PHILIPS
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
DAS ORGELWERK
The Organ Works • L'oeuvre d'orgue • Le opere per organo
DIE KUNST DER FUGE BWV 1080
The Art of Fugue • L'Art de la fugue • L'Arte della fuga
WOLFGANG RÜBSAM
Die Orgeln • Organs • Orgues • Organi Metzler, Frauenfeld • Marcussen, Freiburg
The i11ustrated booklet ¡ncludes liner notes, organ dísposítíons, a bio- graphy of the artist plus an alphabetical índex of the works in this col- lection and a cross índex of
BWV numbers and CD tracks.
Das i11ustrierte Beíheft enthált neben Einführungstexten, Orgeldíspositionen und Künstlerbiographíe einen alphabetischen Index zu den Werken dieser Edítíon sowíe eine Konkordanz BWV-Nummern/CD-Tracks.
Le lívret ¡Ilustré comprend des textes de présentation, la composítion des orgues, une biographíe de l'organíste aínsi qu'un índex alphabétí- que des oeuvres fígurant dans ce coffret et une table de correspondan- ce entre la classifícatíon BWV
et les différentes plages (CD-tracks).
Oltre alia nota introduttiva, alia dísposizione deglí organi e ad una biografía dell'organísta, ¡I líbretto i11ustrato all'interno comprende un
■BACH-
DAS ORGELWERK
THE ORGAN WORKS L'CEUVRE D'ORGUE
WOLFGANG RÜBSAM
PHILIPS
PHILIPS
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
DAS ORGELWERK 1
The organ works • L'oeuvre d'orgue • Le opere per organo
BWV
525-550, 562, 564-566, 568, 571 572, 574, 575, 577-579
581-583, 586, 588-590, 598-644 691a, 717, 725, 739, 745
747, 766-771, 1027a
WOLFGANG RÜBSAM
Die Orgeln • The organs • Orgues • Organi Metzler, Frauenfeld • Marcussen, Freiburg
BACH-DAS ORGELWERK
PHILIPS
..BACH - DAS ORGELWERK ••
THE ORGAN WORKS ■ L1 CEUVRE D'ORGUE
PHILIPS
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH DAS ORGELWERK 2
The organ works • L'oeuvre d'orgue • Le opere per organo
DIE KUNST DER FUGE BWV 1080
The Art of Fugue • L'Art de la fugue • L'Arte della Fuga
BWV
551,552/1 & 2, 561,563, 567, 569 570, 576, 580, 584, 585, 587 591-597, 645-653, 653b, 654-712 668a, 714-716, 718-724, 726-738 740-744, 746, 748-752, 754, 755 757-763, 765, 802-805, 1080
WOLFGANG RÜBSAM
Die Orgeln • The organs • Orgues • Organi
BACH - DAS ORGELWERK
PHILIPS
456 080-2
PHILIPS
PHILIPS
■■BACH-DAS ORGELWERK ■■
THE ORGAN WORKS ■ L' CEUVRE D'ORGUE
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
DAS ORGELWERK
The organ works • L’oeuvre d’orgue • Le opere per organo
DIE KUNST DER FUGE BWV 1080
The Art of Fugue • L’Art de la fugue • L’Arte della fuga
WOLFGANG RÜBSAM
The organs/Die Orgeln/Orgues/Organi:
Metzler, Frauenfeld (CD 1-13, 15 0-dH, 16) Marcussen, Freiburg (CD 14, 15 0-1 É)
CONTENTS • INHALT • TABLE • INDICE Page Seite
Track list _ 8 J.S. Bach: Organ Works
Malcolm Boyd _ 39
The Metzler Organ in the Church of St Nikolaus, Frauenfeld JosefHoltZ
(English Translation)__ 46 Disposition of the Metzler Organ _ 49 The Nave Organ in the Freiburg Münster
Ludwig Doerr
(English Translation)_ 50 Disposition of the Nave Organ _ 51 Wolfgang Rübsam (biography) _ 52
Unvergángliche Schátze der deutschen Musikkultur
Lothar Hoffmann-Erbrecht _ 54
Die Metzler-Orgel zu St. Nikolaus / Frauenfeld _ 58 Josef Holtz
Disposition der Metzler-Orgel _ 61
Die Langschifforgel im Freiburger Münster _ _ 62
Ludwig Doerr
CONTENTS • INHALT • TABLE • INDICE
Page Seite
Disposition der Langschifforgel - 63 Wolfgang Rübsam (Biographie) - 64
Une prodigieuse aventure de la pensée humaine - 66 Gilíes Cantagrel
L’orgue Metzler de l’Eglise Saint-Nicolas de Frauenfeld
Josef Holtz
(Traduction frangaise)-- 74 Composition de l’orgue Metzler - 77 L’orgue de la grande nef de la Cathédrale de
Fribourg-en-Brisgau
Ludwig jDoerr
(Traduction fran?aise)-78 Composition de l’orgue de la grande nef - 79 Wolfgang Rübsam (biographie) - 80
Stagioni e stazioni dell’opera organistica bachiana - 82 Alberto Basso
CONTENTS • INHALT • TABLE • INDICE Page Seite
L’organo Metzler della chiesa di San Nicola a Frauenfeld Josef HoltZ
(Traduzione italiana) ___ 88Disposizione dell’organo Metzler __ 91 L’organo della navata céntrale della cattedrale di Friburgo Ludwig Doerr
(Traduzione italiana)___ 92 Disposizione dell’organo della navata céntrale _ 93 Wolfgang Rübsam (biografía) __ 94
An alphabetical Índex of the works in this collection Alphabetischer Index zu den Werken dieser Edition Table alphabétique des oeuvres enregistrées
Indice alfabético delle opere di questa edizione _ 96 Cross Índex BWV/CD track
Konkordanz BWV/CD-Tracks
Table de correspondance BWV/CD-tracks
Tavola di corrispondenza BWV/CD-traccia _ 106
CD 1 (438 172-2) Timing Toccata und Fuge d-moll BWV 565
D minor • ré mineur • re minore
□ Toccata. Adagio
E
FugaPráludium und Fuge G-dur BWV 550 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
E
PráludiumS Fuga. Alia breve e staccato
Práludium und Fuge c-moll BWV 549 C minor • ut mineur • do minore E Práludium
E
FugaPráludium und Fuge C-dur BWV 545 C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
E
Práludium E FugaE
Fantasie G-dur BWV 572 G major • sol majeur • sol maggioredoubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/at tribu (ion incertaine/attribuzione incerta
Tres vitement Gravement Lentement
2’35”
5’38”
2’38”
3’31”
1’57”
2’56”
1’55”
3’18”
8’44”
CD 1 (438 172-2) Timing
Práludium und Fuge g-moll BWV 535 G minor • sol mineur • sol minore
0
Práludium 2’36”0 Fuga. Allegro 4’04”
Práludium und Fuge h-moll BWV 544 B minor • si mineur • si minore
QU Práludium 5’37”
0 Fuga 5’49”
Práludium und Fuge D-dur BWV 532 D major • ré majeur • re maggiore
0 Práludium - Alia breve 4’29”
0 Fuga 6’27”
Práludium und Fuge G-dur BWV 541 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
0
Práludium 2*51”0
Fuga 4’15”Práludium und Fuge C-dur BWV 531 C major ■ ut majeur • do maggiore
0
Práludium 2’11”0
Fuga 3’39”CD 2 (438 173-2) Timing Práludium (Toccata) und Fuge BWV 538 »Dorisch«
D minor • ré mineur «Dorienne» • re minore
□ Práludium (Toccata) 0 Fuga
Práludium und Fuge a-moll BWV 543 A minor • la mineur • la minore
0 Práludium 0 Fuga
Práludium und Fuge f-moll BWV 534 F minor • fa mineur • fa minore
0 Práludium 0 Fuga
Práludium und Fuge A-dur BWV 536 A major • la majeur • la maggiore
0
Práludium 0 FugaPráludium und Fuge e-moll BWV 533 E minor • mi mineur • mi minore 0 Práludium
0 Fuga
Práludium und Fuge c-moll BWV 546 C minor • ut mineur • do minore 0 Práludium
GE
Fuga4’47”
2*52”
5’55”
4’06”
5’ 12”
1 ’40”
4’13”
2’0T 2’30’
5’04”
5’08”
CD 2 (438 173-2) Timing
Práludium und Fuge C-dur BWV 547 C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
GE
Práludium
4*27”GE
Fuga
4*47”GE Práludium G-dur BWV 568 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
