This is volume one of a set which, when complete, will give us
the entire organ works of J.S. Bach on DVD. These recordings were
originally broadcast as a late-night series for BBC2, with performances
by the organist John Scott Whitely in the churches and abbeys
where Bach himself worked and performed, in this case in Amorbach
abbey and the Stadkirche Walterhausen. The cover design is a still
from the opening credits for the series, designed by British artist
Damien Hirst, but timid viewers need have no fear that this will
be ‘A Zed & Two Noughts’ horror flick about decaying artists
being consumed by insects. These are essentially well produced
recordings dressed in some state of the art camera work. The organs
on which Whiteley performs as well as the baroque interiors in
which they are found are in themselves works of art and very easy
on the eye, and aside from a few experimental shots where the
camera dips scarily into the larger pipes – presumably not while
the instrument was being played – the imagery is a feast of tasteful
panning and some intriguing multiple camera angles and split screens.
In
fact, this is one rather adventurous attempt at solving the
essential problem with such a project. As far as performance
goes, organs have to be the most deeply unspectacular instruments
to film. Organists tend not to move about a great deal, for
all that they are the musician’s equivalent of an octopus,
using all fingers and feet in feats claimed to be humanly
impossible by some mortals. John Scott Whiteley proves superbly
expert in this field, and little clips such as the opening
of the Sonata BWV 526 where the hands and feet are
shown simultaneously, give a good feel of the elegant complexity
of the music, and the compact economy of control of the organist.
Later on in the Allegro this on one occasion expands
to a quartet of images: stunning stuff. Needless flapping
around is, unlike with some pianists, not really the organists
terrain and tends to lead to disaster if attempted – I know,
I’ve seen it happen. Besides, the organist is usually invisible
to the audience, especially in these magnificent baroque churches.
As a result, head and elbow rolling and bizarre varieties
of posture are well out; and hurrah for that. Where possible
we do have some shots from above, including the nice touch
of the organist’s briefcase, no doubt sandwiches included,
plonked next to the stool. The director John Warburton is
indeed very resourceful in this regard – fisheye lenses over
the fingers being just another example. The same effect on
the player’s face is less appealing – Peter Gabriel got away
with it, but I doubt even he would have used it on ‘The Bach
Tour.’ The cells of split imagery are sometimes placed over
out of focus backgrounds of the interior which is a nice effect.
If Bach’s handwritten notes had floated past it could have
been ‘Prospero’s Books’ all over again.
No,
sitting on the organist’s shoulder like a parrot or at his
feet like a faithful dog are no good for long periods, and
so we move onto the instrument. If anything, this moves about
even less than the player. Aside from a few twitching bits
of mechanism, the best one can do is run the lens up and down
the pipes. Some lingering on the beautiful ornamentation also
helps, but aside from some interesting views behind the instrument
and some teasing with perspectives and pushing and pulling
with the focal length there just ain’t much going on.
This
however is the beauty of these programmes. I missed these
when they were first broadcast even though we do receive BBC
in The Netherlands. No doubt with the hour time difference
I would have been tucked safely in bed by the time these went
out. Each programme is presented as broadcast, complete with
sinister and irrelevant Damien Hirst title sequence, and a
brief scene-setting take of John Scott Whiteley walking into
and, accompanied by a nice tingle of ornamental bells, out
of each church. He does look a bit like an undertaker, but
this chimes in with relatively sober performances. John Scott
Whiteley has spectacular technique and superb musicality,
but doesn’t go on for histrionics when it comes to ornamentation
or massaging the tempi with inappropriate rubato and the like.
In short, these are lovely performances, each work give its
own atmosphere with well considered variation in terms of
camera work and lighting. The BWV 682 Chorale Prelude
'Vater unser im Himmelreich' and Schübler Chorales
BWV 642 and 645 are for instance filmed after dark, and using
some of the fascinating chiaroscuro created by the artificial
light, helped by a few strategically placed candles in the
church. The organs sound very fine, and the sound quality
is top notch, eschewing overly grand sound-staging but capturing
the acoustic and feel of each location very well indeed. The
Stadtkirche in Walterhausen is a smaller space and a drier
acoustic, so less warm and all-embracing than Amorbach, but
the sound is in no way a hair-shirt case of ancient-organ
aversion. This is a more intimate space, with its own quirks
of interest such as the cheeky faces that look up at the organist
from either side of the keyboard, as if to distract the player
and make him lose his way while improvising a fugue.
The booklet for
this DVD has also been very well prepared, though I’m not
sure we really need additional commentary on the camera work.
Text such as “The prelude involves close-ups of fingers and
feet, moving to the pedals as they enter...” is surely a bit
unnecessary, though harmless enough. The notes on each piece,
and the technical information on the organs, as well as the
registrations used and comments on unusual features are of
great interest even to non-organists. No? Well, you’d soon
hear me complaining if they weren’t there.
Aside from one
or two minor moments where I felt the camera snaking down
the organist’s arm or almost under his fingers lead to a feeling
more of discomfort than enjoyment, this is a DVD by which
to put up one’s feet and revel in glorious sounds and images.
There is also an interview with Professor Christoph Wolff
of Harvard University which is fascinatingly informative on
Bach and the organ music, but rather strange in overall impression.
The professor sits in front of us as a talking head, has questions
fired at him by an unseen and, judging by the acoustics, remotely
positioned inquisitor, and talks back at us as if on the other
end of a video conference. With this manner of presentation
my mind soon shut down and stopped taking in information,
but with some strong coffee and in full academic attention
mode I have no doubt this is a useful extra to the performances
on this DVD.
If you enjoyed these
broadcast performances of Bach’s organ works the first time around
then this going to be an excellent set to collect. The same goes
for anyone interested in searching a bit deeper behind the more
usual recorded releases we can find in the shops. Actually being
able to see the kinds of locations and instruments Bach would
have used creates a closer connection and greater understanding
of the kind of music he wrote for those environments. Just seeing
the texture of the wood in the keys is full of tactile interest.
Very fine playing and highly creative production values both sonic
and visual.
Dominy Clements
[162:00]
