Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Rene Saorgin :: Bach: Orgelbüchlein

Bach and Rene Saorgin at Luxeuil, France

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 11/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are 45 chorale preludes in Bach's Little Organ Book. Composed for use during Protestant worship services, they are mostly short (less than two minutes). Most present a four part texture in which one of the lines is the chorale melody around which the composer weaves the other lines.



When the entire set is performed, organists usually vary and contrast the tone colors to add point and individuality to each item. Rene Saorgin chooses this approach in this digital recording from 1983. The organ at Luxeuil, France, has a pedigree dating back to 1617. Occasionally you can hear clicks when the pipes in some of the oldest surviving ranks sound (those with keener ears than mine might hear the 1617 dust being disturbed). The ranks of 16 foot pipes have a particularly bright and robust tone. The acoustic is warm and airy, and the action of the bellows is entirely silent.



The masterpiece here is No 24, O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde gross; indeed, the French organ authority C.M. Widor called it "the greatest instrumental piece ever composed". Perhaps, like me, you feel a clutch at the heart at that point (4 minutes 30 seconds here) when after a long ascent the music suddenly drops into a frightening abyss before regaining balance to reach the end.

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