2’50”
GE Fuge g-moll BWV 578 G minor • sol mineur • sol minore
2’52”
Fuge G-dur BWV 577 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
doublful atlribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
3’01”
GE Fuge h-moll BWV 579 über ein Thema von Corelli B minor • si mineur • si minore
on a theme by/sur un théme de/su un tema di Arcangelo Corelli: Vivace, Op. III No.4/iv
5’02”
CD 3 (438 174-2) Timing
Práludium (Fantasie) und Fuge g-moll BWV 542 G minor • sol mineur • sol minore
m Fantasía
5’28”m Fuga
5’35”Práludium (Fantasie) und Fuge c-moll BWV 537 C minor • ut mineur • do minore
B Fantasía
4’27”a Fuga
3’35”CD 3 (438 174-2) Timing
Práludium und Fuge e-moll BWV 548 E minor • mi mineur • mi minore
GD
Práludium 5’46”0
Fuga 6’37”Práludium (Toccata) und Fuge F-dur BWV 540 F major • fa majeur • fa maggiore
0
Práludium (Toccata) 8’06”0
Fuga 5*05”Práludium und Fuge d-moll BWV 539 D minor • ré mineur • re minore
0 Práludium 1*59”
E°l
Fuga 4’28”Práludium, Adagio-Trio, Fantasía und Fuge
ED Práludium 2’25”
ÜH Adagio-Trio 6’48”
0 Fantasía 0’38”
0 Fuga 4’48”
0 Canzona d-moll BWV 588 5’39”
D minor • ré mineur • re minore
CD 4 (438 175-2) Timing
Toccata und Fuge E-dur BWV 566 E major • mi majeur • mi maggiore
□ Toccata 2’04”
0 Fuga 9’00”
0
Fantasie c-moll 3’21”C minor • ut mineur • do minore
0
Fuge c-moll BWV 5754’ 19”
C minor • ut mineur • do minore
0
Trio G-dur BWV 586 2 05”G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
doubtfuI attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Fuge Grdur BWV 581 1’17”G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
Toccata C-dur BWV 564 C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
0
Toccata5’37”
0
Adagio 4’06”0
Fuga4’55”
0 Pedal-Exercitium BWV 598 2’20”
0 Allabreve D-dur BWV 589 5’38”
D major • ré majeur • re maggiore
CD 4 (438 175-2) Timing
Trio d-moll BWV 583 D minor • ré mineur • re minore
4’38”
H) Trio G-dur BWV 1027a G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore nach/from/d’aprés/da Sonate BWV 1027, IV
organ versión of doubtful authorship/Orgelfassung von zweifelhafter Autorschaft arrangement pour orgue d’attribution incertaine
attribuzione incerta dell'adattamento per organo
3’23”
0
Passacaglia c-moll BWV 582C minor • Passacaille en ut mineur • do minore
12*21”
Passacaglia Thema fugatum 0 Fantasie c-moll BWV 562
C minor • ut mineur • do minore
5’27”
Fantasía Fuga
CD 5 (438 177-2) Timing
E Fantasie G-dur BWV 571 7’09’
G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
Adagio Allegro
CD 5 (438 177-2) Timing
Triosonate Nr. 5 C-dur BWV 529 C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
0
Allegro 5’17”0
Largo 5’20”0
Allegro 3’44”CD 6 (438 178-2) Timing
Triosonate Nr. 6 G-dur BWV 530 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
m
Vivace 3’48”0 Lento 4’57”
0 Allegro 3’28”
Partite diverse sopra: Ach, was solí ich Sünder machen? BWV 770
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Partite I-X 11’38”0 Choralbearbeitung: Allein Gott in der Hoh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 717 Chórale • Choral • Córale
3’26”
0 Choralvorspiel: Aus der Tiefe rufe ich zu dir BWV 745 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
3’21”
0
Choralvorspiel: Christus, der uns selig macht BWV 747 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córaledoubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
3 >49»
CD 6 (438 178-2) Timing
0
Choralbearbeitung: Wer nur den lieben Gott láfit walten BWV 691a 2’07”Chórale • Choral • Córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0 Choralbearbeitung: Herr Gott, dich loben wir BWV 725 10’16”
Chórale • Choral • Córale
Partite diverse sopra: O Gott, du frommer Gott BWV 767
0
Partite I-IX 15’00”Partite diverse sopra: Christ, du bist der helle Tag BWV 766
0
Partite I-VII 9’2V’CD 7 (438 179-2)
□ Pastorale F-dur BWV 590 F major • fa majeur • fa maggiore
0 Einige canonische Veránderungen über das Weihnachtslied: 10’39”
Vom Himmel hoch BWV 769 Canonic Variations on the Christmas Carol Variations canoniques sur un chant de Noel Variazioni canoniche su una melodía natalizia 1. Cantus firmus im Pedal (Canone all’Ottava)
2. Cantus firmus im Pedal, alio modo (Canone alia Quinta) 3. Cantus firmus im Sopran. Cantabile (Canone alia Settima) 4. Cantus firmus im Pedal (Canone all’Ottava per augmentationem) 5. (Canone al rovescio alia Sesta, alia Terza, alia Seconda, alia Nona)
CD 7 (438 179-2) Timing CD 8 (438 180-2) Timing Partite diverse sopra: Sei gegrüfiet, Jesu gütig BWV 768
0
Choral, Partite I-XI 19’41”Variationen über: Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 771
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
E Variationen I-XVII 18*52”
E Choralbearbeitung: 3’57”
Wie sebón leucht’t uns der Morgenstern BWV 739 Chórale • Choral • Córale
E Fuge c-moll BWV 574 7’ 14”
«Thema Legrenzianum, elaboratum cum subjecto pedaliter»
C minor • ut mineur • do minore
über ein (unbekanntes) Thema von/on a theme (unidentified) by sur un theme (non identifié) de/su un tema (non identificato) di Giovanni Legrenzi
CD 8 (438 180-2) Timing
Orgelbüchlein
Choralbearbeitungen • Choráis • Corali Advent • Avent • Avvento
0 1. Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland BWV 599 1 ’32”
0
2. Gott, durch deine Güte (Canone all’Ottava) BWV 600 0’57”0 3. Herr Christ, der ein’ge Gottes-Sohn BWV 601 T27”
0 4. Lob sei dem allmácht’gen Gott BWV 602 0’51”
Weihnachten • Christ mas • Noel. Natale
0 5. Puer natus in Bethlehem BWV 603 1’08”
0
6. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ BWV 604 1’10”0
7. Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich BWV 605 1’55”0
8. Vom Himmel hoch BWV 606 0’35”0
9. Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar BWV 607 1 ’06”0 10. In dulcí jubilo (Canone doppio all’Ottava) BWV 608 1 ’27”
0 11. Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich BWV 609 0’43”
0 12. Jesu, meineFreudeBWV610 2’08”
0 13. Christum wir sollen loben schon BWV 611 1’45”
0
14. Wir Christenleut’ BWV 612ni”
Neujahr . New Year • Nouvel An • Nuovo Anno
0
15. Helft mir Gottes Güte preisen BWV 613 0’58”0
16. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist BWV 614 2’08”0
17. In dir ist Freude (Fantasía) BWV 615 2’29”Reinigung • Purification • Purificazione
0
18. Mit Fried’ und Freud’ ich fahr’ dahin BWV 616 1’59”0
19. Herr Gott, nun schleufl den Himmel auf BWV 617 2’46”Passionszeit • Passion . Passione
0 20. O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (Canone alia Quinta) BWV 618 3’04”
0 21. Christe, du Lamm Gottes (Canone alia Duodécima) BWV 619 1*17”
0 22. Christus, der uns selig macht (Canone all’Ottava) BWV 620 1 ’46”
