BT - This Binary Universe <FLAC>

Pop influenced ambient similar to early Aphex Twin/Autechre.

Youtube sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGwlEJTjc4


part 1
http://www.mediafire.com/?28igjmbtpak3p25

part 2
http://www.mediafire.com/?8g6sz9fylxkf69g

part 3
http://www.mediafire.com/?vfvfb5ywebn784q

A worming tongue of flame cast open my solar plexus. The usual axioms were followed, breathless nothing And pulsing in the chest rising tangling the heart sometimes twin coursesings of tongues knitting in my flesh. The serpents rose and claimed the brain stem. Frothing solvent of the void bubbling through cracks in the skull dampening the self and the serpents push farther peaking at the crown of the skull imprisoned by bone. Trying to burrow through, my pineal is glowing bejeweled with heat and agitation and joy like oineric somnambulance. Muscles spasming, Dragons in my skull can't escape their immurement so force my cranium skyward, back locks taught in position totally straight. Muscles spasm every few seconds as though i were paralyzed by dream and the burning ever burning sometimes aching contention of it is overwhelming.

A rather intense introduction to chakras while meditating. Has anyone taken this to its terminus, the Kundalini awakening?

Bach, Johann Sebastian: Rapidshare, Blogspot, Megaupload

Bach, Johann Sebastian


(1685 - 1750)

A Musical Offering: Regis Iussu Cantio Et Reliqua Canonica Arte Resoluta- Thematiis Regii Elaborationes Canonicae

Collection of pieces intended to be performed as a single work - originally inspired by a performance of J.S. Bach's for Frederick the Great. Another of Bach's finals works, and along with The Art of the Fugue, is  one of the greatest triumphs of Bach's compositional style.

For following this work in absolutely the best way possible, memorize well the short first track of 30 seconds. All subsequent pieces are 'merely' elaborations of this theme- canons, fugues, and a four-part sonata in which Bach's compositional technique can be observed very clearly. The theme is said to have been written by the King to whom this 'offering' is dedicated.

A Musical Offering (Musikalisches Opfer)
Reinhard Goebel
Musica Antiqua Koln

On period instruments, accurate to the intended instrumentation - excepting the keyboard: a harpsichord is employed rather than what Bach wrote it on, a fortepiano.

I cannot provide all of the analysis provided in the booklet for these (if I had the ability to do so, I would scan the booklet, as this recording was retrieved from my library), but I highly recommend that everyone here, if possible, seek out a (quality) recording of these works. These are the best performances I have heard of The Art of the Fugue and A musical Offering thus far, but it appears that this compilation is no longer in print.

A Musical Offering, BWV1079
Le Concert Des Nations
directed by Jordi Savall
Alia Vox, Austria 2001

Another excellent recording of the Musical Offering for flute, harpsichord and violas-da-gamba ensemble.

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Art of the Fugue, The

Bach's opus ultimum. Among the greatest musical works of all history, perhaps the greatest.

Bach's final and summative masterworks are considered to be three: the Mass in B minor, a transcendentalist choir piece culled from earlier works and then perfected using the experience of a lifetime in music, the Musikalisches Opfer, and The Art Of The Fugue, presented here.

Together, the last two are unique components in a series of pinnacles of Indo-European harmonic/ melodic practice and theory on instrumental techniques, manifesting themselves as arcane, almost theoretical scribblings that only weave their splendour and magnificence once transposed from paper to instruments.

Musically, this is a treatise on counterpoint, and it is admittedly very difficult music to perform and understand. (It's also uncannily modern-sounding in places, perhaps even sowing seeds that would later wind up in Wagner's Ring cycle). To follow well, you may want to try the following steps, in increasing order of difficulty:

1) At first listen, observe the different note sequences Bach uses. Instead of trying to make sense out of melodies or elucidate their structure, focus your listening to a single melodic line and identify it, then try to focus on another line, and so on. Be as objective as possible.

2) Listen to the track again to see how the different lines you have identified work in conjunction. This time, keep focusing on the phrases and how they increase in complexity over time. Do not stop to consider individual notes as this will disturb your train of thought, instead, consider melodies and allow their initial emotional impact to influence your listening. This said, Bach's music evolves with a very clear momentum, so it may also be a good idea to just immerse yourself in it and avoid over-analysis.

