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Track(s) taken from CDA67876

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV223

composer
chorale fantasia

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: 7 minutes 23 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 Chorale Fantasia on ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’, BuxWV223, begins with a section in which the first part of the melody is given in long notes first to the pedals and then to the uppermost voice. The melody’s subsequent notes are the subject of the deceptively free-sounding passage which immediately follows, and at 2'07'' begins a section based on the descending scale with which the melody concludes. The second verse (from 3'15'') is a wonderfully exuberant jig fugue in AAB form (the form of the melody) whose initial subject is based on the melody’s first few notes (note how in the B section the momentum created by Buxtehude’s rhythms effortlessly sweeps up the repetitive phrases with which the melody’s last section begins).

from notes by Relf Clark © 2011

Dans la section inaugurale de la Fantaisie-choral sur «Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern» BuxWV223, la première partie de la mélodie est donnée en longues, au pédalier d’abord, puis à la voix supérieure. Les notes suivantes de la mélodie sont le sujet du passage en apparence libre qui vient juste après; à 2'07'' commence une section fondée sur la gamme descendante concluant la mélodie. Le second volet (à 3'15'') est une fugue gigue merveilleusement éblouissante, de forme AAB (celle de la mélodie), dont le sujet initial repose sur les premières notes de la mélodie (voyez combien, dans la section B, l’élan créé par les rythmes de Buxtehude balaie sans peine les phrases répétitives ouvrant la dernière section de la mélodie).

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

Die Choralfantasie über „Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern“, BuxWV223, beginnt mit einem Abschnitt, in dem der erste Teil der Melodie in langen Noten zunächst dem Pedal und dann der obersten Stimme gegeben ist. Die darauffolgenden Töne der Melodie sind das Thema einer täuschend frei klingenden Passage, die sofort darauf folgt. Bei 2'07'' beginnt ein auf einer absteigenden Tonleiter beginnender Teil, mit dem die Melodie zu Ende geht. Der zweite Vers (3'15'') ist eine wunderbar temperamentvolle Gigue-Fuge in AAB-Form (der Form der Melodie), deren erstes Thema auf den Anfangstönen der Melodie basiert (besonders bemerkenswert ist hier, wie mühelos der Schwung, der im B-Teil durch Buxtehudes Rhythmen entsteht, die repetitiven Phrasen des letzten Melodieabschnitts mit sich reißt).

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

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