0 23. Da Jesús an dem Kreuze stund’BWV 621 1*18”
0 24. O Mensch, bewein’ dein’ Sünde groB BWV 622 5’39”
0
25. Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 623 0’54”0
26. Hilf Gott, dafi mir’s gelinge (Canone alia Quinta) BWV 624 1’46”CD 8 (438 180-2) Timing Ostern • Easter . Paques • Pasqua
H3 27. Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 625 1*12”
0 28. Jesús Christus, unser Heiland BWV 626 0’57”
0 29. Christ ist erstanden BWV 627 3’37”
Hl 30. Erstanden ist der heil’ge Christ BWV 628 0’36”
iü 31. Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag (Canone alPOttava) BWV 629 0’50”
0
32. Heut’ triumphieret Gottes Sohn BWV 630 1*11”Pfingsten . Ascensión • Ascensione
0
33. Komm, Gott Schópfer, heiliger Geist BWV 631 0’46”0
34. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend’ BWV 632 1*34”1H
35. Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (Canone alia Quinta) BWV 633 1*59”Glaubenslieder • Faith Songs • Chants de la foi. Canti della fede
ni 37. Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’BWV 635 1*12”
0
38. Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 636 0’55”ni 39. Durch Adam’s Fall ist ganz verderbt BWV 637 1’33”
ni 40. Es ist das Heil uns kommen her BWV 638 0’56”
0
41. Ich ruf* zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (Trio) BWV 639 2’33”0 42. In dich hab’ ich gehoffet, Herr BWV 640 0’49”
0
43. Wenn wir in hóchsten Nóten sein BWV 641 1 *53”0
44. Wer nur den lieben Gott láBt walten BWV 642 1*38”0
45. Alie Menschen müssen sterben BWV 643 1*04”0
46. Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig BWV 644 0’59”CD 9 (438 182-2) Timing
□ Choralvorspiel: Gott der Vater wobn’ uns bei BWV 748 4’17”
Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a Johann Gottfried Walther
0
Choralvorspiel: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier BWV 754 2’55”Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
H] Choralvorspiel: 0’55”
Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend’ (Fughetta) BWV 749 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Choralvorspiel: 0’50”Herr Jesu Christ, mein’s Lebens Licht (Fughetta) BWV 750 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0 Choralvorspiel: Nun ruhen alie Wálder (Fughetta) BWV 756 1 ’Ol ” Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Choralbearbeitung: An Wasserflüssen Babylon BWV 653b 4’56”Chórale • Choral • Córale
0
Choralbearbeitung: O Lamm Gottes unschuldig 4’43”Chórale • Choral • Córale
0
Choralvorspiel: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele BWV 759 2’54”Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a Gottfried August Homilius
CD 9 (438 182-2) Timing E Choralbearbeitung: Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn 4’58”
(Fuga sopra il Magníficat) BWV 733 Chórale • Choral • Córale
Sechs Chórale von verschiedener Art (Schübler-Chorále)
Six Chórales of various kinds • Six choráis divers (Choráis Schübler) Sei corali di diversa maniera
E 1. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645 4’49”
E 2. Wo solí ich fliehen hin [oder Auf meinen lieben Gott] BWV 646 1 ’49”
E 3. Wer nur den lieben Gott láBt walten BWV 647 3’19”
E 4. Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn BWV 648 2’28”
E 5. Ach bleib’ bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 649 2’09”
E 6. Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter BWV 650 2’58”
CD 9 (438 182-2) Timing
»Dritter Theil der Clavier-Übung«
»bestehend in verschiedenen Vorspielen über die Catechismus- und andere Gesánge, vor die Orgel«
Third part of the keyboard exercises, consisting in various preludes on the Cathechism songs and other songs
Troisiéme partie de la «Clavierübung», composée de plusieurs préludes sur les chants du catéchisme (Choráis du Dogme ou Messe luthérienne) Terza parte degli Esercizi per tastiera, consistente in diversi preludi sui cantici del catechismo e su altri canti
II Práludium Es-dur BWV 552,1
E fíat major • mi bémol majeur • mi bemolle maggiore
0 1. Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit BWV 669 3’02”
® 2. Christe, aller Welt Trost BWV 670 4’08”
GÜ 3. Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist BWV 671 4’04”
B 4. Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit (Fughetta) BWV 672 1’13”
13 5. Christe, aller Welt Trost (Fughetta) BWV 673 1 ’24”
B 6. Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist (Fughetta) BWV 674 1 ’Ol”
0 7. Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ (Trio) BWV 675 3’29”
E 8. Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ (Trio) BWV 676 4’46”
[H 9. Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ (Fughetta) BWV 677 1 ’06”
E 10. Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’ (Canone) BWV 678 4’28”
E 11. Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot’ (Fughetta) BWV 679 1 ’40”
E 12. Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott (Fuga) BWV 680 2’59”
CD 10 (438 183-2) Timmg CD 11 (438 184-2) Timing 0 13. Wir glauben alP an einen Gott (Fughetta) BWV 681
® 14. Vater unser im Himmelreich (Canone) BWV 682 [U 15. Vater unser im Himmelreich (Fughetta) BWV 683
0
16. Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordán kam BWV 6840
17. Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordán kam (Fughetta) BWV 685 0 18. Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir BWV 6860 19. Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir BWV 687 0 20. Jesús Christus unser Heiland BWV 688
0
21. Jesús Christus unser Heiland (Fuga) BWV 6890
Duetto I e-moll BWV 802 E minor • mi mineur • mi minore 0 Duetto II F-dur BWV 803F major • fa majeur • fa maggiore H Duetto 111 G-dur BWV 804
G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore 0 Duetto IV a-moll BWV 805
A minor • la mineur • la minore 0 Fuge Es-dur BWV 552,2
E fíat major • mi bémol majeur • mi bemolle maggiore
1’26” Sechs Konzerte nach verschiedenen Meistern
5’56” Six Concerts after various Masters • Six concertos d’aprés différents maitres 1’27”
4’23”
1’18”
Sei concerti secondo diversi Maestri
5’00” Konzert C-dur BWV 595 4’57” C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
3’ii” nach/from/d’aprés/da Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar
4’13”
2*21”
m [Allegro]
Konzert Es-dur BWV 597
E fíat major • mi bémol majeur • mi bemolle maggiore 3’ 18” nach einem unbekannten Meister/from un unknown Master
d’aprés un auteur inconnu/da un Maestro sconosciuto
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
2’45”
0 [Allegro]
3’21”
a Gigue
Konzert a-moll BWV 593 A minor • la mineur • la minore
