Bach, Walther: Maestros in the Mirror [Organ Works]

Description

Bound by kinship (they were distant cousins), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) met in Weimar. Bach, after a brief initial stay in 1703, worked there as an organist and later as Konzertmeister at the court of Duke Wilhelm Ernst from 1708 to 1717; Walther, by contrast, served as the organist of the Stadtkirche from 1707 until his death.

This CD aims to bridge the gap between these two personalities by presenting four distinct thematic sections: the so-called “free organ pieces”; the chorale preludes; the transcriptions of concertos by Italian composers; and pieces inspired by compositions from Italian authors.

For the “free pieces,” we have selected Walther’s Toccata and Fugue in C major and Bach’s Pièce d’orgue in G major (BWV 572). The Toccata and Fugue in C major merges Italian and German traditions. The Toccata is modeled on Frescobaldi’s Toccatas over pedals, where large imitative sections are built on harmonic pedals of the fundamental degrees of the key. However, unlike Frescobaldi’s model, Walther follows the Toccata with a Fugue of instrumental character, adhering to the formal pairing of the “Toccata and Fugue” typical of German tradition. Bach’s Pièce d’orgue, as suggested by the title, seems to look more towards France. This recording includes the version from the manuscript Mus.Ms.P.801 of the Berlin State Library, an autograph by Walther. It presents an earlier editorial state than the final version of the Pièce, as Bach’s autograph does not survive. Compared to the final version of BWV 572, Walther’s version shows some differences. For example, the central section of the piece is transmitted without the prescription of an obbligato pedal and with the agogic indication “gayement” instead of “gravement,” found in the later version. The absence of an independent pedal part aligns this section more closely with the French Plein jeu model, an organ genre with manualiter polyphonic writing known to both Bach and Walther. They were familiar with the Livres d’orgue by authors such as Nicolas de Grigny, Pierre Du Mage, and André Raison. The first and third sections of the Pièce, based on the repetition of a single musical figure, evoke the brilliant passages of northern keyboard Toccatas (e.g., Johann Adam Reincken).

Moving to the chorale preludes, we touch upon a crucial aspect: the Lutheran culture in which Bach and Walther were immersed. For a total of four preludes, two chorale melodies elaborated by both composers (Das alte Jahr vergangen ist and Jesu meine Freude) were considered. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist is a chorale sung, according to various hymnals, at the end or beginning of the year; Jesu meine Freude, however, has no specific liturgical destination. Bach’s two pieces are from the Orgelbüchlein, a famous but unfinished collection of chorale preludes, mostly crafted during his Weimar years. In Bach’s elaboration (BWV 614), Das alte Jahr vergangen ist is an “ornate chorale,” where the melody is embellished and highlighted by a solo register. It is a piece rich in chromatic passages, whose poignant and melancholic character might be read as a meditation on the passage of time and the “danger” (“Gefahr”) faced during the year, overcome thanks to divine protection. Walther’s elaboration, however, is structured as a “chorale motet” in two sections corresponding to two expositions of a theme derived from the first phrase of the cantus firmus. Characterized by vocal-style polyphonic writing, the piece was specially recorded using the Vox-humana register. The chorale Jesu meine Freude is also treated differently by the two authors. For his piece (BWV 610), Bach uses a sort of pedal ostinato that counterpoints the chorale melody entrusted to the upper voice. Noteworthy is the final measure containing a diminished third interval (A-flat / F-sharp) in the pedal part and a triple false relation (F-sharp / F) among the parts. Since BWV 610 belongs to the Christmas chorale cycle of the Orgelbüchlein, could this measure be a reference to the future Passion awaiting the Child? Walther’s version of Jesu meine Freude is not the extensive Partita but a manualiter version where the chorale melody, in large note values and in the upper voice, is exposed alternately with imitative episodes. Here again, the discreet presence of ornaments suggests a piece influenced by French music.

The two recorded Concertos are transcriptions of violin and orchestra concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Bach transcribes Concerto RV 230 (BWV 972), and Walther transcribes Concerto RV 275. These pages testify to the interest Italian music aroused in Weimar in the early 18th century. In this regard, one notable figure is Prince Johann Ernst, for whom Walther was a musical tutor. Johann Ernst, who died before reaching twenty in 1715, studied in Utrecht and, after becoming acquainted with Italian music prints produced there, might have introduced them to his homeland. Specifically, Concerto RV 230 is from L’Estro armonico (Amsterdam, 1711), while Concerto RV 275 is from the second part (Libro II) of a miscellany of Concerti a cinque (Amsterdam, 1717) by various authors (besides Vivaldi: Albinoni, Veracini, Predieri, and others). In the recording, different approaches to the Tutti – Solo contrast were chosen for the two Concertos. For Walther, both keyboards of the organ were used: the Hauptwerk for the Tutti and the Oberwerk for the Soli. For Bach, only the Hauptwerk was used.

Also related to the Italian environment are the Fugue on a Theme by Corelli (BWV 579) and the Variations on a Continuo Bass by Signor Corelli. The subject and countersubject of the Fugue derive from the second movement (Vivace) of Corelli’s Sonata quarta, op. 3 (Rome, 1689); the Variations are based on the Prelude of Sonata XI, op. 5 (Rome, 1700). Bach’s Fugue, a remarkable example of the integration between Bachian and Corellian counterpoint, was recorded mainly from the text of the fourth volume of the Peters edition (a copy by W. F. Bach?). Some details, however, come from the manuscript Ms. III.8.18 (Leipzig City Libraries). For the Variations – original title: Alcune Variationi Sopr’un Basso Continuo del Sign.r Corelli – the manuscript Mus.ms.autogr. Walther, J.G.3 (Berlin State Library) was followed. The first Variation, a keyboard elaboration of Corelli’s Prelude, is followed by three more based on the same bass line. The set of four pieces exhibits a manualiter writing with rather harpsichord-like traits.
Federico Terzi © 2024