Walter Carlos: Switched On Bach

The 1968 Walter (later 'Wendy') Carlos album 'Switched On Bach' album is the rather interesting Classical / Experimental music curio which introduced a great many to the Moog Synthesizer, paving the way for the slew of 70's acts to use the machine as their primary instrument. The album also marks its place in history as a breakthrough electronic album which will forever be one of the first classical music based albums to achieve platinum status.

The albums track listing contains, as the title suggests, a series of performances of Bach works, including a remarkable performance of the Brandenburg Symphony and three of Bach's Two-part Inventions. Most listeners unfamiliar with classical music will probably at least recognise Carlos' performance of Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring.

When one considers the album's advanced years, there is a truly remarkable attention paid to mixing the album - each of the tracks sound crisp with fantastic attention to articulations and dynamics, rather than a flat compressed amplitude, and Carlos' use of the stereo field puts the album far ahead of its time in this regard.

While the album has been very carefully mixed, all performances featured on the album have clearly been subject to great care, with impressive variety of timbre and expression. Every track contains a multitude of synthetic instrumentation and shows Carlos' expertise with their craft, not to mention the versatility of the Moog system. This album is without doubt one of the best exposition of the great variety possible with a synthesiser, given a skilled operator with the know-how and imagination to pull off such a feat as Walter Carlos.

Unsurprisingly, following the great success of 'Switched On Bach,' Carlos continued with a variety of projects including several follow up albums and soundtrack credits including 'Tron' and 'A Clockwork Orange.' For a review of the 1969 release 'The Well Tempered Synthesizer,' click here.

Save on Delicious