As Christopher Herrick's Bach series nears completion, collectors and purists will in no doubt favour it as the best recommendable version of these titanic works all around. This delightful collection of tit-bits and assortments reveals the lighter side of Bach'' contributions to the instrument although there are some titanic items as well. It is intriguing to listen to the short Fantasia in C, which rolls off at 0''47, a mystery of incompleteness. There are also some beautiful Chorale Preludes, the most sublime of which is 'Jesu meine Freude', BWV753, an example of Bach's unique oneness with religion and the organ.

The short Concerto in G also contains some lovely tunes and the final fugue is especially memorable for its simplicity and directness. Herrick also chooses a short Concerto, BWV597, this is also quite disarming for portraying the characteristics of a small organ. The final Prelude and Fugue is one of the finest Bach compositions and the Fugue in particular, is replete with virtuosity and fantastic variations on various themes culminating in a powerful conclusion, that is in no doubt Bach's praising God in his own ways! Such is the variety and assortment on this CD that one is hard pressed to name a few favourites!

However, I will settle for the mesmeric 'Kleines harmonisches Labyrinth' BWVC 591, the unfinished 'Pedal Exercitium' for mystical scholarship and the compact but titanic Fugue in C BWV946, a late work that shows Bach in full flower of his mastery. Christopher Herrick's playing is absolutely without reproach, indeed he explores all possibilities of pedalling, reeds, flutes ultimately the lot in playing that is both soft and soothing, although at turns powerful and grand. The Swiss organ is ideally suited to these short pieces and from its specification it is more of a chamber organ in layout and intention.

As a Bach enthusiast, I warmed to Stephen Westrop's cogently informative notes, which attempt to describe in a nutshell and without too much detail, the pieces on the disc. Hyperion have also secured a wonderfully natural sound out of the Pfarrkirche Organ, truthful and reliable without being vulgar. Collectors of the Herrick bach series will no doubt snap up this release but it is also recommended to newcomers who will want to explore the fantastic soundworld of this glorious instrument in smaller doses.

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

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