3) Finally, after obtaining a good idea of how the music functions, try to relate different sequences from separate parts of the tracks to each other. Analyze form and structure, consider all of what you have just learned as a departure point. See how the different tracks relate to each other, as regards tone, speed, inflection, placement, etc.

4) Observe how this relates to your feelings and what you deduce from listening subjectively to the piece. Revel in the sense of meditative illumination this gives.

5) Realise how different this is from the dungpile of elemental, monumental moronity which surrounds modern art and its host society. Do cd-r copies of this and Burzum and distribute freely in churches and shopping malls, engaging with potential friends in interesting discussions about music, global warming, Paul Ledney's poetry, and the joys of eugenics.

The Art of the Fugue (Die Kunst Der Fuge)
Reinhard Goebel
Musica Antiqua Koln

Basic Structure:
I - simple fugues (Contrapunctus 1-4)
II - counter-fugues (Contrapunctus 5-7)
III - double and triple fugues (Contrapunctus 8-11)
IV - mirror fugues (Contrapunctus 12-13)
V - quadruple fugue (Contrapunctus 14, unfinished)
VI - four canons
VII - appendix: four-voice arrangements of the two versions of Contrapunctus 13 (three-voice mirror fugue) for two harpsichords

(there are also several other principles that bind the fugues and canons collectively, but that will be for the listener to determine (or google, whatever suits you))

This recording is played with period instruments, but it is not exact to what is suspected to be Bach's intended instrumentation:

Bach was familiar with open-score notation in this function from Frescobaldi's Fiori musicali 1637 and probablyfrom other sources; he himself used it in other keyboard sources; he himself used it in other keyboard works of his later years (in the six-voice Rivercar in the Musical Offering and in Variation 4 of Canonic Variations). The implications of that evidence are confirmed by the fact that, throughout, the scoring is consistent with performanceo n a keyboard instrument. There are only two sections of the entire work which cannot be played by one pair of hands: the pedal-point finale of Contrapunctus 6 and the two mirror fugues. The final bars of Contrapunctus 6 are analogous to those of the A minor fugue in Book One of The Well-Tempered Clavier: here, as there, it seems likely the composer had in mind a pedal harpsichord...But if performing it complete already creates an "unhistorical" situation for players and listeners, and there is also some justification for choosing "unhistorical" means of performance too, if they assist the listeners' understanding.

I cannot provide all of the analysis provided in the booklet for these (if I had the ability to do so, I would scan the booklet, as this recording was retrieved from my library), but I highly recommend that everyone here, if possible, seek out a (quality) recording of these works. These are the best performances I have heard of The Art of the Fugue and A musical Offering thus far, but it appears that this compilation is no longer in print.

Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV1080
Hesperion XX
directed by Jordi Savall
Alia Vox, Austria 1986

As with Jordi Savall's other recordings, this version is evocative and warm, being performed on period wind instruments and viol ensemble. Some versions of the work may be found played on harpsichord or piano, but the use of a chamber orchestra is most consistent with Bach's intentions and the vague specifications he left regarding its performance.

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Brandenburg Concertos


Johann Sebastian Bach - The Brandenburg Concertos 1 - 6
Lucerne Festival Strings
Rudolf Baumgartner, conductor

J.S. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-3
BWV 1046-1048
Karel Brazda
Philharmonia Slavonia
1994

J.S. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos No. 4/5
Cologne chamber orchestra
Helmut Muller-Bruhl

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Cantatas


Der Streit Zwischen Phoebus Und Pan, BWV201 (The Contest Between Phoebus And Pan)
Performers:
Sybilla Rubens - soprano
Ingeborg Danz - alto
Lothar Odinius, James Taylor - tenor
Matthias Goerne, Dietrich Henschel - bass

Gaechinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
directed by Helmuth Rilling

Haenssler-Verlag, Germany 1999

In this secular cantata, Pan, the simple and mundane panpipe-playing forest sprite, challenges Phoebus, the sun-god, a masterful lyre-player who possesses a 'golden voice', to a contest based on who is able to perform the most beautiful song of all. The characters in the audience agree that Phoebus is the obvious winner except for the materialist Midas, who claims that 'Pan ist meister!'.

