a leading, independent classical record label

21st - Century Bach
The Complete Organ Works of J.S. Bach

Musicweb International, June 2009

This is volume one of a set which, when complete, will give us the entire organ works of J.S. Bach on DVD. These recordings were originally broadcast as a late-night series for BBC2, with performances by the organist John Scott Whitely in the churches and abbeys where Bach himself worked and performed, in this case in Amorbach abbey and the Stadkirche Walterhausen. The cover design is a still from the opening credits for the series, designed by British artist Damien Hirst, but timid viewers need have no fear that this will be ‘A Zed & Two Noughts’ horror flick about decaying artists being consumed by insects. These are essentially well produced recordings dressed in some state of the art camera work. The organs on which Whiteley performs as well as the baroque interiors in which they are found are in themselves works of art and very easy on the eye, and aside from a few experimental shots where the camera dips scarily into the larger pipes – presumably not while the instrument was being played – the imagery is a feast of tasteful panning and some intriguing multiple camera angles and split screens.

In fact, this is one rather adventurous attempt at solving the essential problem with such a project. As far as performance goes, organs have to be the most deeply unspectacular instruments to film. Organists tend not to move about a great deal, for all that they are the musician’s equivalent of an octopus, using all fingers and feet in feats claimed to be humanly impossible by some mortals. John Scott Whiteley proves superbly expert in this field, and little clips such as the opening of the Sonata BWV 526 where the hands and feet are shown simultaneously, give a good feel of the elegant complexity of the music, and the compact economy of control of the organist. Later on in the Allegro this on one occasion expands to a quartet of images: stunning stuff. Needless flapping around is, unlike with some pianists, not really the organists terrain and tends to lead to disaster if attempted – I know, I’ve seen it happen. Besides, the organist is usually invisible to the audience, especially in these magnificent baroque churches. As a result, head and elbow rolling and bizarre varieties of posture are well out; and hurrah for that. Where possible we do have some shots from above, including the nice touch of the organist’s briefcase, no doubt sandwiches included, plonked next to the stool. The director John Warburton is indeed very resourceful in this regard – fisheye lenses over the fingers being just another example. The same effect on the player’s face is less appealing – Peter Gabriel got away with it, but I doubt even he would have used it on ‘The Bach Tour.’ The cells of split imagery are sometimes placed over out of focus backgrounds of the interior which is a nice effect. If Bach’s handwritten notes had floated past it could have been ‘Prospero’s Books’ all over again.

No, sitting on the organist’s shoulder like a parrot or at his feet like a faithful dog are no good for long periods, and so we move onto the instrument. If anything, this moves about even less than the player. Aside from a few twitching bits of mechanism, the best one can do is run the lens up and down the pipes. Some lingering on the beautiful ornamentation also helps, but aside from some interesting views behind the instrument and some teasing with perspectives and pushing and pulling with the focal length there just ain’t much going on.

This however is the beauty of these programmes. I missed these when they were first broadcast even though we do receive BBC in The Netherlands. No doubt with the hour time difference I would have been tucked safely in bed by the time these went out. Each programme is presented as broadcast, complete with sinister and irrelevant Damien Hirst title sequence, and a brief scene-setting take of John Scott Whiteley walking into and, accompanied by a nice tingle of ornamental bells, out of each church. He does look a bit like an undertaker, but this chimes in with relatively sober performances. John Scott Whiteley has spectacular technique and superb musicality, but doesn’t go on for histrionics when it comes to ornamentation or massaging the tempi with inappropriate rubato and the like. In short, these are lovely performances, each work give its own atmosphere with well considered variation in terms of camera work and lighting. The BWV 682 Chorale Prelude 'Vater unser im Himmelreich' and Schübler Chorales BWV 642 and 645 are for instance filmed after dark, and using some of the fascinating chiaroscuro created by the artificial light, helped by a few strategically placed candles in the church. The organs sound very fine, and the sound quality is top notch, eschewing overly grand sound-staging but capturing the acoustic and feel of each location very well indeed. The Stadtkirche in Walterhausen is a smaller space and a drier acoustic, so less warm and all-embracing than Amorbach, but the sound is in no way a hair-shirt case of ancient-organ aversion. This is a more intimate space, with its own quirks of interest such as the cheeky faces that look up at the organist from either side of the keyboard, as if to distract the player and make him lose his way while improvising a fugue.

