SearchsearchUseruser

Pachelbel: Organ works - Bolliger

Pachelbel: Organ works - Bolliger

Sinus  7004 (2 discs)

Stereo Hybrid

Classical - Instrumental


Pachelbel: Toccata in E minor; Es woll uns Gott genädig sein; Was mein Gott will; Fugue in D minor; Fugue in D major; Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein; Wir glauben all an einen Gott; Ciacona in D minor; Christus der ist mein Leben; Ricercar in C minor; Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren; Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein; Aria Sebaldina; Magnificat sexti toni; Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland; Vom Himmel hoch; Ricercare in F sharp minor; Allein Gott in der Höh (c.f. im Diskant); Allein Gott in der Höh (c.f. im Bass); Fantasia in G minor; Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund; Christ lag in Todesbanden; Arietta in F major; Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist; Ciacona in F minor; Magnificat secondi toni; Magnificat Mariae*; Magnificat octavi toni

Albert Bolliger, organ (Riepp) of Ottobeuren Abbey, Bavaria.

*: actually "Magnificat peregrini toni"

Support this site by purchasing from these vendors using the paid links below.
As an Amazon Associate HRAudio.net earns from qualifying purchases.

bol.com
 
 
 

Add to your wish list | library

 

1 of 1 recommend this, would you recommend it?  yes | no

All
show
Reviews (1)
show
hide

Review by John Miller - October 22, 2014

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) may well be the most familiar Baroque composer on the planet, thanks to his Canon in D, written for three violins with a bass accompaniment, in eight bars of music repeated 28 times. Already in the later Baroque and Classical period this tune and harmony was appropriated by other composers, particularly its ostinato (bass line) - Handel, Haydn and Mozart all used it in their composing.

The acme of Canon in D's popularity was quickly reached in the 1970s, following Jean-François Paillard's recording. Its fortune was again boosted after Canon in D appeared in the 1980's movie 'Ordinary People'. Classical recordings have since been made probably hundreds of times, and hundreds of pop songs, films and adverts have also appropriated the ostinato, some of the melody and its harmonies some thousands of times. An modern organ arrangement is now a choice wedding piece in many countries, and now Canon in D is completely integrated into social media - it has re-emerged as a ring tone for mobile phones.

Born in Nuremburg in 1671, Pachelbel moved to Vienna (Austria) at the age of 18 to study music and take up positions such as Assistant Organist at St Steven's Cathedral, Organist at the Eisenach Court and teacher of Bach's eldest brother, Johann Christoph. In 1695 he returned to Nuremburg as Organist at the Sebaldus-Kirche where he lived until his death in 1706. He wrote more than 500 pieces over his lifetime, and his importance in Baroque music-making, particularly for the organ, is undoubted.

Swiss organist Albert Bolliger made his first organ recording in 1979, in the "Das alte Werk" series by Teldec. It was a triple LP set of organ works by Johann Pachelbel. In 1990, Bolliger founded his own company, Sinus-Verlag, for which he has recorded over 35 CDs on historical organs from Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Austria, France and the Philippines, in a now famous series which has gained much critical approval and a number of awards. The 1979 Pachelbel set of vinyl discs was also much praised, both for recording quality and performance, and the arrival of SA-CD has prompted Sinus to a re-mastering of the original tapes in high-resolution, for this re-issue on two SA-CDs.

In 1979, Bolliger was at an early stage in his career objective of recording historical organs, mostly from Europe. His choice of the Ottobeuren Abbey Church, across the Alps at Mur in Switzerland, was an establishment connected to the Hapsburg Imperial Court, to which Pachelbel also had connections. The Roccoco church has two chancel organs by Karl Joseph Reipp (1766). These two choir organs are very appropriate for Bolliger's Pachelbel programme; the smaller Holy Ghost organ has dispositions of the South German organ type, while the Trinity Organ, follows the French tradition, which disposes a rich scale of reeds and cornets.

Given the two appropriate organs, Bolliger selected 28 of the composer's works and was able to choose distinctive registrations for each, marking which organ was used in the track list. Thus he was able to present a comprehensive pictures of Pachelbel's oeuvre and the Reipp organs.

Bolliger's fine performances are a fusion of his technical adroitness, intuitive combinations of stops for each piece, understanding of the Baroque styles of Protestant/Catholic origins, and the incorporation of French secular dances . The stereo recording is also excellent; perhaps a little closer than would be used these days, but with good perspective and sound-stage. The timbres of the various stops are rendered more realistically than the previous CD remastering, and there is a good capture of the sonics of the church's ornate space.

The informative booklet, nestling in a standard double jewel box, provides timelines for Pachelbel and organ builder Riepp, in German, French and English. There is a useful discussion of the recital music in German, but unfortunately not in French or English, although there is a shorter "His work and its importance" section in English. If space was a problem, I would have preferred to have the material about the tracks of these SA-CDs. Illustrated with sepia photographs, including some of the inner workings of the organs, you can see the amusingly capped Echo Oboe pipes.

Beginners not wanting multichannel would find this a very entertaining and impressive portrait of Pachelbel's art, although there are a number of competitors. Joseph Kelemen (Pachelbel: Organ Works - Kelemen) offers a single-disc programme of Pachelbel's South German style. Recently, for lovers of Pachelbel's music, CPO have released a 5 SA-CD Complete Organ Works, a different organist on each disc (Pachelbel: Complete Organ Works I - Christie, Schmitt, Essl, Belotti). The advantage of this is the extensive scholarship behind it, all available certified autographs being re-examined for the new edition of the Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments (published by Wayne Leopold Editions of Colfax, North Carolina).

Despite its age, Bolliger's Pachelbel selection has been lovingly restored, in fact enhanced, and his enthusiastic playing has a new detail and focus, with the two organs being more clearly placed in the Ottobeuren church ambience. Well worth investigating if you are interested in the composer who wrote THAT Kanon.

Copyright © 2014 John Miller and HRAudio.net

Performance:

stars