|
The
Leipzig Chorales comprise a rather late part of Bach's entire
output for the organ: in fact, the title "Leipzig" itself is misleading.
They were originally written in his Weimar days between 1708 to
1717, and only revised (at Leipzig) in his last years from 1747
to 1749.
Bach's
organ repertoire, to say the least, is extensive. In addition to
the Leipzig Chorales, there is the Neumeister Collection,
Orgelbüchlein, the third Clavierbüchlein,
plus the the collections of Schüber and Kirnberger preludes,
in addition to a lot of unsorted pieces: well over three
hundred works in all.
|
Before
Thy Throne Do I Come Now
At
his deathbed, Johann Sebastian Bach was still busily revising
and dictating the chorale Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit
('Before thy throne do I come now'), helped by his student
and son-in-law Johann Christoph Atnickol. It was only upon
death itself that, as the story goes, Bach put down his quill
for all time.
The
myth surrounding this story can be traced to the published
notes given on the back cover of a printed version of The
Art of Fugue. The chorale had been added to the Art
to avoid leaving the work incomplete; yet, research has shown
that the chorale was not added, anonymously, to the manuscript
of the Leipzig autograph until after 1749. In addition, the
chorale is incomplete after the first 26 bars, for the last
page is missing.
|
Bach
has sometimes been characterized by a desire to perfect his music
in this genre, for there have been as many as three different versions
of each extant chorale. However, he died before he could complete
this effort, leaving behind fifteen pieces in his own hand with
another two transcribed by his son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol.
What
makes the Leipzig Chorales different from the others is that
each of them explores the various ways of treating a simple chorale
(that is, the Lutheran hymn sung by congregations). In these works
Bach's genius for the musical transformation and elaboration of
simple hymn-tunes is more than amply demonstrated.
For
this collection, the first seventeen extant chorales have been recorded.
The so-called eighteenth last work in the set, the myth-enshrouded
Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit ('Before thy throne do
I come now'), was added rather belatedly and not originally planned
as part of this series, and therefore is excluded here as well (see
sidebar).
Danish
organist Bine Katrine Bryndorf performs on the Wagner organ in the
Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim. This is a fairly recently (1993) restored
instrument, although it was built and installed in the 1740s. Joachim
Wagner was himself a journeyman under Gottfried Silbermann, the
famed designer and maker of organs especially in the German territories.
Bryndorf's
reading tends to err on the side of less flamboyance and more control
and deliberation. Yet she does not fall into the trap of being too
deadly serious; rather, there is a sense of dignified repose and
sobriety in her approach. This is very much fitting to the character
of the Wagner instrument, with its strong pedals well suited for
cantus firmus playing.
 At
one end of the scale, she is buoyantly vigorous in the trio super
Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend BWV 655; at the other,
her O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig BWV 656 is traditional, yet
imaginative, in the best possible connotations of the word. She
pulls out most, if not all, the stops in the third and final verse
to bring the chorale to a resounding and satisfactory conclusion:
not with bombast but a full, ripe sound betokened by musical sensibility.
The
first of the three Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr chorales,
BWV 662, is played with much calculation, even allowing for the
adagio tempo marking, but the highlight of this item must
surely be the remorseless tread (again, in the positive sense) of
the bass and pedals.
Jesus
Christus, unser Heiland BWV 665 finds the organ being played
with much exuberance and volume - as close, one supposes, as Bryndorf
gets to a sheer display of bravura - that contrasts very well against
the sombre mood of BWV 666, which is a different working of the
same chorale, no less compelling in its quietitude.
In
this respect, her selection of registrations - listed in full detail
for each chorale and verse in the sleeve notes - is engaging. Sonically,
the recording captures the atmospheric ambience of the cathedral,
but not excessively to the point where "instrumental" details are
fuzzy. While there are ambient noises from the organ itself, it
is hard to see how these could have been reasonably excluded (save
for advanced - and costly - digital editing techniques.)
Bryndorf
demonstrates that she has the mastery of the architecture of this
music, not just technically but also aesthetically. With the first-class
sound, the rich contours of this organ are faithfully reproduced
on disc. All in all, a highly recommendable item in an interesting
repertoire, if the double-CD set is not an expense.
BENJAMIN
CHEE
actually has quite substantial paper qualifications in the
Hammond and Yamaha models of electone organs.
If you wish to
Add a Comment to this article, please email your comments to classical@inkpot.com.
829:
18.11.2000 © Benjamin Chee
All
original texts are copyrighted. Please seek permission from the
Classical Editor
if you wish to reproduce/quote Inkpot material.
|
