Reviewed by John Irvine

The chorale (the sacred song or hymn) dominated the activities of the Protestant German organist around the time of Bach. Melodies and words which had barely altered since the time of Martin Luther were the very fabric of the liturgical music which organists provided and in which the congregations fervently participated. The organ would draw upon this wealth of worship material in various ways: to accompany the singing by providing subtle harmonies to suggest the mood of the song text; to freely improvise between the verses; to provide an unannounced introduction to the chorale by variations upon a melody so well known that an ordinary churchgoer would still recognize it beneath even the most densely textured arrangement; to set the prevailing mood to prepare the congregation for the sermon. For those of us in the late 20th century whose only experience of the organ is as a hindrance to worship it comes as something of a shock to discover that the organ in Bach's time was the major aid to worship. Much of this church music was freely improvised and in his day Bach was better known as a master musician than as a composer. In 1713 he began to compile some of his jottings of improvisations upon familiar Lutheran hymns in order to provide instruction and guidance for other organists. Such is the skill and variety of Bach's treatments of the chorales that he seems to have felt that he exhausted all of the possibilities for instruction in the 46 jottings we have on this CD. This was never intended by Bach to be played of listened to in one sitting and as a collection this something you will want to dip into time and time again, perhaps selecting a particular theme in the chorales for meditations, perhaps selecting a few tracks at random for listening pleasure. All 46 chorales are individually tracked and each lasts less than two minutes each. Works of art in miniature, these chorales are small but perfectly formed. This is more than merely a disc for lovers of organ music. It is a fine example both Baroque music and early Protestant church worship. Even those who generally detest the sound of the mighty organ may well find themselves charmed, nay, seduced by Christopher Herrick's inspired sensitivity on the beautiful Swiss organ featured in the recording. An excellent performance and a very fine recording.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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