Bach Chefs-dœuvre pour orgue vol 5 Koito - CLA1503 - Claves - Classique - Nos labels

“So long as we can be offered in contradiction no more than the mere suggestion of the possible existence of better organists and clavier players, so long we cannot be blamed if we are bold enough to declare that our Bach was the greatest organist and clavier player that we have ever had.” Thus proclaimed the writers of the obituary of Johann Sebastian Bach that appeared shortly after his death in 1750. In his time he was not remembered for his hundreds of church cantatas, or the B-Minor Mass, or the Brandenburg Concertos. Rather it was his virtuoso keyboard playing that astonished contemporary audiences and earned him fame as Europe’s foremost organist and harpsichordist. When Bach played the organ in church services and recitals, he generally improvised instead of performing existing pieces. It is a sad thought, indeed, that most probably 90% of the music he played on the organ is lost to us forever – extemporaneous pieces that disappeared with the fading strains of the performances. But fortunately Bach wrote out model compositions for his students and contemporaries, and it is from these preserved treasures that the distinguished organist Kei Koito draws for the present recording, which provides a rich sampling of both free works (that is, works not based on a pre-existing melody) and chorale settings. The Volckland organ (1732/37) of Erfurt’s Cruciskirche is one of the most remarkable baroque (Hochbarock) organs of the Thuringe instrument maker and music theorist. Jakob Adlung refers to it in his Musica Mechanica Organoedi (Berlin, 1768), saying that “Der Klang dieser Orgel ist unvergleichlich.” (“The sound of this organ is incomparable). During an initial visit a few years ago, I was immediately drawn to elaborating an unusual Bach programme on this organ. Besides authenticated works, there is a piece classed “Anhang”, works that had been attributed to Bach for a long time, as well as arrangements of Cantatas, works which all sound particularly well here, and which, thanks to a unique palette of character, colour and expression, sound at times like a baroque string ensemble, and a times like a vocal music ensemble.