Sunday, October 9th, 2011
KHCD-2011-083-3CD (STEREO) – J. S. Bach: Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599-644 – Organ Choral Preludes for the Church Year, Cantata Chorales, and other Chorale settings – Chorus of the Gedächtniskirche, Stuttgart – Helmuth Rilling, organist and conductor – Bach’s original intention for the Orgelbüchlein was to compose 164 preludes on the 161 chorale melodies he listed on the 92 introductory pages of the manuscript (three titles are entered twice). He got around to finishing only 46, but managed to hit the high spots of the church year, coming close to achieving his purpose, if only at a smaller scale. The finely etched miniatures of the Orgelbüchlein chorales in this recording are paired with choral settings by Bach and others to demonstrate the relationship of the organ pieces to their models in the Lutheran liturgy. Reverently performed by the Chorus of the Gedächtniskirche, Stuttgart, and led by Bach expert Helmuth Rilling, this 3-CD set is derived from a 4-LP Nonesuch set, originally recorded by Barenreiter.
More to come – Cheers – Curt Timmons