However, the Zwolle organ, as Jiri Zurek sampled it, was heavily "modified"
by Flentrop after Biggs time. Further, Jiri has reported that he was asked
to sample the organ for "archive and reference" purposes, as the church
authorities want to un-Flentrop it or otherwise revoice/pipe the instrument back close
to the sound of the original! I bought the wet sample set before I knew of
the church's apparent dissatisfaction about the Flentrop "sound". I also
felt that what I received and heard from the sample set was NOT what
I had heard, even played ever so briefly, there in the Summer of 1981; Jiri's
explanation told me what had happened later! I cannot recall when I last
loaded the Flentrop-Zwolle sample set to use. Read Jiri Zureks comments here:
http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/zwolle/history.0.aspAs for the other two, yes for the less chordal, less "complex" Bach, the
Viollenhove organ is fine; it has fewer stops/pipes than the Anloo also.
For example to study the Bach choral "Liebstier Jesu wir sind hier" the Vollenhove
is fine. But, such is NOT the sound Bach knew. As mentioned above,
the Trost Walterhausen organ sampled by Prof. Maier of OAM was auditioned
and likely played by Bach. It has the "gravitas" which Bach found lacking
from so many other instruments he had been asked to hear/comment about
(he was paid to do so, BTW). Trost had been an apprentice to Silberman;
seems Silberman might have accompanied Bach when he visited Walterhausen.
For another organ by Trost which Bach also visited, a written report of Bach's
comment about it seems to exist; Bach pronounced Trost's organs to be
"satisfactory", and perhaps as an afterthought, "very fine".
Were I only able to buy one of the three samples sets discussed, and
planned to really study the works of J S Bach, I would buy the Trost,
and urge you also to it. The organ of Vollenhoven in the Netherlands fits
the Dutch playing tradition, not Bach's; tonally and acoustically, the Vollenhoven
organ is also very well sampled and presented by Prof. Maier I just believe
it not the best of these for in depth Bach music/style study.