Organist
Jeremy Filsell is known more for playing music of the French organ school than for
Bach, but here, he offers a
Bach recording that stands out from the common run. The main chancel organ at Saint Thomas Church on New York's Fifth Avenue is a powerful instrument, perhaps not as renowned as some of its European counterparts, but well-matched to its environment. A unique feature of this church is that the chancel organ has four smaller counterparts, designated the Gallery Organ, Continuo Organ, Choir Room Organ, and Tower Organ.
Filsell deploys all of these in what may be a unique way, using them to define the ingenuity of the chorale treatments in
Bach's
Clavier-Uebung III of 1739. These are among the most characteristic products of
Bach's genius, showing his ability to derive structures of the most dizzying complexity from the simplest material in the German canon, the Lutheran chorales.
Filsell leads the
Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys in renditions of individual chorale melodies (just one verse), following them with multiple organ treatments of each. Moreover, he uses the multiple organs to emphasize the contrasts among them. Would
Bach have done this? No. He did not have such an abundance of organs at his disposal, but
Filsell's performances are ideal for anyone giving serious study to these fascinating works, whether in an academic context or otherwise. The church is a difficult recording environment, and the pieces played on the big chancel organ are not crystal clear, but this is not a major impediment to enjoying the performance. ~ James Manheim
