When the stylistic
qualities of a given art form in a given
epoch are brought to an apex in the
work of a few outstanding individuals,
it is often easy to forget or neglect
the outstanding contributions of the
predecessor artists who laid the foundations
for the culminating genius or geniuses.
When one thinks of stage-craft, Shakespeare
comes first to mind; of impressionist
painting, Monet and Renoir; of the Victorian
novel, Dickens, and so on. Certainly
in the realm of organ music of the German
Baroque, the names of Dietrich Buxtehude
and Johann Sebastian Bach leap to the
fore.
There is one figure,
however, a generation and a half before
Sebastian Bach, that deserves greater
recognition, both as a virtuoso performer,
and an innovator in compositional style
that would be a model for Bach and others.
The man is Georg Böhm, who from
1698 until his death in 1733 held the
important post of organist in the Johanniskirche
in the city of Lüneberg. It is
possible, in fact very likely that the
twelve-year-old Bach, then a student
in nearby Ohrdruf, studied with Böhm.
At the very least, the young Sebastian
would have had ample opportunity to
hear the Johanniskirche master and would
have had ready access to his scores.
Presented here is the
beginning of a series of the complete
organ works of Böhm. These are
works of brilliant invention, vast variety
and of a wide spectrum of tonal color.
Of particular interest is the genre
of Böhm’s own invention, the Choral
Partita. Modeled on the already existing
instrumental partita, these inventive
works are sets of variations on the
staple of north German musical creation,
the Lutheran chorale tune. It is almost
as if the composer takes each verse
of the chorale text and finds a way
to express it in absolute music. Although
we are not presented with the texts
here, it is obvious from the dramatic
shifts in mood and tone color that the
composer must have had the verses in
mind as he wrote his music. Each setting
is unique, from the wistful Ach wie
nichtig, ach wie flüchtig, the
text of which sermonizes on the fleeting
nature of this mortal life, to the joyous,
and harmonically bold partita on Freu
dich sehr, o meine Seele. Take special
notice of the almost shocking dissonant
chords in the eleventh movement of the
later work. They so startled me that
I had to play it twice to make sure
I was hearing correctly.
Böhm is equally
at home with the Prelude and Fugue.
From the vibrant opening C major example,
with its flashy and lengthy pedal solo,
these are works of solid structure.
Each example is flush in bold gestures,
with exciting forward motion and virtuoso
writing aplenty. So too are the chorale
prelude examples full of melodic and
contrapuntal invention. In short, these
are works that cannot be dismissed as
simple, early examples of baroque organ
writing. They require every bit as much
technical and registrational skill as
the works of the more well known later
composers.
And skill is what Christiaan
Teeuwsen has in abundance. His is playing
of total command and confidence that
he uses to the service of the music
and its creator rather than to self-aggrandizement.
He is rhythmically rock solid, never
allowing the music to stagnate, and
his registrations, while always interesting
and bold, are never gaudy or in bad
taste. In the abundant toccata and fantasia
passages of the preludes he has an impeccable
sense of ebb and flow, thrilling the
listener with the fast passagework and
reining back in just in time to set
loose on another delightful ride. In
the fugues, he has an excellent sense
of line and voicing, bringing out subjects
and countersubjects in bold relief against
the accompaniment figures, allowing
the voices to flow in and out of one
another with elegance and grace. He
is capable of a fine lyrical line as
well, as is exemplified in quieter verses
of the partitas, and in the chorale
preludes.
The Reil organ in the
Bovenkerk is a relatively new instrument,
and what a magnificent thing it is.
Bold and colorful in its louder stops,
it sings quietly in softer passages,
and if the sound of this recording is
any indication, lives in a splendid
reverberant space, with just enough
decay to give it grandeur, but never
causing it to be muddy in more articulate
passages.
To round off this fine
recital, we have excellent program notes,
if perhaps too brief by the organist
himself, who speaks well for both the
composer and his music. This is the
kind of project that leaves a listener
eagerly anticipating the coming volumes.
What a pleasure this recital is! Buy
it!
Kevin Sutton
This is the kind of project that leaves
a listener eagerly anticipating the
coming volumes. What a pleasure this
recital is! … see Full Review
Christiaan Teeuwsen at the Reil Organ,
Bovenkerk, Kampen, The Netherlands.