6’26” nach/from/d’aprés/da Antonio Vivaldi, Op. III, 8 (RV 522)
0
[Allegro]0
Adagio b Allegro3’24”
4’06”
2’58”
3’32”
3’49”
3’ 25”
CD 11 (438 184-2) Timing CD 11 (438 184-2)
Timing
Konzert d-moll BWV 596 D minor • ré mineur • re minore
nach/from/d’aprés/da A. Vivaldi, Op. III, 11 (RV 565)
0
[Allegro] - Grave0
Fuga - Largo e spiccato0
[Finale]Konzert G-dur BWV 592 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
nach/from/d’aprés/da Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar
GE
[Allegroassai]
El Grave
GE
PrestoKonzert C-dur BWV 594 C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
nach/from/d’aprés/da A. Vivaldi, Op. VII/2, 5 (RV 208a)
GE
[Allegro]GE
Recitativ. AdagioGE
Allegro4’40”
3’01 ”
2’42”
GE
Achtzehn Chórale von verschiedener Art (Leipziger Chórale)
Eighteen Chórales of Various Kinds (Leipzig Chórales) Dix-huit choráis divers (Choráis de Leipzig) Diciotto corali di diversa maniera (Corali di Lipsia)
1. Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (Fantasía) BWV 651 5 ’39’
GE
2. Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott BWV 652 8’54!GE
3. An Wasserflüssen Babylon BWV 653 4’37’2’46”
2’29”
1’28” CD 12 (438 185-2)
m
4.ni
5.5’29”
0
6.3’13”
0
7.6’45”
0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.GE
13.GE
14.GE
15.GE
16.GE
17.GE
18.Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele BWV 654
Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend’ (Trio) BWV 655 O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (Partite) BWV 656 Nun danket alie Gott BWV 657
Von Gott will ich nicht lassen BWV 658 Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland BWV 659 Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland (Trio) BWV 660 Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland (Fuga-Fantasia) BWV 661 Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 662
Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 663 Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ (Trio) BWV 664 Jesús Christus, unser Heiland (Fantasía) BWV 665 Jesús Christus, unser Heiland (Fantasía) BWV 666 Komm, Gott Schópfer, heiliger Geist (Fantasía) BWV 667 Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich BWV 668
7’ 12”
3’ 15”
8’ 19”
4’ 19”
4’26”
4’25”
2’ 18”
2’41”
6’56”
5’43”
4’32”
3’32”
3’33”
2’19”
4’ 14”
CD 13(438 187-2) Timing ' CD 13(438 187-2) Timing
□ Choralbearbeitung: In dulcí jubilo BWV 729 Chórale • Choral • Córale
0
Choralbearbeitung: Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich BWV 732 Chórale • Choral • Córale0
Choralvorspiel: Nun freut euch, liebe Christen (Fughetta) BWV 755 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córaledoubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Choralbearbeitung: Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich BWV 719 Chórale • Choral • Córaledoubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Choralvorspiel: Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern BWV 763 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córaledoubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Choralbearbeitung: Vom Himmel hoch BWV 738 Chórale • Choral • Córale0 Choralbearbeitung: Gottes Sohn ist kommen BWV 724 Chórale • Choral • Córale
0
Choralbearbeitung: Vom Himmel hoch BWV 700 Chórale • Choral • Córale0
Fughetta: Vom Himmel hoch BWV 701 0 Fuga: Allein Gott in der Hoh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 716doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
2’00” 0 Choralvorspiel: In dulcí jubilo BWV 751 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
1*21 ros”
1*59”
0 Choralbearbeitung: Wir Christenleut’ BWV 710 Chórale • Choral • Córale
attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a Johann Ludwig Krebs
vw
OH Choralbearbeitung: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ BWV 722 Chórale • Choral • Córale
V\T r37”
ro3”
0 Choralbearbeitung:
Nun freut euch, liebe Christen g’mein BWV 734 Chórale • Choral • Córale
3’08!
0 Choralbearbeitung: Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 715 Chórale • Choral • Córale
1*33*
ro9”
0 Fughetta: Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland BWV 699 0’50’
ro4” 0 Fughetta: Gottes Sohn ist kommen BWV 703 0’47’
2’44”
0 Fughetta: Das Jesulein solí doch mein Trost BWV 702
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
1’17’
P14”
0 Choralbearbeitung: Wer nur den lieben Gott láftt walten BWV 690 Chórale • Choral • Córale
3*04’
1*53” 0 Choralbearbeitung: Ach Gott und Herr BWV 692 Chórale • Choral • Córale
attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a J. G. Walther
1*33’
CD 13(438 187-2) Timing CD 13 (438 187-2) Timing
(E Choralbearbeitung: Ach Golf und Herr BWV 693 Chórale • Choral • Córale
attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a J. G. Walther
M Choralbearbeitung: Wo solí ich fliehen hin BWV 694 Chórale • Choral • Córale
dU Fantasía super: Valet will ich dir geben BWV 735 13 Choralvorspiel: Christ ist erstanden BWV 746
Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
also attributed to/ebenso zugeschrieben zu/attribué également á/attribuito anche a Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
M Choralvorspiel: O Vater, allmáchtiger Gott BWV 758 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
dü Choralvorspiel: O Herre Gott, dein góttlich’s Wort BWV 757 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
Práludium und Fuge a-moll BWV 551 A minor • la mineur • la minore
13 Práludium
M
Fuga13 Práludium C-dur BWV 567 C major • ut majeur • do maggiore
attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a J.L. Krebs
® Kleines harmonisches Labyrinth BWV 591
attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a Johann David Heinichen
1*34” lü] Fantasie C-dur BWV 570
C major • ut majeur • do maggiore 2’42”
3’57”
m Fuge G-dur BWV 576 G major • sol majeur • sol maggiore
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
4*14”
3’06”
1*21”
ni Trio g-moll BWV 584 G minor • sol mineur • sol minore
nach/from/d’aprés/da Kantate BWV 166, II
organ versión of doubtful authorship/Orgeífassung von zweifelhafter Autorschaft arrangement pour orgue d’attribution incertaine
attribuzione incerta dell’adattamento per organo
2*i9**
3*51”
CD 14 (438 188-2) Timing
1’17”
m Choralbearbeitung: Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 718 Chórale • Choral • Córale
4*35**
1*54”
tu Choralvorspiel: Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder BWV 742 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
1 ’46”
2*56”
T12”
m Choralvorspiel: Jesu, der du meine Seele (Per Canonem) BWV 752 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
