Bach and the North German Tradition Vol. I

Die Britin Margaret Philips bringt ihre Bach-Gesamteinspielung in Doppelfolgen heraus; jede Scheibe ist dabei einem prominenten Instrument gewidmet. In Folge sechs ist das, neben der neuen Aubertin-Orgel der Pariser Kirche St Louis en I' Île, die legendäre Müller-Orgel der Bavokerk in Haarlem; Folge sieben wurde an der Hildebrandt-Orgel von 1728 in Sangerhausen und an der grandiosen Silbermann-Orgel der Freiberger Petrikirche aufgezeichnet. Philips spielt tadellos und mit sicherem Geschmack in Tempo und Registerwahl. Interessant ist, welche der großen Orgelwerke sie welchem Instrument zuweist. So erklingen in Folge sechs die großen Präludien und Fugen in e- und h-Moll BWV 548 und BWV 544 an der monumentalen Haarlemer Orgel, Fantasie und Fuge g-Moll BWV 542 und die frühe Toccata E-Dur BWV 566 am eleganten Aubertin-Instrument; Folge VII bringt das lebhafte G-Dur-Werkpaar BWV 541 und das "Grossomogul"-Concerto nach Vivaldi an der farbenfrohen Sangerhauser Orgel, und dem 32-Fuß-Klang in Freiberg vertraut Philips die beiden großen c-Moll-Zyklen an, Präludium und Fuge BWV 546 und die Passacaglia. Möglicherweise lassen sich die Instrumente tontechnisch noch charakteristischer abbilden; in puncto Stilistik und Lebendigkeit macht Margaret Philips aber keiner etwas vor.

Das kann auch für den Leipziger Thomasorganist Ullrich Böhme gelten. Zuletzt hat er sich die großen Orgelchoräle vorgenommen, die Bach in seinen späten Leipziger Jahren in einer Sammelhandschrift zusammenfasste. Jedem Choral stellt Böhme einen Bach'schen Choralsatz voran, gespielt auf der kleinen Hildebrandt-Orgel von 1723 in Störmthal, einem kraftvoll-herben Instrument, das Bach bekannt war. Den jeweiligen Orgelchoral – oder die zugehörige Werkgruppe – spielt Böhme dann auf der großen "Bachorgel" der Leipziger Thomaskirche, die Gerald Woehl im Bachjahr 2000 fertigstellte. Beide Instrumente wurden mit vorteilhafter Direktheit aufgenommen und die farbenreiche, klangmächtige neue Orgel kann neben der charakterstarken alten gut bestehen. Ein Vergnügen aber ist, zu erleben, wie die "Bachorgel" den Thomasorganisten offenbar inspiriert. Er artikuliert und registriert, bei straffen Tempi und absoluter Klarheit, mit umwerfender Spielfreude. Die höchst anspruchsvolle Sammlung wird in ihrem stilistischen Reichtum unmittelbar erlebbar: als packende Musik.

Martin Neu möchte in seinen beiden Einspielungen Bach aus der Perspektive der nord- und süddeutschen Orgelkunst des 17. Jahrhunderts sichtbar machen. Er hat sich stilistisch adäquate Instrumente ausgesucht: Die Ahrend-Orgel in Herzogenaurach überzeugt mit warm-artikuliertem Klang und gibt dem norddeutschen Repertoire – hier beschränkt auf Bachs unmittelbare Bekanntschaften Böhm und Buxtehude – lebhafte Farbigkeit; beim süddeutschen – Kerll, Muffat, Froberger und Pachelbel – nutzt Neu die intensiv strahlende Metzler-Orgel in Obertürkheim für Pedaliter-Kompositionen, die Bernauer-Orgel in Laufenburg von 1776 mit ihrem satt-obertönigen Klang für die Manualiter-Musik. Hörbar inspiriert vom lebendigen Klang der Instrumente, spielt Neu stilistisch angemessen, übertreibt weder Tempi noch Artikulation und registriert oft betont schlicht, aber dank charaktervoller Einzelstimmen musikalisch sehr ergiebig. Die suggerierte Abhängigkeit begründet Neu im Booklet-Text einleuchtend; doch wird vor allem deutlich, wie stark Bach das Aufgenommene jeweils um- und sich anverwandelte.

