Johann PACHELBEL (1653-1706)
Organ Jewels of the 17th Century
Toccata in e minor [1:45]
Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund [2:08]
Christus, der ist mein Leben [6:20]
Von Himmel Hoch, da komm ich her [4:38]
Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott [3:42]
Ricercar in c minor [5:20]
Hexachordum Apollinis : Aria Sebaldina in f minor [6:35]
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern [3:20]
Vater unser im Himmelreich [2:48]
O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (Chorale) [4:26]
O Lamm Gottes unschuldig in f minor [6:35]
Bernard Lagacé (organ)
rec. St. Bonaventure de Rosemont, Montreal, Canada, 1 March 1971. ADD
2xHD 2XHDJD1033 [50:16]
Download only: reviewed in lossless format from eclassical.com
(mp3, 16- and 24-bit lossless, NO booklet, but see below).
Pachelbel’s Canon has caught the musical public’s imagination, especially
that of ClassicFM listeners, to such an extent that you could easily think
it was his only work of value: there’s even an RCA CD entitled Pachelbel’s
Greatest Hit on which it receives a variety of performances.
This recording of his organ music joins a list of CDs which demonstrate why
such a belief is untenable. With excellent performances from the recent past
by a distinguished organist, very well refurbished, it serves as an excellent
introduction to his prolific keyboard output. I’m not sure of the provenance
of this new 2xHD refurbishment of a set of 1971 recordings, though Bernard
Lagacé made a number of distinguished recordings of the likes of Couperin
which were released in the UK on the Oryx and Calliope labels and subsequently
on Analekta CDs. I believe that this recording was released on an Arion LP
which was never available in the UK. The notes speak of both 15 i.p.s. tape
and LP sources.
The only reason not to give an outright recommendation is that you may well
wish to go on to investigate Pachelbel’s considerable output via the 5-CD
set released last year as Volume 1 of his organ music, on the CPO label, which
Johan van Veen made a Recording of the Month (777 556-2 – review).
There’s also a Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm series of recordings
of his music underway: Volume 2, combining organ and harpsichord music was
also praised by Johan van Veen – review.
I’ve no quarrel with 2xHD’s description of the music as ‘jewels’ but they
aren’t the only ones in the box.
Most of the music here is liturgical in nature, consisting of organ preludes
appropriate to a particular season like the more familiar Bach chorale preludes.
The opening Toccata and the two central works, the Ricercar
and Aria Sebaldina, however, are secular. The Aria is the final
movement of the Hexachordum Apollinis (1699), a work equally at home
on the organ and the harpsichord and described as such in the first edition.
There’s a recording of the complete Hexachordum by John Butt on Harmonia
Mundi from around 1990, one of the earliest albums made by a performer whose
Bach Passions and Well-tempered Klavier on Linn have since been hailed
in all quarters. HMU907029, download only – available from
eclassical.com, mp3 and lossless, stream from Qobuz:
NO booklet from either.
Butt plays the music on a modern copy of a North German organ of the time.
Though Pachelbel hailed from further South, that may seem more appropriate
than Lagacé’s French-style instrument, but as the Hexachordum requires
light registration, it’s of little importance. His performance is bright
and attractive; though it’s faster than Butt’s on paper, the difference is
less apparent in the hearing and I enjoyed listening to both.
The chorale preludes receive equally adept performances. You may well recognize
the underlying chorales of the better-known examples such as the Easter Christ
lag in Todesbanden. 2xHD label track 10 as O Lamm Gottes (choir)
but no choir is involved; Lagacé plays the chorale tune ahead of the prelude
on the same theme which follows on the final track.
You would hardly think that the recording dated from 1971, though it’s very
naughty of some dealers – not 2xHD themselves who clearly proclaim the word
‘analog’ or eclassical.com – to describe it as a ‘native DSD’ production:
it’s ADD. It’s hardly inferior to the Harmonia Mundi of twenty years later,
especially as heard in lossless sound. The mp3, too, is good of its kind.
There’s a booklet of notes from Qobuz
and offered free by 2xHD
– none from eclassical.com – but it’s pretty rudimentary. Surely it’s mandatory
for an organ recording to list the specification of the instrument if not
the registration of individual pieces? It would have been good, too, to know
which of the many settings Pachelbel made of most of these chorale preludes
is played here: it can’t be just boring old reviewers who like to know which
is which, as on the CPO recording where the POP numbers are given.
For all my complaints about the lack of the booklet and its inadequacy when
found, I very much enjoyed listening to this album. I’m pleased that 2xHD
have rescued these performances from oblivion. Hitherto all their offerings
that I’ve heard have been refurbishments of Naxos recordings; I hope that
they will continue to offer more such lost treasures.
By the time that you read this, Easter will be over but it will still be Eastertide.
I recommend following up Pachelbel’s organ music with his Easter cantatas
on Ricercar RIC255, as reviewed in December
2008 (Christ lag in Todesbanden from this album also included in
bargain 7-CD set, RIC344 –
review and review).
Brian Wilson
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