1*24”
3’52”
s Choralvorspiel: Wir glauben alP an einen Gott, Schópfer BWV 765 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
3’23”
CD 14 (438 188-2) Timing CD 14 (438 188-2) Timing [I] Choralbearbeitung: Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 695
Chórale • Choral • Córale
4’19” 0 Choralbearbeitung: Wer nur den lieben Gott láfit walten BWV 691 Chórale • Choral • Córale
rió”
ni Fughetta: Christum wir sollen toben sebón BWV 696 ri3” 0 Fantasía: Jesu, meine Freude BWV 713 6’04”
m Choralbearbeitung: Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend’ BWV 709 Chórale • Choral • Córale
2’59”
SE Choralbearbeitung: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier BWV 730 Chórale • Choral • Córale
toó”
a Fughetta: Herr Christ, der ein’ge Gottes-Sohn BWV 698 roo”
0 Choralbearbeitung: Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend' BWV 726 0’52”
a Choralbearbeitung: 2’25” Chórale • Choral • Córale
Durch Adam’s Fall ist ganz verderbt (Fuga) BWV 705
Chórale • Choral • Córale 0 Choralbearbeitung: Allein Gott in der Hóh’ sei Ehr’ BWV 711 2’43”
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta Chórale • Choral • Córale
0
Choralbearbeitung: Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott, Vater BWV 740 Chórale • Choral • Córale4’53” 0 Fughetta: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ BWV 697 0’52”
also attributed to/ebenso zugeschrieben zu/attribué également á/attribuito anche a
J.L. Krebs 0 Choralbearbeitung: Ach Gott und Herr (Per canonem) BWV 714
Chórale • Choral • Córale
0’57”
0
Choralbearbeitung:Ich hab’ mein’ Sach’ Gott heimgestellt BWV 708 Chórale • Choral • Córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0’43” 0
rrri
Choralvorspiel: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh’ darein BWV 741 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
4’13”
2’28”
Choral vorspiel: Ach, was ist doch unser Leben BWV 743
m Choralbearbeitung: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier BWV 706 Chórale • Choral • Córale
1’54” Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
0
Choralbearbeitung: In dich hab’ ich gehoffet, Herr BWV 712Chórale • Choral • Córale 2’22” 01 Choralbearbeitung: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ BWV 723 Chórale • Choral • Córale
2’01”
Fughetta: Lob sei dem allmácht’gen Gott BWV 704 0’54” 0 Choralbearbeitung: Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott BWV 720 Chórale • Choral • Córale
2’51”
CD 14 (438 188-2)_Timing
Choralvorspiel:
Auf meinen lieben Gott (Canone alPOttava) BWV 744 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale
also attributed to/ebenso zugeschrieben zu/attribué également á/attribuito anche a J.L. Krebs
-«-^
ri5”
[27] Choralbearbeitung:
Ich hab’ mein’ Sach’ Gott heimgestellt BWV 707 Chórale • Choral • Córale
4’33”
CD 15(438 189-2) Timing
m
0
Fantasie und Fuge a-moll BWV 561 A minor • la mineur • la minore
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
Fantasía Fuga
2’14”
5* 17”
0
Práludium a-moll BWV 569 A minor • la mineur • la minore3’51”
0
Choralvorspiel: Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 762 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córaledoubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
2’43”
0
Choralvorspiel: Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 761 Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a Georg Bóhm2’52”
CD 15(438 189-2) Timing
H] Choralvorspiel: Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 760 2’05”
Chórale prelude • Prélude de choral • Preludio córale attributed to/zugeschrieben zu/attribué á/attribuito a G. Bóhm
0 Choralbearbeitung: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier BWV 731 2’ 12”
Chórale • Choral • Córale
0 Choralbearbeitung: Jesús, meine Zuversicht BWV 728 1’29”
Chórale • Choral • Córale
0 Choralbearbeitung: Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 737 1’47”
Chórale • Choral • Córale
0 Choralbearbeitung: Herzlich tut mich verlangen BWV 727 2’01”
Chórale • Choral • Córale
0 Choralbearbeitung: Erbarm’ dich mein, o Herre Gott BWV 721 3’27”
Chórale • Choral • Córale Trio c-moll BWV 585 C minor • ut mineur • do minore
adapted f rom/Bear beitung von/adaptation de/adattamento da Johann Friedrich Fasch, Sonate c-moll
01 Adagio-Allegro 4’12”
01 Aria F-dur BWV 587 3’20”
F major • fa majeur • fa maggiore
transcription of/Übertragung von /transcription de/trascrizione da
^rangois Couperin, Les Nations, troisiéme ordre, IV.
CD 15 (438 189-2) Timing "V 0 Fantasía con imitazione h-moll BWV 563
B minor ■ si mineur • si minore
2’58”
(Fantasia) Imitatio
0 Fuge D-dur BWV 580 D major • ré majeur • re maggiore
doubtful attribution/Zuschreibung zweifelhaft/attribution incertaine/attribuzione incerta
3’33”
0 Choralbearbeitung: Valet will ich dir geben BWV 736 Chórale • Choral • Córale
5’ 19”
Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080
The Art of Fugue • L’Art de la fugue • L’Arte della fuga
0 1. Contrapunctus 1 3’27”
0 2. Contrapunctus 2 2’45”
0 3. Contrapunctus 3 3’00”
@ 4. Contrapunctus 4 3’40”
0 5. Contrapunctus 5 4’08”
CD 16 (438 190-2) Timing
0 6. Contrapunctus 6 a 4, in Style francese 3’45”
0 7. Contrapunctus 7 a 4, per Augmentationem et Diminutionem 3’39”
0 8. Contrapunctus 8 a 3 5’55”
0 9. Contrapunctus 9 a 4, alia Duodécima 3’20”
CD 16(438 190-2) Timing
0 10. Contrapunctus 10 a 4, alia Decima 4’21”
0
11. Contrapunctus 11 a 4 5’44”0 12. Canon all’Ottava 2’54”
0
13. Canon per Augmentationem Contrario Motu 5’56”0 14. Canon alia Decima Contrapuncto alia Terza 5’35”
0 15. Canon alia Duodécima in Contrapuncto alia Quinta 2’47”
0
16. Contrapunctus inversus a 4 [rectus] 2’51”0 17. Contrapunctus inversus 12 a 4 [inversus] 3’11”
0 18. Contrapunctus a 3 [rectus] 2’21”
0 19. Contrapunctus inversus a 3, [inversus] 2’25”
0 20. Fuga a 3 Soggetti 9’45”
[incomplete • unvollstándig • inachevée • incompleta]
0 Choralbearbeitung: Wenn wir in hóchsten Nóten sein BWV 668a 4’ 13”
Chórale • Choral • Córale
The ñames of the single pieces of The Art of Fugue are given according to the first printed edition, which also ineludes BWV 668a:
Die Titel der einzelnen Fugen aus »Die Kunst der Fuge« sind dem Erstdruck entnommen, der auch BWV 668a einschlieflt:
Les titres des pieces isolées de «l’Art de la fugue» reprennent ceux de la premiére édition imprimée, qui comprend également le Choral BWV 668a:
I nomi dei singoli brani dell’Arte della fuga sono qui indicati in accordo con la prima edizione a stampa, comprendente altresi il Córale BWV 668a:
J.G. Schübler, Zella/Thüringen (?) 1751 (?)
