Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 - 1750)
Capriccio sopra il genio del Bach giovanissimo
Fantasia in G (BWV 571)** [7:41]
Sonata in D (BWV 963)** [9:03]
Das alte Jahr vergangen ist (BWV 1091)** [1:55]
Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott (BWV 721)** [3:57]
Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn (BWV Anh 55)** [2:08]
Wir Christenleut habn jetzund Freud (BWV 1090)** [1:58]
Toccata in d minor (BWV 913)** [14:40]
Capriccio sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo in B flat (BWV 992)* [10:30]
Fugue in e minor (BWV 945)* [2:43]
Partite diverse sopra il Corale Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen (BWV 770)* [12:53]
Cécile Mansuy (harpsichord*, organ**)
rec. August and October 2011, former Jesuit Church, Porrentruy (Zürich), Switzerland. DDD
CHROMART CLASSICS TXA14038 [67:56]
The title of this disc - in English: Capriccio on the genius of the young
Bach - is a variation on the title of one piece in the programme: Capriccio
sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo, in English: Capriccio
on the departure of the most beloved brother. The whole programme is devoted
to music from Bach's formative years.
The first piece is impossible to date. There is no autograph; the earliest
copy, probably from 1727 or later, is from the organist and composer Johann
Peter Kellner who played a crucial role in the dissemination of Bach's
keyboard works. It bears many traces of a concerto and in its sequence
of the three movements - fast-slow-fast - follows the pattern of the Vivaldi
concerto. Maybe it was written in Weimar at the time when Bach became
acquainted with the latest Italian concertos. The opening subject of the
first movement seems to be derived from Kuhnau - another indication of
an early time of composing.
This piece is for organ, and so are the four chorale arrangements two
of which are from the so-called Neumeister Sammlung (BWV 1090,
1091). This large collection of organ chorales is preserved in the library
of Yale University; its discovery was announced in 1984. It includes some
of Bach's earliest organ compositions, although it is not always
clear who the composer was. The collection also contains pieces by composers
from an earlier generation, such as Johann Pachelbel and Friedrich Wilhelm
Zachow. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott is one of Bach's
most famous organ pieces, but its authenticity is questionable. It has
only been preserved in a copy by Johann Gottfried Walther, a distant relative
of Bach. The chorale melody is often played with the tremulant, because
a text like this in vocal compositions of the 17th century was often accompanied
by strings playing with tremolo. Cécile Mansuy doesn't use
a tremulant. Is that because the organ has no such register? I can't
tell as the booklet omits any information about the instrument. Herr
Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn is also of doubtful authenticity, and
Bach's pupil Johann Ludwig Krebs has been suggested as its composer.
If that is correct, it should be of a much later date than the other pieces
on this disc.
The Fugue in e minor (BWV 945) is again spurious. Philipp Spitta,
in his Bach biography of 1873, refers to this piece as the oldest surviving
fugue from Bach's pen. However, in his liner-notes Jean-Claude
Zehnder writes that "assignations from the 19th century - because
of the enthusiasm of Bach's rediscovery - frequently enjoy little
credibility". As far as I know it is mostly omitted from Bach editions,
such as that of Brilliant Classics. The Bach
Cantata website mentions just one recording as part of Kevin Bowyer’s
Bach edition for Nimbus. That makes the inclusion on this disc especially
welcome.
Imitation was a frequent phenomenon of the 17th century, for instance
in violin music by the likes of Johann Jacob Walther and Johann Heinrich
Schmelzer. In the first half of the 18th century we find such imitations
mostly in Telemann's overtures, but they are rare in Bach's
oeuvre. The Capriccio sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo
is one of the few pieces of this kind. It is a programmatic piece which
describes the feelings when a brother leaves his family and friends. There
has been much speculation about the identity of the brother. Zehnder believes
that it could refer to Bach's elder brother Johann Jacob who entered
the service of the Swedish king in 1704. Others have questioned whether
the brother was a relative of Johann Sebastian himself.
The two main works of the programme are Bach 'the other way round'.
The Toccata in d minor and the Partita Ach, was soll ich
Sünder machen are played on an instrument other than the one
on which they are usually performed. The partita is one of various sets
of chorale variations which Bach composed in his early years. At that
time he studied the music of Johann Pachelbel and Georg Böhm - the
latter may even have been his formal teacher. They both contributed considerably
to the chorale partita genre. They are mostly played on the organ, but
some partitas have no pedal part and can be played on a stringed keyboard
instrument, such as the harpsichord or the clavichord. Sacred keyboard
music for domestic use was quite common at the time, for instance Pachelbel's
Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken of 1683. This partita could have
been written in Arnstadt which means that it has to be ranked among Bach's
earliest compositions. The last variation is the most brilliant and makes
little reference to the chorale melody.
The Toccata in d minor is one of seven (BWV 910-916) which are
not connected to each other. Most of them show the influence of the stylus
phantasticus which was a feature of the North German organ school.
This particular toccata is in four sections, slow-fast-slow-fast. The
two fast sections are fugues. It is one of the most strictly-organized
toccatas of the seven. The instrument for which these toccatas were written
is a matter of debate among scholars. The writing for manuals only suggests
the harpsichord rather than the organ, but at that time there was no strict
division between the instruments. As we have seen pieces based on the
chorale could be played on the harpsichord, and there is no objection
to playing 'harpsichord music' on the organ. What counts
in favour of the organ is the similarity in style between these toccatas
and Bach's toccatas with pedal parts. Moreover, organ playing outside
the liturgy - for instance in the form of recitals - was a known phenomenon
at the time, whereas harpsichord recitals were not. It is quite possible
that Bach played such toccatas when he was asked to examine newly-built
organs. This is not the first time one or more of these works has been
played on the organ, but such recordings are rather rare. Cécile
Mansuy's performance is a good and convincing argument for an organ
performance.
I am less convinced about the Sonata in D which is another piece
with imitative elements, especially in the last movement, which is called
"Thema all'imitatio Gallina Cucca", referring to the
hen and the cuckoo. The imitation of these birds is not that demonstrative,
but they work better on the harpsichord. In contrast to the toccatas I
can't see a good argument in favour of performance on the organ.
Most of the works on this disc are rather well-known, but it is interesting
to hear them in the context of the time in which they were written. Performance
on a different instrument than usual of two of the compositions makes
this disc a substantial addition to the Bach discography. Cécile
Mansuy delivers very good accounts, well articulated and in a truly speechlike
manner. It is a shame that the instruments are not specified in the booklet.
A search on the internet revealed that the organ was built in 1985 by
Jürgen Ahrend, a specialist in reconstructions of historical organs
and building of new instruments in baroque style. It certainly sounds
like the appropriate instrument for the music played here.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanve
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