This is the
seventh volume in keyboardist
Benjamin Alard's survey of
Bach's complete keyboard music. Simply executing this competently would be a magisterial accomplishment, especially considering that while there are plenty of harpsichordist-organists, those who can make a bold statement on both instruments (and a clavichord besides) are rare. However,
Alard does more. Many of the releases in the series thus far present
Bach's music in unique and exciting ways. Consider this reading of the chorale preludes from
Bach's
Orgelbuechlein, BWV 599-644. Orgelbuechlein means "Little Organ Book," and one has to wonder whether
Bach was being sarcastic with the title; the collection is as synoptic as any of
Bach's other major collections. The booklet notes by
Peter Wollny do a good job of showing how
Bach brought together various German chorale prelude traditions in these breathtakingly complex little pieces, and
Alard's modern organ at the Temple du Foyer de l'Ame in Paris is a marvel of clarity. Yet
Alard's real masterstroke has to do with simplicity, not complexity. Regardless of how these and other chorale preludes were used, which is a matter of debate, it is hard to argue that the original hearers of these works would have had the Lutheran chorales in their heads in a way that modern listeners do not. Consider how the experience of hearing one of the pieces where the chorale is indeed familiar, like
Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 610, differs from that encountered with most of the group. So,
Alard follows each chorale prelude with a plain rendition, organ-accompanied, of the chorale being treated in the prelude. This also accords with one of the theories about the function of the chorale prelude: that is preceded by the singing of a congregational hymn.
Alard offers two separate choirs to boot, one of them a children's choir, and both good-sized. The album, as a whole, could have been a boring sequential presentation of one of
Bach's always-tricky-to-program works in sets; instead, it shines powerful illumination into
Bach's compositional thinking. Another triumph for
Alard. ~ James Manheim
