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ORGAN MUSIC FROM THE BAROQUE AND ROMANTIC ERA. Works by: Bach, Mendelssohn, Reger, Grieg and Krebs.     Hans Helmut Tillmanns: Organ. Danacord DACOCD 61m DDD.

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The logical layout of this disc is that it begins and ends with Bach, a timeless reminder of the greatest organ composer of all time! Tillmans chooses the titanic Preludes and Fugues, BWV 546 and 547 to state his case, he is indeed magnificent in their mysticism and outstanding counterpoint achieving a sense of hallowed grandeur in both compositions. The lovely Fugue of BWV 546 is one of my favourite pieces and in comparison with Christopher Herrick, I thought that Tillmanns tips the scales slightly in his favour. Mendelssohn was also a fine organ composer as is demonstrated in his romantic Prelude and Fugue Op. 37. The melodies are shiny and flashy although Tillmanns almost dismisses the work as shrewd fancy at times. Reger is another prolific composer with MDG having explored all his organ works on 11 CDs. He is here represented by a short choral setting of 'Vater Unser', enjoyable enough although not as beautiful as Grieg's lovely Air in g minor, this is in a truly masterly transcription by Tillmanns himself. Hermann Krebs followed on from the Bach school and his short Prelude and Fugue in F Minor makes for interesting comparison with the master's music. A well-produced CD on the whole and including some interesting items, you really can't go far wrong if you love the organ.

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

Performance:

Sound:

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

Performance:

Sound:

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