always taught to use toes only for works of this era.

[@Erik_Pasveer]

@@class87srule Correct. The use of the heel was uncommon during the baroque, classic and even early romantic period: Even Mendelsohn's organ sonate's are to be played using the toes. One major reason we know this is the fact that Mendelsohn used to play on Stumm organs. Baroque organs with a pedal that does not even allow the heel to be used because of the sort keys and relatively high bench.

[@aussiemale059]

Its JS Bach as he wrote it with this mans hands reading JS Bach's mind

[@luigipardi9281]

Un buon organista.

[@jofido]

Thanks for this excellent performance, Balint. I have studied this many times and have kept this as a study reference. A master class. Thank you.

[@JustChristian02]

This was fantastic, I can't wait to hear you in Stuttgart

[@louisestergaard1094]

Impeccable - elegant. As it should be!

[@joantarradellas6530]

Ausgezeichnet!!!!!

[@jonb6417]

Awesome performance! Many thanks.

[@organist1982]

Wonderful!! I especially like all the extra ornamentation in the Adagio!

[@jcb3user]

Amazing performance!

[@SternDrive]

I love your special organ shoes. Not for going on long strolls in the woods. I'll like to see you integrate more heel and toe on the pedals. It sometimes makes it faster to get to the next note, as I'm sure you know. I enjoyed this very much.

[@paulblake8903]

Beautifully played.

[@orgue3461]

Exceptional - thank you 😀

[@alma2491]

Hugs from Brazil. I really admire your talent

[@zpasjidomuzyki9390]

Amazing performance :))

[@timurthe1523]

take my breath away Johann and Balint

[@jozsefmakai9194]

Nagyon Szép!Köszönöm Szépen!

[@samshearman5251]

Very well played!

[@bikinibabes666]

Absolutely marvellous.....

[@stefanhempel3768]

Danke für das schöne Spiel ,ja dass Pedal-spiel ist am schwersten bei diesem Stück ,man muß sich genau überlegen Fingersätze u Pedalsätze tempo usw aber alles gut sehr Sauber .......

[@keithcitizen4855]

I liked the hw stop in the Adagio

[@h.t.schellingerhout1865]

Great work, thank you! I guess the link to you Patreon is to a totally different person :)

[@PASD2008]

Belíssimo 💕💕💕💕💕💕🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@organist1982]

By the way, I read an article in _The American Organist_ sometime in the last year that suggests that the whole reason for the single unaccompanied melodic line at the end of the Adagio before the Grave section is for the organist to pull pedal stops with the left hand while the right hand plays, then for the right hand to pull Great stops when the left hand takes over the descending line, so that the Grave is then on Organo Pleno. Obviously, this strategy would necessitate playing the solo line throughout on the secondary manual and the accompaniment on the Great. What are your thoughts?

[@bkarosi]

I don’t think the writing of the grave section warrants organo pleno. It is more in the Italian “Durezze e legature” tradition, which is usually played on the Principale

[@organist1982]

@@bkarosi Interesting. Do you think it would be stylistic to also pull on a Voce Umana/Piffaro (celeste to the Principale) in that section when available, in the style of an Elevation?

[@bkarosi]

@@organist1982 Yes, I would do that on an organ with a Principale Voce Umana/Piffaro but not with a Celeste in a swell box

[@AntoniusTertius]

Beautifully performed! Bravo!

[@cloudandangel]

Hatalmas BRAVÓ!

[@mariolucchiari5987]

Grandissimo Balint!

[@ongardenbythebay]

Splendid! And by the way, who puts “thumbs down” on this?

[@dwightlundeby5854]

Good Sir, is it possible to provide a 0ne-time donation in support of your generously shared Artistry? Thank you for your inspiration, Dwight

[@pedroberetche3180]

👏👏👏

[@jrzzrj]

👍......❤️.......

[@matthijsvdw]

Tremendous rendition! Please keep posting, Balint! But one of the pedal reeds seems - however very slightly - out of tune. (Or am I being too picky? In the Fugue it is less noticeable than in the Toccata.)

[@bkarosi]

Yes you are correct! All of them were slightly out

[@mudgebauer]

What organ is this? Who made it and when?. The church looks new, but the organ looks old. Is it German? Nice playing. Couldnt have done better myself. Thanks

[@carlosazambujayt]

It´s at the beginning of the video: Richards & Fowkes Op. 1 (the organ), at St. Barnabas Church, Greenwich, Connecticut. I think the organ is about 30 years old. That company seem to build fine instruments. Bálint Karosi's performance, so unpretentious and yet so carefull, is also very fine!

[@timurthe1523]

mijn God!!!!!

[@danielmcintosh7177]

13:10

[@CORRADOCAMERONI]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈♂️👍🙏🐉🦅🦋🙏 Amazing Music and Amazing organist 😏😉✨🌞✌️

[@johnswimcat]

Good organist but this magnificent piece really needs a larger instrument and building.

[@onceltom]

WHAT IS YOUR WORK?