For his sheer arrogance and inability to judge, Midas is therefore punished with an outgrowth of two huge donkey ears.

Notable moments in this cantata include Phoebus' solemn love-song (track 5), Pan's tribute to joie-de-vivre (track 7), and Midas' outburst at the audience's incredulity (track 11, enhanced with Bach's ingenious 'hee-haw' motif on the violins, illustrating Midas' punishment, halfway through).

Complete works of JSB - CD 28
Cantatas : Auf Christi Himmelfahrt alein BWV 128
Mein libesster Jesus ist verloren BWV 154
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland II BWV 62

Complete works of JSB - CD 29
Cantatas : Nun danket alle Gott BWV 192
 Wer nur den lieben Gott läbt walten BWV 93
Ich Lebe, mein Herze, Zu deinem Ergötzen BWV 145
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm BWV 171

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Concertos

Solo Concertos Vol. 1
Comprising:
      - Concerto BWV1065 for 4 harpsichords and strings in A minor (a transciption of a Vivaldi concerto for 4 violins)
      - Concerto BWV1061a for 2 harpsichords in C major
      - Concerto BWV1056 for harpsichord and strings in F minor
      - Concerto BWV1057 for harpsichord, 2 recorders and strings in F major
Musica Alta Ripa
Dabringhaus Und Grimm, Germany 1996

Solo Concertos Vol. 2
Comprising:
      - Concerto BWV1054 for harpsichord and strings in D major
      - Concerto BWV1041 for violin, strings and basso continuo in A minor
      - Concerto BWV1063 for 3 harpsichords and strings in D minor (with alternate version of second movement)
      - Concerto BWV1053 for harpsichord and strings in E major
Musica Alta Ripa
Dabringhaus Und Grimm, Germany 1997

Concerto BWV1063 is especially recommended for its courtly, Italianate elegance.

Solo Concertos Vol. 3
Comprising:
      - Concerto BWV1055 for harpsichord, strings and basso continuo in A major
      - Concerto BWV1043 for 2 violins, strings and basso continuo in D minor
      - Concerto BWV1064 for 3 harpsichords and strings in C major
      - Concerto BWV1052 for harpsichord and strings in D minor
Musica Alta Ripa
Dabringhaus Und Grimm, Germany 1998

Solo Concertos Vol. 4
Comprising:
       - Concerto BWV1062 for 2 harpsichords and strings in C minor
       - Concerto BWV1044 for harpsichord, flute, violin, strings and basso continuo in A minor
       - Concerto BWV1064 for harpsichord in F major ('Concerto nach Italiaenischem Gusto' - First version of 1735)
       - Concerto BWV1061 for 2 harpsichords and strings in C major[/b]
Musica Alta Ripa
Dabringhaus Und Grimm, Germany 1999

Solo Concertos Vol. 5
Comprising:
       - Concerto BWV1060 for 2 harpsichords and string in C minor
       - Concerto BWV1042 for violin, strings and basso continuo in E major
       - Concerto BWV1058 for harpsichord, strings and basso continuo in G minor
       - Concerto BWV1050a for harpsichord, flute, violin and strings in D major (early version of Brandenburg Concerto no. 5)
Musica Alta Ripa
Dabringhaus Und Grimm, Germany 2000

Here is a five volume set concentrating on the composer's concertos for one or more instruments with or without chamber orchestra.

For those wary of relative unknowns in classical music recordings, rest assured: this is very high quality music, delivered in very high quality performance, on period instrumentation.

J.S. Bach - Violin Concertos
Includes:
        - Violin Concerto in A minor BWV1041
        - Violin Concerto in E BWV1042
        - Concerto for two violins in D minor BWV1043
        - Concerto for flute, violin and harpsichord in A minor BWV1044
Bath Festival Orchestra
Solo performer:Yehudi Menuhin
Performers in BWV1043: Yehudi Menuhin and Christian Ferras
Performers in BWV1044: William Bennett (Flute), Yehudi Menuhin (Violin), George Malcolm (Harpsichord)
Conductor: Yehudi  Menuhin

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Fugues and fantasies

Bach, Johann Sebastian - Fugues by The Emerson String Quartet
A Selection of fugues arranged for string quartet
Performers: Emerson String Quartet: Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel
21 pieces

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Goldberg Variations

J. S. Bach - Goldberg Variations
Glenn Gould
1981
 
J.S. Bach - Goldberg variations
Gustav Leonhardt
1965

J.S. Bach - the Goldberg Variations transcribed for solo guitar
József Eötvös, guitar

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Motets

This is the composer's entire body of work described by the 'motet' definition, which in Bach's case is a somewhat lengthy devotional anthem sung in German for choir or double choir. Instrumentation is scant and does not extend beyond the role of a simple basso continuo accompaniment consisting of cello, organ and contrabass violone (a type of viola da gamba), played in unison.