Wolfgang Rübsam Photo: James L. Bailará
J.S. BACH: ORGAN WORKS
Malcolm Boyd
B
ach’s music embraces practically every genre known to him except opera, but it was as an or- ganist, and as a specialist in the construction and workings of the instrument, that he made his early reputation at Arnstadt and Mühlhausen between 1703 and 1708. His earliest surviving compositions are mostly for the organ and it was during his years as Hoforganist at the court of Weimar (1708-17) that he composed most of the pieces by which organists remember him today. During the remaining 33 years of his live, spent in Cóthen and Leipzig, he never again occupied an organist’s post, but he continued to appear as a recitalist on the instrument and was constantly in demand for expert appraisals of new or restored church organs.As a composer for the organ, Bach was heir to a dis- tinguished Germán tradition represented above all by Bóhm, Buxtehude and Reinecken in the north, and by Kuhnau and Pachelbel further south. From these and other composers Bach derived the forms and, to some extern, the styles of his early organ toc- catas, variations and chórales. He was also familiar with, and influenced by, seventeenth-century French and Italian keyboard composers, but at Weimar he carne into contact with the newer Italian violin school - especially the dazzling virtuoso writing of Vivaldi - and it was mainly through this conjunction of Germán tradition and Italian innovation that Bach was to develop the keyboard style.
We can, indeed, follow this process of assimilation in the concertó arrangements that date from the Weimar years (most probably from 1713-14) and in other organ pieces of about the same period. The concertó arrangements (BWV 592-596) were almost certainly made for Prince Johann Ernst, the young nephew of Bach’s employer at Weimar, Duke Wil- helm Ernst. In July 1713 the prince returned from a period of study in Holland with copies of the latest Italian concertos, and he got his music master, J.G.
Walther (a kinsman of Bach), and Bach himself to make arrangements of some of them for harpsichord and organ. Of the five concertos that Bach arranged for organ, three (BWV 593-594 and 596) are by Vivaldi and the others by Johann Ernst himself. (A sixth arrangement, BWV 597, is not based on a con¬
certó and is now thought not to be by Bach.) In these works Bach clearly acknowledges the role of an arranger to be different from that of a composer.
He ornaments the slow movements in the way a solo- ist might have been expected to, and performs the function of a continuo player in filling out the har- monies; he also occasionally supplies an extra middle part or enriches the harmony, but he scrupu- lously respects the substance of the original, never adding or omitting so much as a single bar. In other works that might be regarded as exercises in the new Italian style, however, the role of the composer is more to the fore. These inelude the fugues on themes
by Corelli (BWV 579) and Legrenzi (BWV 574), in both of which the composer goes far beyond his models in both length and resource. It is interesting to note that both of these works are based on move- ments from trio sonatas for violins and continuo, as also are the three “ Albinoni” fugues for harpsichord (BWV 946 and 950-951) and three other organ works once attributed to Bach: the Trio in C minor, BWV 585 (now known to be by J.F. Fasch), the Trio in G, BWV 586 (probably by Telemann), and the Aria in F, BWV 587 (by Couperin). Bach’s own em- ployment of trio-sonata textures in his organ music is seen at its most original in the six sonatas, BWV 525-530, and some of the movements in these works were also arranged from earlier pieces. Their structures, on the other hand, draw less on sonata than on concertó models, both in their three- movement form (fast-slow-fast) and in the ritornello designs preferred for the outer movements. Accord- ing to Bach’s earliest biographer, J.N. Forkel, Bach wrote them “for his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann [born 1710], who, by practisingthem, prepared him- self to become the great performer on the organ that he afterwards was.” They remain essential training for any advanced organist today, as well as being at- tractive works in themselves.
Forkel’s testimony, together with the existence of a copy in Bach’s hand, enable us to date these sonatas in their final form to about 1727-30, but most of Bach’s organ music has survived in copies made by others, by no means all of them reliable. As a result it is impossible now to arrive at an overall chron- ology similar to that which exists for the vocal music, and even the authorship of many compositions re- mains in doubt. It is ironic that reservations about
the authenticity of particular works should extend to the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 - the most famous organ piece ever composed, and one with which Bach’s ñame is inseparably linked - but its many unusual features (including the opening oc¬
taves on the manuals and the solo pedal statement of the subject in the fugue) have led scholars to ques- tion whether Bach did in fact write it. If it really is his, it must surely have been conceived at the instru- ment in a frenzy of inspiration.
The prelude-fugue-postlude structure of the D minor Toccata is found in other organ works dating probably from the Arnstadt-Mühlhausen or the early Weimar period, usually with the title of Prelude (or Toccata) and Fugue (e.g. those in C, BWV 531; G minor, BWV 535; C minor, BWV 549;
and A minor, BWV 561). Characteristic of such pieces is the loose construction of the outer sections, with their elabórate pedal solos calculated to dazzle the naíve listener, and the straggling fugue subjects, usually worked out within a restricted tonal ambit.
As Bach refined his musical style he also tightened up the structure of works such as these. Preludes be- come more organic, less rhapsodic in construction;
pithier subjects are preferred for the fugues, with the pedáis playing an integral part; and the improvis- atory postlude is abandoned. The difference in style can readily be appreciated by listening to the Prelude and Fugue BWV 545, or better still the superb Prelude and Fugue BWV 547, directly after the earlier work, BWV 531, in the same key (C major), or by comparing the celebrated Toccata in D minor with the so-called “Dorian” Toccata BWV 538, again in the same key. Among other later examples of the same genre, the Prelude and Fugue in B minor,
BWV 544, and the Toccata in F, BWV 540, are justly regarded as masterpieces, even if the first section in each case tends to overshadow the fugue that follows.
It is perhaps surprising, in view of Bach’s mastery of ground-bass structures in his vocal music, that he left us only one example of the organ passacaglia, the one in C minor, BWV 582; it is less surprising that it has proved to be one of the pinnacles of the or¬
gan repertory. Bach may have taken the first half of his passacaglia theme from one by the French com¬
poser André Raison, but BWV 582 has a number of original features. It begins with a solo pedal state¬
ment of the theme itself - a common enough practice in later organ passacaglias, but practically unknown before Bach. Twenty variations follow, proceeding in broad terms from simplicity to complexity, and the work ends with a mighty fugue on the passacaglia theme (or, rather, on Raison’s part of it) - another original feature which was adopted by later com- posers.
Among the “free” organ works that relax Bach’s grip on fugal counterpoint, none is more appealing than the Pastorale BWV 590. The first movement, with its long-held bass notes (pedal points), 12/8 metre and mellifluous movement in thirds and sixths, is obviously allied to a Christmas tradition familiar from the pastoral movements in Handel’s
“Messiah,” Corelli’s “Christmas” Concertó and Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio.” Less obvious, per¬
haps, is the opening theme’s resemblance to “In dulcí jubilo” and that of the last movement to another well-known Christmas melody, “Josef, liebe Josef mein.” The two central movements, in
C major and C minor, have no obvious Christmas connections, but the first of them again makes use of pedal points.
To turn from “free” compositions to those based on chórales (hymn tunes), is not entirely to turn from recital pieces to those intended for church Services, for we know from Bach’s visit to Hamburg in 1720, when he improvised for almost half an hour on the hymn tune “An Wasserflüssen Babylon,” that chórale settings could serve as recital pieces too.
There is nothing at all improvisatory about Bach’s surviving setting of that tune, BWV 653, but im- provisation perhaps lies behind the early partite diverse, or variation sets, BWV 766-768. The finest of these is “Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig,” BWV 768, which was composed and added to over a fairly lengthy period, to judge from the style of the music.
