{"product_id":"bach-organ-works-3","title":"Bach: Organ Works","description":"By all accounts Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was the greatest organist                     of his time in Germany. The music critic Christian Friedrich                     Daniel Schubart stated: \"Undoubtedly the greatest organist of                     the world! He is a son of the world-famous Sebastian Bach and                     has reached - if not surpassed - his father's virtuosity.\" He                     then goes on to describe his features: \"a fiery genius, a creative                     imagination, originality and inventiveness, a stormy quickness,                     and the magical power to enchant every heart with his play on                     the organ\". Bach's oeuvre for the organ bears witness to that                     description, and it is a great shame that so little of his art                     has come down to us.  \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                    The \u003ca class=\"links\" href=\"album.jsp?album_id=541439\"\u003eCPO disc\u003c\/a\u003e promises us \"the complete organ works\" by Wilhelm                     Friedemann Bach. This has to be taken with a grain of salt.                     To begin with, it is not easy to make a clear distinction between                     pieces for any keyboard and compositions specifically intended                     for the organ. Obviously pieces for two manuals and pedal can                     only be played at the organ. Those include the seven chorale                     preludes and the two \u003ci\u003eFugues in F\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eg minor\u003c\/i\u003e respectively                     which Friedhelm Flamme included in his recording. Inexplicably                     he did not include the \u003ci\u003eFugue in F (F 36 \/ A 91)\u003c\/i\u003e which                     Julia Brown has recorded. On the other hand Flamme plays several                     pieces which don't require a pedal; these include the \u003ci\u003eFantasias                     in d minor\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ec minor\u003c\/i\u003e which open and respectively                     close, his programme. Also no pedal is required in the \u003ci\u003eEight                     Fugues (F 31 \/ A 81-88)\u003c\/i\u003e, but here Friedemann has specifically                     indicated that they can be played either at the \"Clavier\" (any                     keyboard without pedals) or the organ. \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    Although these two discs contain duplications, they also complement                     each other in that both offer pieces which don't appear on the                     other disc. The two Fantasias I have just mentioned are absent                     from Julia Brown's disc - she played them at the harpsichord                     on Naxos                     8.570530 - whereas she included various fugues which are                     not in the two catalogues of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's oeuvre.                     The reason is that they are not considered authentic. It is                     rather odd that this is not mentioned in the liner-notes. Authentic                     or not, it is nice to have them available, even though they                     have been recorded before - for instance by Leo van Doeselaar                     on Etcetera KTC 2503, 1984. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    One can understand that they are considered doubtful, as some                     are very baroque in style and not very different from Johann                     Sebastian's fugues. The \u003ci\u003eFugue in B flat\u003c\/i\u003e (track 16) is                     a good example. But that in itself doesn't tell against their                     authenticity. Listening to the chorale preludes one will notice                     their rooting in a past even before J.S. The \u003ci\u003ecantus firmus\u003c\/i\u003e                     is virtually unornamented, and Friedemann makes use of so-called                     \u003ci\u003eVorimitation\u003c\/i\u003e in which the chorale melody is anticipated                     in the other voices. It was not only used by Sebastian but is                     also a feature of the chorale preludes by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706).                     Other fugues begin in a rather old-fashioned manner but then                     turn towards the fashion of the time towards the end. This is                     typical of Wilhelm Friedemann who in his oeuvre moves to and                     fro between the various styles of his time. \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    The number of fugues he composed is remarkable and this is considered                     one of the reasons he fell from grace towards the end of his                     career. The form of the fugue had become largely obsolete, and                     when Friedemann attempted to get the \u003ci\u003eEight Fugues\u003c\/i\u003e printed,                     publishers refused. These are very likely characteristic of                     his style of playing, and that could well have been the reason                     that in the last stage of his life he wasn't in much demand                     as an organist any more. It is assumed that he mostly improvised                     during his public concerts; that is probably the reason so little                     organ music by him has been preserved. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    The duplications allow us to compare the interpretations of                     these two organists which are quite different. A look at the                     track-lists reveals that Julia Brown is consistently slower                     than Friedhelm Flamme. It is mostly not possible to decide which                     tempo is right. The \u003ci\u003eFugue in F (F 33 \/ A 90)\u003c\/i\u003e, for instance,                     works in both performances quite well. The slower reading by                     Julia Brown lends it a kind of gravity and seriousness which                     suits its character as it is reminiscent of the fugues in Sebastian's                     \u003ci\u003eWell-tempered Clavier\u003c\/i\u003e. Elsewhere the slow tempo works                     against the music, for instance in the \u003ci\u003eFugue in c minor\u003c\/i\u003e                     (track 6) where the trills are unnatural. One could probably                     characterise Ms Brown's performances as analytical: every detail                     is exposed, thanks not only to the relatively slow tempi but                     also the registration which is mostly modest and allows for                     every single voice to be followed. \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    The differences between these two discs are also due to the                     organs. Julia Brown plays an instrument built by Paul Fritts                     and Company in 1999, which was clearly inspired by the German                     baroque organ. Friedhelm Flamme also plays a modern organ by                     Martin Hillebrand dating from 2008. Here new stops have been                     built in the style of the 18th century, particularly based on                     the disposition of the organ by Christian Vater which was built                     in this church in the 1730s. Some pipework from the organ Carl                     Giesecke had built in the same church in the 1860s has been                     incorporated into this organ. Because of that the sound is quite                     different, mellower and less penetrating than the sound of the                     organ Julia Brown plays. I don't want to choose between them.                     The \u003ci\u003eEight Fugues\u003c\/i\u003e come off beautifully at the Hillebrand.                     So do the chorale preludes, but in these somewhat old-fashioned                     pieces the Fritts organ is probably closer to what Bach had                     at his disposal in his earlier years. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    Both booklets leave something to be desired. I have already                     identified that the doubtful authenticity of several pieces                     in Julia Brown's recording is not mentioned. Otherwise the liner-notes                     are not very specific about the various pieces. The CPO booklet                     contains some general information about Wilhelm Friedemann as                     an organist, but little analysis of the music. The track-lists                     should have given the numbers in Peter Wollny's catalogue as                     well, in particular as Falck's catalogue is out of date. I have                     added them on the basis of the work-list in \u003ci\u003eNew Grove\u003c\/i\u003e.                     \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    Both recordings have their merits and those who have an interest                     in Wilhelm Friedemann's music shouldn't miss either of them.                       \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                    -- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49705646358808,"sku":"747313057177","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1806750.jpg?v=1777573576","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/bach-organ-works-3","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}