The Motets, BWV225 to BWV230
Contents:
      - Singet dem Herrn ein Neues Lied BWV225
      - Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf BWV226
      - Jesu, meine Freude BWV227
      - Fuerchte dich nicht BWV228
      - Komm, Jesu, komm BWV229
      - Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden BWV230
The Scholars Baroque Ensemble
Naxos/ HNH, Germany 1997

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Organ Works


Organ works - as played by Karl Richter
A massive three disc collection of Bach's organ works. A great listen for you Bach-loving metalheads out there.
Disc 1 - link dead
Disc 2
Disc 3

J.S. Bach - Famous Organ Works
Includes:
       - Toccata and Fugue in D minor
       - Fantasia and Fugue in G minor
       - Organ Concerto No. 4 in C major
       - Toccata and Fugue in D minor "Dorian"
       - Organ Concerto No. 2 in A Minor
Performer: Karl Richter. Apparently a truncated version of the previous.

J.S. Bach - Organ Works
Includes:
      - Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV565
      - Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C major BWV564
      - Toccata and Fugue in F major BWV 540
      - Toccata and Fugue in D minor 'Dorian' BWV 538
      - Passaglia in C minor BWV582
      - Pastorale in F major BWV590
      - Canzona in D minor BWV588
      - Allabreve in D major BWV589
      - 6 Choräle von verschiedener Art BWV645-BWV650

Performer: Ton Koopman (organ)
Archiv Produktions, Germany 1984

This record includes some of Bach's best known works for organ performed by virtuoso Ton Koopman. The colourful but understated use of timbres and phrasings together with the sweeping technical approach makes this one of the best overviews of the vast compendium of Bach organ music available, but enthusiasts are also advised to seek out alternative recordings of these works from Helmut Walcha, Christopher Herrick and Karl Richter, as the final result is as much a product of the performer's interpretation as it is of the composer's written instructions.

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Sacred works

Bach, Johann Sebastian - Sacred Songs and Arias
Georg Jelden (Baritone)
Heinz Schnauffer (Organ)
1974

Mass in B minor (Discs 1 & 2) (unknown performance)

Bach, Johann Sebastian - Mass in B Minor (1974, Mediafire) Disc one - Disc two

Gundula Janowitz, Sopran
Christa Ludwig, Alt/Contralto
Peter Schreier, Tenor
Robert Kerns, Bariton
Karl Ridderbusch, Bass
WIENER SINGVEREIN
Chorus master: Helmuth Froschauer
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER
[Buy here]


Matthäus-Passion, BWV244: Passion unseres Herrn Jesu Christi nach dem Evangelisten Matthäus
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Performers:
Gerd Türk - tenor (Evangelist)
Peter Kooij - bass (Jesus)
Nancy Argenta, Midori Suzuki, Yoshie Hida - soprano
Robin Blaze - counter-tenor
Makoto Sakurada - tenor
Chiyuki Urano, Jun Hagiwara, Tetsuya Odagawa - bass
Kirsten Sollek-Avella - alto

Bach Collegium Japan
directed by Masaaki Suzuki

1999, BIS-CD (Austria),
Encoded in mp3 format.

A period-instrument interpretation of the St Matthew Passion from one of the leading Bach and baroque music academies around the world. Unlike in other recordings of the work, Suzuki focuses on the sacred and meditative, as opposed to the dramatic and operatic, aspects of the Passion.


Johannes-Passion, BWV245: Passion unseres Herrn Jesu Christi nach dem Evangelisten Johannes
Disc 1
Disc 2
Performers:
Michael Schade - tenor (Evangelist)
Matthias Goerne - bass (Jesus)
Juliane Banse - soprano
Ingeborg Danz - alto
James Taylor - tenor
Andreas Scmidt - bass

Gaechinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
directed by Helmuth Rilling

Haenssler-Verlag, Germany 1996
Encoded in mp3 format.