The 11 variations of the final versión cover a wide range of expression and technique, the longest being Variation 10, in which the chórale melody is treated as a cantus firmus in long notes, each line introduced by an ornamented versión of itself in shorter note valúes. This would have made an impressive finale, but Bach chose to end the work (as he did many of his church cantatas) with a straightforward, though richly harmonised, versión of the chórale itself.
Also belonging to Bach’s early period are the “Arn- stadt” chórales, in which each line of a chordal har- monisation is separated from the next by a brief im¬
provisatory flourish. The harmonies themselves are often adventurously chromatic and, although some at least were written at Weimar, it was probably similar settings that the church authorities at Arn- stadt complained of when they accused Bach of in-
troducing “sundry curious embellishments” and
“many strange notes” into the hymns. The type is well represented by “Allein Gott in der Hóh’”
BWV 715, and “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ”
BWV 722, among others.
Most of Bach’s later and more mature chórale set- tings are contained in five collections made at various times throughout his life. The first of these was the “Orgel-Büchlein” (Little Organ Book) - an appropriate title for a volume which measures only about 15.5 x 19 cm and in which most of the pieces occupy only one page. The contents (46 out of a planned 164 chórales), assembled for the most part between 1713 and 1716, exemplify astraightforward method of chórale setting: four-part texture with the melody sounding plainly in the top part, contra¬
puntal working-out of figures in the middle parts, and a pedal line which is either independent of the others or shares the figuration of the middle parts.
What distinguished these pieces from similar ones by other composers is the poetic imagination and superb craftsmanship with which Bach forms the ac- companimental fabric of the music. A locus classicus for the “Orgel-Büchlein type” is provided by BWV 637, in which Adam’s fall is graphically represented by downward leaps in the pedáis, while the corrupting effect of that fall on mankind is suggested by the “sour” harmonies and false re- lations of the middle parts.
Not all the chórales in the “Orgel-Büchlein” take this form. Nine of them (BWV 600, 608, 618-20, 624, 629 and 633-34) are canons in which the mel¬
ody, usually in the top part, is echoed elsewhere (usually by the pedáis). Again, a poetic intention
may sometimes be discerned; for example, it was ob- viously the phrase “trahe me post te” (“draw me after you”) that prompted the composition of “In dulcí jubilo” BWV 608, in which the accompanying triplets, as well as the chórale tune, are in canon. The
“Orgel-Büchlein” also ineludes three chórales, BWV 614, 622 and 641, in which the melody is so in- tricately decorated as to be scarcely recognisable.
Both coloratura and chromaticism are at their most poignant in the closing bars of BWV 622, a Passion- tide hymn, where the expression is intensified by a tempo marking, adagissimo, unique in Bach’s mu¬
sic. In complete contrast is the jubilant New Year chórale, “In dir ist Freude” BWV 615, with its pedal ostinato suggesting perhaps a peal of bells.
The title page of the “Orgel-Büchlein” had promised instruction in how to set chórales “in all kinds of ways,” but for examples of lqnger settings we must turn to the later collections. Among these the third part of the “Clavier-Übung” (Bach’s series of “key- board exercises” published between 1726 and 1742) occupies a special place. Trinitarian symbolism abounds. The collection is framed by a mighty Prelude and Fugue in E fíat, BWV 552 (with a key signature of three fíats), each component having three distinct themes; between them comes a se- quence of chórale preludes, BWV 669-689, the first nine (3 x 3) on the Germán versión of the Kyrie and Gloria of the Mass, the others on hymns associated with Luther’s Catechism. Somewhat enigmatic in this context are the four duets, BWV 802-805, for manuals only, but they bring the total number of pieces to 27 (3 x 3 x 3). The price Bach charged for the volume was three thalers.
The rather ascetic tone of “Clavier-Übung III” is maintained, and even strengthened, in Bach’s next organ publication, the Canonic Variations on Luther’s hymn, “Vom Himmel hoch,” BWV 769.
Published in 1748, only two years before his death, it must be seen in the context of a number of late works, including also the “Musical Offering” and the “Art of Fugue,” in which Bach sought to explore the deepest mysteries of his contrapuntal art. There are five variations, in four of which the chórale mel¬
ody is combined with independent canons at various intervals; in the final variation the chórale melody itself is heard in canon by inversión at intervals of a sixth, third, second and ninth in turn, while other parts weave counterpoints around. The work ends with a three-bar coda - a contrapuntal tourde forcé in which all four lines o. the melody are compressed and combined.
While the Canonic Variations were written for cir- culation among the members of Lorenz Mizler’s learned Society of the Musical Sciences, the six
“Schübler” chórales, BWV 645-650, published very soon afterwards, seem to have originated as a purely commercial venture. All but the second of them are known to be arrangements of vocal movements from church cantatas that Bach composed at Leipzig be¬
tween 1724 and 1731, and “Wo solí ich fliehen hin”
may have had a similar origin. The set takes its title from the Schübler firm at Zella, which had engraved most of of Bach’s “Musical Offering” in 1747 and was later to be involved in publishing the “Art of Fugue.” Bach himself presumably selected the can¬
tata movements to be included, but as the arrange¬
ments are little more than literal transcriptions his participation in the publication may not have gone
much beyond that; the numerous important correc- tions in his personal copy (which disappeared in the 1850s and carne to light again only in 1975) suggest that he may not have seen proofs of the publication.
The first piece, the well-known “Wachet auf,”
shows a type of chórale setting familiar enough from Bach’s cantatas but entirely new to organ music - and much imitated by later composers. The phrases of the hymn tune in the left hand combine, almost as if by chance, with a tuneful and completely indepen¬
dent melody in the right, supported by the steady tread of a continuo-like bass. A similar approach is found in the last two chórales, but the others are con¬
cerned not so much with tuneful counter-melodies as with the contrapuntal working-out of a consistent figure, which may be derived from the chórale tune (as in “ Wer nur den lieben Gott”) or may be indepen¬
dent of it (as in the other two).
Dating from about the same time as the “Schübler”
chórales is the fair copy of what have come to be known as the “Eighteen” - revisions and expansions of pieces originally composed during the Weimar period. If the “Orgel-Büchlein” shows Bach as a po¬
etic miniaturist, this collection shows his mastery of chórale settings on the grandest scale. Particularly imposing are “Komm, heiliger Geist” BWV 651, “O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig” BWV 656, and the three fine settings of “Allein Gott in der Hóh” BWV 662- 664, but no less impressive are some shorter pieces, notably the first, melancholy setting of “Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland” BWV 659, and
“Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele” BWV 654, which Schumann considered to be “as priceless and pro- found a piece of music as ever sprang from an artist’s imagination.”
A degree of mystery surrounds the last of the “Eight- een,” “Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich” BWV 668, a prelude of the type associated particularly with Pachelbel, in which each line of the melody is pre¬
ceded by a contrapuntal working-out of its initial motif. This piece is separated from the others in the manuscript, written in a different hand and is in¬
complete. A complete versión (BWV 668a), was, however, placed at the end of the “Art of Fugue”
when that work appeared in print in 1751, and it is there said to have been dictated by Bach in his blind- ness to one of his friends. Whether or not this friend was the scribe of the versión in the “Eighteen” is not known, but in any case the work brings to a fitting cióse the incomparable repertory of organ music that Bach left to posterity: “Before thy throne I come, o God.”