Carsten Wiebusch geht einen Schritt weiter, indem er sich vornimmt, Bach gleichsam durch die Ohren eines anderen zu präsentieren: Er hält sich an die Ausgaben, die der Brahms-Zeitgenosse William Thomas Best mit Spielanweisungen für den modernen Konzertorganisten und seine technisch fortgeschrittene Orgel versehen hatte. Wiebusch präsentiert damit jene Klangressourcen, die die Klais-Orgel der Karlsruher Christuskirche hinzugewann, als sie kürzlich renoviert wurde. Dabei wurde die schlanke Sechziger-Jahre-Disposition um romantische Farben erweitert, die sich in der gelungenen Aufnahme durch große Intensität nachdrücklich bemerkbar machen. Schärfe und Fülle zusammen ergeben eine expressive Klangpalette, die Wiebusch nutzt, um den Best'schen Interpretationen dramatisches Profil zu verleihen – auch den Überraschungen, die in pièces de résistance wie der Passacaglia und der d-Moll-Toccata auf den Hörer warten. Dabei spielt Wiebusch selber überaus charakteristisch: Er meidet schwülstiges Romantisieren, artikuliert deutlich und lässt auch über die Tempobeugungen hinweg den rhythmischen Fluss nie abreißen. Wiebuschs Bach holt sich letztlich bei W. T. Best die Lizenz für ein expressiv gesteigertes Bach-Spiel – das als solches zweifellos überzeugt.

Although Bach gets top billing (being alphabetically top of the class), the most pleasurable highlights are the three delightful pieces by Georg Böhm (1661-1733), who Bach got to know between 1700 and 1702 when he attended school in Lüneberg. As a musician of wide musical tastes – informed, no doubt, by a spell working in Hamburg's opera house – Böhm is remembered best for establishing the chorale partita as a fully fledged musical form. Two examples are recorded here, mostly on the manuals alone, with sparing use of the pedals. Böhm's encouragement of Bach manifested itself in a love of elegant dance forms (Lüneberg being celebrated for its love of all things in the French taste), flowing bass-lines and a willingness to experiment. Although it is usually played on the harpsichord, Böhm's Capriccio in D sounds quite at ease on the organ. Bach's early Prelude and Fugue in D is rattled off in a similarly strong, no-nonsense manner. Where Bach excelled, of course, was in the trio sonata. Martin Neu produces a perfectly poised chorale trio on Herr Jesus Christ. Buxtehude's contributions emphasise how indebted Bach was in matters fugal. In Buxtehude's Passacaglia the Ahrend organ's tuning strains somewhat under full load as Neu climbs the steep summit to the crowning final tierce de Picardie. Although this new Bavarian organ has a modest specification on paper, such is the variety of its timbral beauty that the ear never tires. The documentation, recorded sound and playing are all of the first order.

This interesting disc demonstrates Bach 's place in the North German tradition of organ composition, in particular his relationship with Böhm, who was possibly his organ teacher, and Buxtehude. Much of the music will be familiar to many readers, but this particular compilation is well devised to show the structural, thematic and textural influences exercised on Bach's music by Böhm and Buxtehude. The extensive booklet notes help to make these links clear, with informative comments on the musical features and compositional background of the pieces. It is a well balanced programme, with a variety of textures, genres and registrations demonstrating the diversity of the North German tradition. Martin Neu 's playing has energy and verve, with well chosen registrations that demonstrate the versatility of this relatively small Ahrend organ, which is ideally suited to this repertoire. The reed stops speak vigorously, while the Pleno is bright without being overwhelming. An impressive range of softer solo colours are well demonstrated too. Bach 's famous D major Prelude and Fugue is given a dramatic and spacious performance, while the playful character of Böhm 's Capriccio is well conveyed. Overall , this is an engaging performance and an effective contextualisation of Bach 's music.

Ein neues, aber großartiges Instrument, ein kompetenter Interpret, und ein klug ausgewähltes Programm zum Thema "Bach und die norddeutsche Orgel-Tradition" - das alles auch noch exzellent im Surround-Klang produziert: Was willst du mehr, Orgelfreund?!

These discs provide an interesting contrast of playing styles. Kynaston plays the large late 18th-century organ in Amorbach Abbey, with a more recent fourth manual by Klais. Winters plays a new organ in early 18th-century Thuringian style, while Neu plays a new organ by Hendrik Ahrend.

Kynaston's recording is reissued from 1994, a fine sound if sometimes lacking in clarity. This is recognisably English playing, and none the worse for that, with a Passacaglia & Fugue starting quietly and with lots of stop changes. Indeed the impression of the disc as a whole is of someone used to using a sequencer! He is at his best musically, and with less fussy registration, in the C minor Fantasia & Fugue (BWV 537) which is given a fine performance. A worthwhile curiosity is Reger's arrangement of Bach's harpsichord Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue, using the full resources of this organ to great effect.

Winters is more period-style conscious, but often in a highly mannered and sometimes rhythmically disorganised way. The organ sounds gorgeous, but apart from one chorale prelude and the principal choruses of the preludes and fugues his registrations never get beyond 8ft and 4ft, leaving one wishing for more colour. The Vivaldi-Bach D minor Concerto is perhaps the most satisfying work here, and unlike Kynaston Winters uses exactly the registrations Bach asks for in the short opening section. Unfortunately the idiosyncrasies of his playing rule out a recommendation.

