In December 1935 Albert Schweitzer recorded Bach's organ works for Columbia Records on the organ of All Hallows, Barking-by-the-Tower in London. Schweitzer, a theologian, organist and philosopher, had argued that Bach's chorale preludes were painter-like pieces whose musical design mirrored the words of the hymns beneath them. He also had a pamphlet in 1906 that helped launch the twentieth-century Orgelbewegung, a movement that moved away from romantic organ sounds and back to baroque principles. For the recordings he developed what became known as the Schweitzer Technique, which changed where microphones were placed. The sessions are an early and influential document of how Bach was played.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.