ALC 0173 Bach And The Baroque Organ Tradition

The repertoire presented on this CD brings together some of the highest expressions of Baroque organ literature, placing at its center the figure of J.S. Bach and his ideal dialogue with composers similar to him. There are many connections that bind the pieces present: on a formal level – as in the case of the compositions in the form of Passacaglia and Chaconne – on the level of writing, often of a contrapuntal nature – as in the case of the Trio Sonata and the Passacaglias themselves – or finally on a stylistic level, in particular with regard to the influence of Italian taste on the melodic cantability of some pieces (such as, for example, Pachelbel's Chaconne and Bach's Chorale BWV 659). The Passacaglia BWV 582 represents one of the absolute pinnacles of Bach's writing: a monumental construction founded on an ostinato bass, which develops progressively up to the concluding fugue, in a perfect balance between architectural rigor and expressive tension. The “thema fugatum” uses the first four measures of the same eight-bar theme of the actual passacaglia, on which two other recurring and characteristic “figurations” are now superimposed. Great expressiveness and melodic cantability characterize the Chorale Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland (Now come, Redeemer of the Pagans) BWV 659 in which the melody of the cantus firmus is entrusted to the upper voice.