[@AlexDeBronhe]

Для Адажио темп торопливый и чересчур много неуместных укрошений. Крайние части, хороший темп.

[@pepperco100]

This organ work is almost certainly not by Bach. If interested, there are available many arguments why by musicologists and Bach scholars. That said, I enjoyed this performance!

[@bkarosi]

Who else could have written such an extraordinary work?

[@pepperco100]

@@bkarosi One candidate is Johannes Ringk. If you are interested there exists many articles and books about Bach's organ music. It doesn't sound like Bach to my ears. The music can be enjoyed without believing it was written by Bach. I would suggest you familiarize yourself with organ works undoubtedly by Bach, then listen to this work again. You might then agree with me?

[@valsyoutube3331]

Can we please not have those damn Joe Biden ads in between your performances? Please!

[@amigodaverdade4448]

i FLATLY DISLIKE YOUR EXTRA NOTES & TREMOLOS & other adornments, disrespecting Bach's composition. Also, you have serious problems keeping the correct tempos. This is the work of a novice, not a serious performer.

[@EthanPearson]

And who asked you?

[@geiryvindeskeland7208]

Amigo da Verdade, I am sorry for my inadequate English. Improvisations, adorments don't disrespect Bach's compositions. Novices don't dare or are able to do it, but Karosi is a serious musican, he dare do improvise because he is not a novice. Quote: "Also, you have serious problems keeping the correct tempos." Please tell us - what do you mean by "correct tempos?" Does he play too fast or too slow?

[@geiryvindeskeland7208]

Ethan Pearson. Since Mr. Karosi let the listeners write comments, it is also allowed for Amigo da Verdade to do so despite that we disagree with him.

[@EthanPearson]

@@geiryvindeskeland7208 I don't disagree with you, but there is a difference between being a jackass and criticising someone's work so that the artist can benefit.

[@silvanmeschke]

That's absolutely not true. Whoever plays Bach metronomically and dislikes flourishes Bach did not write has no clue of baroque performance practice. People back then were expected to add ornaments themselves, some composers wrote out a lot of ornaments (Böhm, Walther), but Bach or French composers did not. Especially in aria-like pieces as the Adagio it was common to add ornamentation. There are even places where the music is written only in chords in half/quarter notes- the musician is expected to improvise with these chords in the style of the piece. There is even a Fantasia and Fugue by Bach (cant remember Bwv number) where the whole Fantasia is only written in Chords, this is obviously meant to be improvised on. Moreover playing metronomically is a modern invention, even in Bach rubato is an important part of the music (of course another type of rubato as in Chopin or Franck). In baroque music, we give the music time on 1 and 3, also with lots of playing experience in Bach's music one will notice, that this music has climaxes too, and we should give them time to speak. Additionally big churches tend to have large acoustics. If one would play strictly and metronomically, you wouldn't hear anything of the music. Bach is no unexpressive music, like organists thought in the 60s and 70s.....

[@bobh5087]

Even though I "liked" this video for its general effect, I still cringe when I see organists (who should have been taught better) playing the Pedals with the outside of their feet. This is not only inelegant and unrefined, it's also a treacherously dangerous habit to form. I beg young organists not to fall into this lazy technical fault. Also, why wasn't the Swell/Positiv division used to "echo," contrast, and complement (say, with Flutes 8' 2' or 8' 4' 1') certain passages away from the unrelenting Organo Pleno of the Great division? This would have helped define the "architecture" of the various fast movements. As it is it's quite tedious and straining on the ears. Another point: Bach's Organo Pleno registration scheme included the Pedal division, i.e., Principals 16', 8', 4' and Mixture, with Reeds 16' and 8' added for color at the organist's discretion. But we don't see/hear this plenum in Karosi's unusual registration. A shame, really.

[@christopherglenn3240]

Perhaps if you don't like the way he plays, you should post your own video of this amazing work using all of your perfected techniques. Otherwise, you just appear to be another organ snob the likes of which do nothing to turn anybody into a fan of this most wonderful of instruments.

[@pieterluijk9403]

The pedal work was perfect and accurate. Come show us Bob H...

[@louisefox6434]

Bob, you sound jealous.

[@fiskfan1999]

As for pedal technique, it is the end goal(sound) which is important, and playing with all toes helps us appreciate what the articulation is (and playing certain pedal passages with no heels allowed can lead an organist crazy) I would say that Balint Karosi’s pedal technique and playing is perfect in this performance...and as far as registrations are concerned, I liked the registration choices very much except that I might not use the mixture in the pedal. If you or I played this piece it may have slightly different registration choices but we are all in this together and there is plenty of space in God’s great earth for all the variations of registration imaginable, and we don’t need to call other people’s registrations tedious and boring. After all, if I were feeling less generous I might call a performance that relies on frequent manual changes obstructive or distracting...but it may be considered more appropriate for some pieces and not others.

[@geckofeet]

I would have been about average height in the 18th century, and I have to play with the outside of my feet sometimes or else I can't physically reach the pedals on flat boards. It doesn't seem tenable to indict all Baroque players as "inelegant and unrefined."