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Track(s) taken from CDA67964

Praeludium in E minor, BuxWV143

composer

Christopher Herrick (organ)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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Recording details: February 2012
Mariager Klosterkirke, Denmark
Produced by Paul Spicer
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: December 2012
Total duration: 6 minutes 23 seconds

Cover artwork: Church Interior. Hendrik Cornelisz van Vliet (c1611-1675)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent, Belgium / © Lukas - Art in Flanders VZW / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘A simply splendid album. The organ … is a delight to the ears, its manifest charms precisely mapped out in detailed registrations provided in the excellent booklet … above all, of course, is Herrick's immensely enjoyable playing … all in all a delight to the ears which brings a smile to the face and a lift to the soul’ (Gramophone)

‘Hugely successful … Herrick's performance of the Praeludium … is packed with personality and character … the freedom with which Herrick approaches this piece and the extent to which is it possible to hear the performer's voice, as well as that of the composer, projected in this performance, cannot be described as anything other than exhilarating … Herrick's playing is characteristically excellent throughout. His performances of the free works are, without exception, rhetorically engaging and lively, while the chorale melodies sing beautifully, such is his sensitive approach to musical line … very highly recommended’ (International Record Review)

‘Herrick's generously-timed programme consists of an entertaining mix of items, mainly Praeludia or Chorale Preludes. Slower, ruminative pieces alternate with boisterous, dramatic works in a recital that manages to be both elegant and fulgurous, profound and sensuous. Works generally run to less than four minutes each, but short does not equate with inconsequential in Buxtehude's music: even the merest pieces speak volumes about the composer's imagination, virtuosity and originality … this set ought to be the primary destination for collectors’ (MusicWeb International)
The Praeludium in E minor, BuxWV143, begins with a pedal solo whose material generates most of the introduction’s twenty bars. The first of the fugal sections is based on one of the shortest and most unusual of Buxtehude’s subjects (eight notes, but only three pitches). The last of its pedal entries is followed by a free episode and then by a second fugue whose subject is a triple-time variant of that of the first. A free Adagio coming to rest over a long-held tonic pedal brings the work to a grand conclusion.

from notes by Relf Clark © 2012

Le Praeludium en mi mineur, BuxWV143, s’ouvre sur un solo de pédalier dont le matériau génère l’essentiel des vingt mesures introductives. La première section fuguée repose sur le plus court et le plus singulier des sujets de Buxtehude (huit notes, mais seulement trois hauteurs de son). La dernière de ses entrées de pédalier est suivie d’un épisode libre puis d’une seconde fugue dont le sujet est une variante ternaire de celui de la première. Un Adagio libre venant se reposer sur une pédale tenue de tonique offre à l’œuvre une conclusion grandiose.

extrait des notes rédigées par Relf Clark © 2012
Français: Hypérion

Das Präludium in e-Moll, BuxWV143, beginnt mit einem Pedalsolo, aus dessen Material das meiste der zwanzigtaktigen Einleitung gearbeitet ist. Der erste fugale Abschnitt basiert auf einem sehr kurzen und ungewöhnlichen Buxtehude-Thema (acht Töne, jedoch nur drei Tonhöhen). Auf den letzten Pedaleinsatz folgt eine freie Episode und danach eine zweite Fuge, deren Thema eine Variante des ersten ist, das diesmal jedoch im Dreiertakt steht. Ein freies Adagio kommt über lang ausgehaltenen Tonika-Tönen im Pedal zur Ruhe und schließt das Werk in prachtvoller Weise ab.

aus dem Begleittext von Relf Clark © 2012
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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