© 1993 Philips Classics Productions
Práludium und Fuge e-moll BWV 548: page 1 of the authograph Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Berlín, Mus. ms. Bach P 274
THE METZLER ORGAN IN THE CHURCH OF ST NIKOLAUS, FRAUENFELD
T
he superb organ in the Catholic church of Frauenfeld is based on a classical conception of sonic and aesthetic unity combined with visual and aural unity. The acoustic and spatial conditions are ideal. The great height of the building determined the structural layout of the Hauptwerk, Rück- positiv, Brustwerk and Pedal. The excellent acoustics in the church are partly due to the many rounded structures, and particularly to the varied use of stucco.The interior of the organ is enclosed in a superbly handcrafted case of solid oak that harmonises splen- didly with the architectural style of the church, which combines Baroque and Jugendstil elements.
The construction is entirely of wood, avoiding any material that might deaden the sound. The thickness and structure of both framework and panelling are so well balanced that each part of the case can víbrate freely and act as a resonating body. The result is highly effective, refining and at the same time con- centrating and blending the sound. In this way the divisions of the organ are clearly separated and the sound reaches the nave perceptibly differentiated.
This layout keeps the depth of the organ to a mínimum, because the windchests are placed above and alongside one another. If the organ case were too deep, the pipes at the back would be unable to speak freely. The front or fa?ade is artistically pro- portioned. In the heyday of organ history a great
deal of care and artistry went into the design and dec¬
oraron of the front, and the visible part of this organ contributes significantly to the architectural beauty of the church. The front reflects the internal layout of the instrument. In the main organ two levels of pipes may be distinguished: the Brustwerk, with swell box, and above it the Hauptwerk, flanked on either side by mighty pedal towers. The alternation of towers with fíats offers relief in the división of pipes in the front.
The Rückpositiv, at the player’s back, is a recon- structed imitation of the Hauptwerk. For both Hauptwerk and Rückpositiv the classical five-piece front with its superbly harmonious proportions was chosen. This excellent type of front makes the num- ber of divisions immediately apparent. Thus the face of the organ is not merely a screen or fagade, but a logical projection of the internal layout. The empty space above the pipes is filled with wooden carvings.
These gilded “shades” or “blinds” are not merely or¬
namental, for they also help direct the sound for- wards. The front, designed logically according to technical proportions, displays not only the large pipes of the principal stops, but also the smaller ones, thus ensuring a balanced intensity of sound.
Each of the four divisions has its own individually proportioned case, its own resonating chamber. The specific sound character is also a product of the spatial dimensions of the case. Thus there is a con-
clusive interaction between sound and case. The unified conception of the layout demands tracker ac- tion and mechanical stop action. No other system can equal the precisión and aesthetic technical layout of the purely mechanical principie. This layout com- pels, often advantageously, a more organistic and authentic interpretaron of a work. The beautiful homogeneity of the Principal sound, crowned by its high mixtures, gives rise to striking contrapuntal clarity. The plena, brilliant yet never forced, are sup- plemented by wide-spaced flutes, quints and tierces and by extremely varied reeds, in a logical dispo- sition that pays particular regard to the weightiness of the pedal. The design and craftsmanship of the pipes determine the quality of the sound. Most of the pipes, apart from those in the front, are made of hammered tin alloys, in which the percentage of tin varies considerably. Hammered tin refines the sound, as can be demonstrated and proven by com- paring the hammered Principáis with those in the front. By means of this method, practised only by a few European organ builders, projection and beauty of sound is enhanced, without causing an undesir- able increase in volume. The result is a wonderfully articúlate sound, with gurgling tones and antici- patory noises reduced to a scarcely perceptible mínimum. Thus a steady sound of the finest quality is achieved, with no pronounced or obtrusive edge.
The individual stops are distinctively voiced, yet they blend not only in the sumptuous full sound, but also in soft combinations of the utmost clarity and inten¬
sity. These excellent characteristics are entirely due to the perfect co-ordination of the design of every single part of the organ. A slight modification, pro-
posed by the organ builder himself, of the tempera- ment usually employed today means that the most commonly used keys are purer and therefore have more character. A flexible wind supply with cor- rectly proportioned wind trunks and bellows, thus without Schwimmer bellows, ensures the singing at- tack of the pipes, generated by the rush of wind.
With this instrument it becomes apparent once more that the organ is in effect a huge wind instrument.
The listener imagines that he perceives the breathing of a choir in the broad, flowing lines of sound. The too perfect and explosive speech of the pipes charac- teristic of the neo-Baroque 1950s has totally dis- appeared. Each manual has a wind pressure of 75 mm, and the pedal commands a somewhat higher pressure of 85 mm.
This organ is obviously predestined for the Baroque literature, particularly the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Each división of the three-manual instrument with its 45 stops has a comprehensive disposition with ampie representation of principal and wide-scaled choruses, as well as reeds and superb mutations. In a linear and colourful perform¬
ance it is possible to hear clearly the complex pro- cesses of the contrapuntal style. For Bach, as organ connoisseur and organist, it was important that an instrument offered a variety of possibilities for the cantus firmus. This instrument presents a wide choice of cantus firmus and trio registrations, so that varying conceptions of timbre can be realised, par¬
ticularly in the chórale prelude. More recent music (Isang Yun, Gyórgi Ligeti and others), employing fixed and variously moving note clusters, can also be performed successfully on this Metzler organ.
“Microtones” and fluctuations of intonation can be produced by means of mechanical registration, pull- ing out or pushing in stops as required.
The significance of this organ reconstruction lies in the fine overall conception of the layout, and in the co-ordination of every superbly made individual part within the larger structural purpose. An un-
usual vitality and a beautifully articúlate sound com¬
bine here to produce an artistically integrated whole.
Josef Holtz Translation: Mary Adams Josef Holtz is the organist of the church of St Nicholas, Frauenfeld.
DISPOSITION OF THE ORGAN*
in the Catholic city church of St Nikolaus in Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Rebuilt 1969 by Metzler Sóhne, Dietikon, Switzerland Disposition: Josef Holtz; front: Metzler Sóhne
Slider chests with mechanical tracker action.
Mechanical aids to registration.
Height: 9.16 m; width: 6.25 m; depth: 1.30 m;
Rückpositiv: height: 2.80 m; width: 2.56 m; depth: 1 m
Hauptwerk Brustwerk Rückpositiv Pedal
Prinzipal 16’ Holzgedackt 8’ Prinzipal 8’ Prinzipal 16’
Pommer 16’ Prinzipal 4’ Gedackt 8’ Subbass 16’
Oktav 8’ Gedacktflóte 4’ Quintadena 8’ Octav 8’
Hohlflóte 8’ Spitzflóte 2’ Octav 4’ Gedackt 8’
Dolkan 8’ Sifflóte 1’ Rohrflóte 4’ Quinte 5 '/»’
Octav 4’ Terzian 2fach Octav 2’ Octave 4’
Koppelflóte 4’ Cimbel 2fach '/>’ Nasat 1W Nachthorn 2’
Quinte 22/j’ Rankett 16’ Sesquiáltera 2fach Rauschpfeife 5fach 2’
Octav 2’ Vox humana 8’ Scharff 4fach r Posaune 16’
Mixtur 4-5fach 2’ - Tremulant Dulzian 16’ Trómpete 8’
Cimbel 5fach 2/>’ Krummhorn 8’ Trómpete 4’
Trómpete 8’ Cinq 2’
* at the time of the recording
