Last year I reviewed
Kay Johannsen's Liszt CD for Carus on
the new (2004) Muhleisen organ in Stuttgart.
This is actually Johannsen's own church
and he was responsible for the commissioning
of the new organ. In this new release,
unlike the Liszt disc, he provides an
explanation (in German only) of the
conceptual thinking behind this mammoth
(81 stop) instrument. In essence there
were three concepts; the creation of
a middle-German baroque-inspired organ
for the music of Bach, an organ for
German Romantic music and an organ for
improvisation. The stop list reveals
also French influences, especially in
the reeds of the Second Swell, and the
Flute Harmonique among the Hauptwerk
'fonds'. The basic division of the organ
is as follows: The Hauptwerk with a
16' chorus to mixtures at 2 2/3 and
2', plus extra 8 foundation including
a Gamba and Gemshorn, a 4' Tibia (!)
plus Cornett, 16' and 8' Trompetes and
a Chamade. The Ruckpositiv contains
a Principal chorus from 8 to Mixture
at 1'1/3 plus middle German baroque
inspired colour stops - a Bifara and
Quintade at 8', a 16 Fagott scaled after
the Hildebrandt example at Naumburg,
and 8' Trompete and Krummhorn. The remaining
2 manuals are both enclosed. The Schwellpositiv
is clearly the key element in the German
Romantic concept; 5 8' flues including
a Concertflote, Salicional and Unda
Maris, and a free-reed Clarinette with
its own windschweller. The division
also contains wide scale mutations including
a Septime, as well as a Trompete and
Vox Humana. The 4th manual, 'Schwellwerk'
contains 6 8' flues including a Celeste,
Aeoline and Gamba as well the Frenchish
reeds. The sizeable pedal re-uses stops
from the previous instrument.
I remain thoroughly
sceptical that this organ says anything
new for modern organ building. I cannot
believe that the church needs an organ
of 81 stops; from the photos the room
is clearly not vast. OK, its most famous
predecessor, the Walcker of 1837 with
2 pedalboards (you've seen the photos
- it was lost in the war), had 84, but
I bet it was 40% softer! The present
organ sounds to me, just as in the Liszt
disc, like the Central European eclectic
product I've heard so many times before
and of which the UK has many examples.
The sound is not unpleasant - certain
flutes are extraordinary, the Glockenspiel
with and without damper is, well, astonishing
as are the tubular bells. The choruses
on the other hand seem hard and one-dimensional,
the strings have little depth, the reeds,
with the exception maybe of the aforementioned
Clarinette are all deadly neutral. The
ultra-rock-steady wind contributes no
life. On the one hand, I reserve any
conclusive judgement, as should you,
until I've visited and played it. The
recordings scream Rieger and Klais with
another badge. Oh, and no case ... really.
But you must buy this
CD because Kay Johannsen's improvising
is extremely enjoyable! What a huge
imagination and craft to be able to
create out of nothing such a variety
of miniatures; Toccatas, Berceuses,
Scherzos, neo-classical French Overtures
to name just a few. His harmonic language
ranges from late-romantic to contemporary
tonal with a slightly commercial, even
jazzy feel. Occasionally something completely
different - the wonderfully acerbic
but quicksilver scherzo on Vom Himmel
Hoch for instance - changes the mood
completely. Even the English-speaking
listener will recognise more themes
than you'd expect incidentally. This
is really first-rate Catholic liturgical
improvising; never a dull moment, sometimes
highly virtuosic, undoubtedly accessible
and above all colourfully imaginative.
The organ leaves me
stone-cold but this would make a great
soundtrack to next Christmas!
Chris Bragg
Kay Johannsen (organ) 
