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Track(s) taken from CDA67876

Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV161

composer

Christopher Herrick (organ)
Recording details: January 2011
Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Produced by Paul Spicer & Simon Eadon
Engineered by Dave Rowell & Simon Eadon
Release date: September 2011
Total duration: 5 minutes 17 seconds

Cover artwork: Interior of a Gothic Church (1787). Johann Ludwig Ernst Morgenstern (1738-1819)
Schlossmuseum, Scholl Friedenstein, Gotha, Germany / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘Christopher Herrick's performances in this series have breathed musical life into the rich repertoire of organ music by Buxtehude and this release is no exception. The expressive and thoughtful interpretations of the repertoire presented on this disc make it a worthwhile addition to any collection’ (International Record Review)

‘Christopher Herrick clocks up another memorable recording. His terrifically nimble-fingered and fleet-footed playing betrays no sign of someone soon to be entering his eighth decade! There is surely nothing to be said against another complete set of Buxtehude's organ works when the music is this good or performed this well. The technical sound quality and chapel acoustics are very good, and the Trinity College organ —Metzler-built, like those in Herrick's celebrated complete Bach organ cycle, and dating back only as far as 1976, though incorporating seven ranks from Trinity predecessors from 1694 and 1708—sounds superb. Not particularly authentic but Buxtehude himself would almost certainly have enjoyed its breadth and power. As usual with Hyperion, the trilingual CD booklet gives excellent information on the music, track by track, not to mention a full description of the organ, including registrations for each of the pieces’ (MusicWeb International)
The Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV161, is one of Buxtehude’s three ostinato works for organ, the others being the Ciaccona in C minor and the Ciaccona in E minor. Although the overall impression is one of elegant improvisation, this is among Buxtehude’s most carefully planned works: seven statements of the ground in the home key are followed by seven in F major, seven in A minor, and the seven in D minor with which the work concludes; and all twenty-eight are given to the pedals. Above them, textures range from the smooth, somewhat vocal ones heard at the outset, to the lively, decidedly instrumental ones that dominate the proceedings once the work is under way; and one is reminded throughout of the passacaglia’s origins in dance.

from notes by Relf Clark © 2011

La Passacaille en ré mineur BuxWV161 est l’une des trois œuvres organistiques en ostinato de Buxtehude, les deux autres étant la Chaconne en ut mineur et la Chaconne en mi mineur. Malgré une impression globale d’improvisation élégante, cette pièce compte parmi les plus soigneusement planifiées de Buxtehude: la basse obstinée est énoncée sept fois dans le ton principal, puis sept fois en fa majeur, sept fois en la mineur et, enfin, sept fois en ré mineur—tout le temps au pédalier. Par-dessus, les textures vont de celles, coulantes et quelque peu vocales, du début, à celles, résolument vivantes et instrumentales qui dominent l’œuvre quand elle est bien entamée; tout du long, les origines de la passacaille—la danse—se rappellent à nous.

extrait des notes rédigées par Relf Clark © 2011
Français: Hypérion

Die Passacaglia in d-Moll, BuxWV161, ist eines der drei Ostinatowerke Buxtehudes für Orgel; bei den anderen beiden handelt es sich um die Ciacona in c-Moll und die Ciacona in e-Moll. Obwohl man einen Gesamteindruck eleganter Improvisation gewinnt, gehört dies zu den am sorgfältigsten geplanten Werken Buxtehudes: siebenmal wird der Basso ostinato in der Grundtonart gespielt, danach siebenmal in F-Dur, siebenmal in a-Moll und siebenmal in d-Moll, wonach das Werk zu Ende geht; und alle 28 erklingen im Pedal. Darüber erklingen weiche, fast vokale Texturen, wie etwa am Anfang, und dann lebhafte und entschieden instrumentale, wenn das Werk im Gange ist. Durch das gesamte Stück hinweg wird man an die tänzerischen Ursprünge der Passacaglia erinnert.

aus dem Begleittext von Relf Clark © 2011
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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