Neu is playing the smallest organ, but conjures the greatest range of colour – often ravishingly beautiful. Hendrik has learned his craft well from his father Jürgen. Here we have not just Bach, but also Buxtehude and Böhm, and two chorale partitas of the latter provide a feast of organ sounds. His playing is stylistically aware, sensitive to the individual works, and the programme is thoroughly enjoyable and strongly recommended.

In this programme, Martin Neu shows what a close connection there was in the genres and style used by these great masters of Baroque organ music, Bach being the student who studied the compositions of Buxtehude and Böhm and went on to outshine them. The instrument that Neu plays is entirely suited to the music, which ranges from the extrovert (Bach’s D major Prelude and Fugue, a Passacaglia and a D minor Prelude from Buxtehude) to the intimate and meditative (two Chorale Partitas by Böhm, which of course served as models for Bach). Remarkably, given the sort of antique reediness that emanates from the organ it sounds as though it is an authentic baroque instrument, but it is in fact a newly built organ by Hendrik Ahrend in St. Otto church, Herzogenaurach in north Bavaria. Apparently the organ loft was extended into the body of the church in order to accommodate the 8’ pipes for the great organ and the 16’ pipes for the pedals. Neu makes effective use of these in the Buxtehude and Bach pieces mentioned above; he uses the 16’ pipes most effectively in the Buxtehude Passacaglia, which makes a fitting conclusion to the recital, not least because Neu maintains a steady and dignified poise in raising the volume and tension without increasing the tempo to achieve the climactic effect artificially. The subtler flute and octave stops are contrastingly displayed in the Böhm. Neu details the registrations he uses for all the sections of all the pieces played, and this disc is thoroughly recommended to those who have a general appreciation of this sort of repertory as well as those with a serious interest in particular organs and their sound.

Prompted by C. P. E. Bach's assertion (in his 1775 letter to Forkel) that his father 'loved and studied' the music of, among others, Froberger, Frescobaldi, Pachelbel, Bruhns, Buxtehude and Böhm, Martin Neu has programmed some Bach alongside two of his 'north German icons', while promising a future disc of Bach and two of his south German ones. It's a good idea , but if the intention was to trace an influence, the programme chosen is hardly the most obvious. The two 'Gigue' Fugues would show much more dramatically the Buxtehude/Bach connection , while Böhm's C major Praeludium alongside Bach's in the same key (BWV 531 ) could have forged an intriguing aural link between teacher and pupil. That 's not even to mention the golden opportunities afforded by choosing parallel preludes based on the same chorales from all three composers. In fact, Neu seems to have gone deliberately in the other direction, focusing on the differences rather than the similarities.

It's not just the programme which does that; and, to be fair, his own booklet note suggests that the choice of programme is governed more by theological than musical considerations (although quite where Buxtehude's Passacaglia or Böhm' s Capriccio fit into the theological picture escapes me). Neu's own playing emphasizes the differences starkly. While with Buxtehude he adopts the practice, much currently in vogue, of underlining the improvisatory nature of the works by means of generous rhythmic and metrical freedom, with Bach he adopts a rhythmic rigour which, even in that most Buxtehudian of works, BWV 532, rarely runs out of phase with the metronome. He approaches Böhm a little closer to the manner in which he plays his Bach, and there is a wonderful sense of purpose in the two large sets of chorale variations; but, while he does try to forge a link between the Capriccio and the Fugue of BWV 532, apart from the fact that they are both in D major and have a lively mien, I don't readily hear any connection, not least since the Böhm was intended for harpsichord rather than organ.

In isolation, though, I derive huge satisfaction from everyone of Neu's performances. Indeed, I'd say these are some of the most rewarding performances of any of these pieces currently available on disc, the Bach works brilliantly paced while the unashamed virtuosity of Buxtehude's three pieces is conveyed with sparkling flamboyance. It helps, too, that this new Ahrend organ is such a splendid vehicle for this music. It's an object-lesson in how, in organ design (as in so much else in life), less is best, for barely two dozen stops offer just about every sound and effect we could want. The sheer vitality and colour of the instrument is best revealed in the Böhm Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele variations, and all Neu's registrations are mapped out (although not particularly clearly) in the booklet. A somewhat drainpipe quality to the pedal Trompetenbass is the only thing which doesn't quite fit, giving a faintly ridiculous air to the Bach Fugue.

In short, then, Martin Neu comes up with some very good performances indeed, all of which are well worth hearing on their own terms, the organ is one of the sweetest and most attractive I've heard on disc for a while, and the Audite SACD recording is of the highest quality, mixing a nice sense of comfort with a vivid presence. Yet the sum of the parts doesn't add up; as aural evidence of the link between Bach and his 'north German icons', this misses the mark by a mile.