Bach is known for the exhaustion with which he pursued any musical subject attracting his attention, as can be seen and heard in The Art of the Fugue and A Musical Offering (posted already by another user, with another very worthy version coming up soon). When confronted with the challenge of setting Christ's Passion to music Bach was not satisfied with composing one work, rather, he created a different opus for each gospel text available to him (four in total).

St. Luke's passion was adapted from works by another composer, St. Mark's passion has lamentably been lost with the exception of a single movement, while St. Matthew and St. John's passions (the former already uploaded) have been passed down to us in their entirety. The work presented here is of immense beauty and delicacy, with the opening and other choral parts quite possibly ranking amongst the greatest musical pieces of European origin. Bach's main strength, not only here but in all his sacred works, is in aiming to evoke the contemplative, transcendent and eternal nature of that which we call God despite the petty humanist pitfalls of the texts from which corporate christianity and much of Western modernism extract their essence.

The orchestra in this case use modern instruments rather than period ones, but timbre is of least concern as far as Bach is being played. Techniques employed, however, are firmly rooted in Baroque aesthetic and practice.

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Suites

J.S. Bach - Cello Suites - 1, 2 and 3
J.S. Bach - Cello Suites - 4, 5 and 6
Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich (Cello)

J.S. Bach - Cello Suites 1- 3
Performer: Anner Bylsma

J.S. Bach - Cello Suites 1 and 3
Transcribed for classical guitar
Performer: John Williams

J.S. Bach - The Four Orchestral Suites
Karl Munchinger
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra

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Well Tempered Clavier, The

Well-Tempered Klavier, Book I
Well-Tempered Klavier, Book II
Performer: Edwin Fischer
1933

Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier, Book I
Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier, Book II
Performer: Andreas Schiff
1985


Bach, Johann Sebastian - Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (Book I)
Performer: Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord)
Recorded in 1962


Bach, Johann Sebastian - Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (Book II)
Performer: Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord)
Recorded in 1962

I threw out my piano recordings of the WTC once I got a copy of this. Most/all of those are shit interpretations and modernize the beauty of this work (with respect to instrumentation, pitch, temperaments, tempi) . Leonhardt is the greatest living Bach interpreter.


J.S. Bach - English Suites no. 1, 3, 4 & 6
Sviatoslav Richter, piano


Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin
Viktoria Mullova, violin


Johann Sebastian Bach - Concerto for 3 Violins, 3&4 Harpsichords / Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for 4 Violins
Academy of Ancient Music
Christopher Hogwood, conductor


Johann Sebastian Bach - Goldberg Variations
Kenneth Gilbert, Harpsichord


Johann Sebastian Bach - Suite for Cello solo nos. 1, 2 & 3
Johann Sebastian Bach - Suite for Cello solo nos. 4, 5 & 6
Pieter Wispelwey, Baroque Cello


J.S. Bach - 2 Preludes and Fugues from Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 & 2 / Caprice in B-flat major , BWV 992 / Toccata and Fugue in D major, BWV 912
Wilhelm Kempff, Piano


J.S. Bach - Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 / Concerto for Violin no 1 in A minor, BWV 1041 / Concerto for Violin no 2 in E major, BWV 1042 / Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C minor, BWV 1060 FLAC
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Julia Fischer, violin & conductor


J.S. Bach - Unaccompanied Cello Suites [FLAC]
Performer: Pablo Pascals
Recording Date: 1938 - 1939

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J.S. Bach - Altbachisches Archiv [Disc 1]
J.S. Bach - Altbachisches Archiv [Disc 2]
Cantus Cölln & Concerto Palatino
Konrad JUNGHÄNEL, conductor
Harmonia Mundi 2003
The muscial testament of the ancestors of J.S. Bach', the altbachisches Archiv is a collection of motets, choir songs and cantata by the older members of the Bach family from between 1650 and 1700.

Files are missing composer tags for the different members of the Bach family. Here y'are: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/AltBachische-CantusColln.htm

Bach: Lute Works, Vol. 1
John Williams, 1997