Comparison Recordings:
BWV
565, 582: E. Power Biggs, organ [ADD] CBS MK 42644
BWV
532, 543: E. Power Biggs, organ [ADD] CBS MK 42648
BWV
543: Carl Weinrich, Westminster mono LP
BWV
565 & 582: Helmut Walcha, [ADD] Archiv 2435 090-2
BWV
565: E. Power Biggs, pedal harpsichord, CBS LP
BWV
582: Anthony Newman, pedal harpsichord, CBS LP
BWV
565: Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia, CBS mono LP
BWV
565: Guillou, Organ of St. Eustache. Dorian DOR-90134
Liszt:
S.179 Jean-Pierre LeGuay, Organ of Notre Dame. Euromuses EURM
2014
Liszt:
S.179 Gabor Lehotka, Jehmlich organ, Kecskemét. Hungaroton
HCD 12562-2
We Bach lovers with our
BWV numbers are a little like the old absurdist joke about
the prisoners who tell jokes by the number.* So here are our
old friends 565, 582, 543, and 532. Brings tears to the eyes,
what? Well, something has to be done when your favorite composer
has written 1,081 works (!) and every other one seems to be
called “Wie Schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” or “Wachet Auf
Ruft uns die stimme...” or “Meine Herze schwimmt im blut...”
or “Himmelfahrts Oratorium...” or “Grosse Messe in h moll”
or something equally vulgar and/or unpronounceable to many
English speakers.
As with any piece of music
that is played very frequently, the most severe obstacle for
anyone performing old 565 is making it seem new, projecting
some enthusiasm and sense of discovery. It is now my considered
opinion that 565 and 582 were not originally written for organ.
These days I prefer hearing them in their original instrumentation,
whenever available. 582 is on most people’s short-list for
the greatest piece of music ever written, and 565 is certainly
one of the most popular organ pieces ever written. However
BWV 532 and 543 were written for organ and sound wonderful
here. Unlike some organ recordings, this disk sounds absolutely
marvellous on the 5” woofers in my “D” system, that is, the
speakers on my nightstand, yet on a surround sound system
the disc produces a wide, room-filling, and deeply satisfying
organ sound.
I can’t recommend the “complete”
performances of the Bach works by Werner Jacob, Ton Koopman,
Michel Chapuis, or Hans Fagius, although the Brilliant release
of the Fagius recording is so low in price that you might
as well buy it just to have one recording of all the organ
works, and then you can fill in your collection as you discover
particular performances of particular works that you particularly
like. These complete versions cannot evade the fact that with
so much music being played in such a short time the performer
gets tired and the pieces tend to sound alike. I like everything
I’ve heard from Lionel Rogg, Kevin Bowyer and Helmut Walcha
but have by no means heard all of their recordings, and, in
the case of the first two, not their recordings of the works
on this disk. I don’t recommend Michael Murray playing Bach
organ music, he has completely the wrong sense of rhythm however
grand his command of the buttons and levers. Anthony Newman’s
organ recordings of Bach are simply too fast, although his
CBS LP of old 543 is impressive by any standard and his pedal
harpsichord version of 582 is one of the great keyboard recordings
of the 20th century. I don’t enjoy Stokowski’s orchestrations
of any of these works, much as I admire him for playing them
to popularize these works and create a demand for the real
thing. Eugene Ormandy does a much finer job with the same
orchestra, and I enjoy those versions as much as I do the
organ versions. The Biggs recordings which sounded so good
to us on LP definitely show their age now on CD, but are still
worthy classics.
The Guillou recording is
perfect for someone who wants 565 in reverberant gigantic
organ sound. It is also one of the best surround sound organ
recordings I’ve ever heard, which is odd since there is no
mention of surround-sound on the disk. Clearly engineers have
made excellent progress in matching generic surround-sound
processors with generic surround-sound encoders, so, as I
have repeatedly advised, always try playing your new CDs with
the surround-sound setting if you have one; you may be surprised
and delighted by what you hear.
Franz Liszt wrote only
about half a dozen organ works and was never thought of as
an organ composer during his lifetime. However his intense
religiosity combined with his clear understanding of the theatrical
power of the organ’s sound has led to nearly half his output
entering the standard repertoire of virtuoso organists. This
Liszt work is one of those “arrangements” that supposedly
made the case that Liszt wasn’t really a composer at all.
However, we note that the themes weren’t original with Bach,
either. Liszt has re-registered and re-harmonized everything,
and this work is now counted to be one of Liszt’s most successful
and original compositions, and perhaps his most successful
organ work, even more so than the Prelude and Fugue on
BACH. Leguay and his gigantic instrument coupled with
stunning performance and recording have produced a masterpiece.
Your choice here is mostly on the size of your living room,
whether you can convince yourself you’re really in Notre Dame,
or a slightly smaller sound is more comfortable. The Lehotka
is a fine, rather more introverted, closely recorded performance,
but the smaller organ sound is just a little breathy and grainy.
Paul Shoemaker
*The new prisoner hears the prisoners in the other cells shouting
numbers down the ventilating shaft, since there are no windows
in their cells, and then he hears everyone laughing. His cell
mate explains that they have assigned numbers to the jokes,
and by yelling the number, they are telling jokes. The new
prisoner hears someone call out “722” and everyone laughs,
then “821” and everyone laughs, then “244” and everyone laughs.
Finally some calls out “565” and everyone laughs except his
cell mate. “Why didn’t you laugh at that one?” the new prisoner
asks. The cell mate replies, “Because I’ve heard that one
before.”
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Daniel Chorzempa, organ at Grote Kerk, Breda, Netherlands.
[60.19]