The booklet for this DVD has also been very well prepared, though I’m not sure we really need additional commentary on the camera work. Text such as “The prelude involves close-ups of fingers and feet, moving to the pedals as they enter...” is surely a bit unnecessary, though harmless enough. The notes on each piece, and the technical information on the organs, as well as the registrations used and comments on unusual features are of great interest even to non-organists. No? Well, you’d soon hear me complaining if they weren’t there.

Aside from one or two minor moments where I felt the camera snaking down the organist’s arm or almost under his fingers lead to a feeling more of discomfort than enjoyment, this is a DVD by which to put up one’s feet and revel in glorious sounds and images. There is also an interview with Professor Christoph Wolff of Harvard University which is fascinatingly informative on Bach and the organ music, but rather strange in overall impression. The professor sits in front of us as a talking head, has questions fired at him by an unseen and, judging by the acoustics, remotely positioned inquisitor, and talks back at us as if on the other end of a video conference. With this manner of presentation my mind soon shut down and stopped taking in information, but with some strong coffee and in full academic attention mode I have no doubt this is a useful extra to the performances on this DVD.

If you enjoyed these broadcast performances of Bach’s organ works the first time around then this going to be an excellent set to collect. The same goes for anyone interested in searching a bit deeper behind the more usual recorded releases we can find in the shops. Actually being able to see the kinds of locations and instruments Bach would have used creates a closer connection and greater understanding of the kind of music he wrote for those environments. Just seeing the texture of the wood in the keys is full of tactile interest. Very fine playing and highly creative production values both sonic and visual.

Dominy Clements

The Consort, Vol. 66, Summer 2010

'Originally broadcast on BBC2, the 21st-Century Bach series present[s] performances by the world-class organist, John Scott Whiteley, played on well- restored, historically-authentic instruments that are closely linked with Johann Sebastian Bach. The organ at Amorbach Abbey was begun only two decades after his death, and Bach himself acted as an inspector for the organs of H G Trost, the organ builder at Waltershausen'. Thus states the DVD casing and thus, as a consequence, occurs the intriguing thought as to how an instrument constructed two decades after the composer's death might be 'closely linked' with him? There's much more to it than that, of course, though the baldness of the assertion surprises.

John Scott Whiteley's Bach organ works series, filmed by BBC Wales and originally broadcast by BBC2 in the late 1990s, drew much attention at the time; many observers were delighted to welcome the project from both musical and organological points of view, though others then (and still, seemingly, to judge by a recently published review of the present re-issue) were not a little distracted by aspects of the visual presentation. Perhaps the world of the organ is not yet prepared for some of the 'pioneering camera work' that the liner extols and the contents demonstrate, though such innovative approaches have meant that these DVDs have continued to command a broad public interest where others, in being more reliant upon conventional filming methods - stereotypical views of buildings, instruments, players, consoles, even repertoire choice - seem to have appealed mostly to organ enthusiasts.

The present DVD (which despite being here called 'volume I' is actually of material from the third series) presents, in effect, two perceptively balanced and complementary Bach recitals, well chosen to demonstrate some of the defining characteristics of the two magnificent instruments in question. Thus we find large-scale Preludes and Fugues, two Trio Sonatas, and selections from the liturgical organ works, which can be compared and contrasted according to the viewer's pleasure, curiosity and inclination. Throughout one is aware of John Scott Whiteley's complete technical control of interpretative issues, and his ability to communicate his readings with great skill - thereby demonstrating professional acumen and versatility at a very high level.

These instruments, in their many, varied and often markedly dissimilar physical demands are, by nature, significantly different from the large English cathedral organ that is daily under the performer's charge at York Minster. The general assumption that organists have, by definition, to be very versatile musicians is vividly pertinent here, when such versatility will have at times demanded a fairly fundamental re-think, both in terms of approach and presentation, whilst confronting the challenges presented by the range of historic instruments chosen for the entire series. 'Adaptability' is but a mild descriptor of the extent of the conceptual strategies that can sometimes be required of an international organ recitalist.

Readers who, like myself, have been familiar with this repertoire for very many years, will find much of immense interest in these performances: aspects of their musical styling, the registration used, the pacing of performances in the respective buildings (one being acoustically much drier than the other) and so on, will undoubtedly stimulate thought and detailed consideration. And much the same could be said of a number of issues arising during the (relayed) interview with distinguished Bach scholar, Professor Christoph Wolff, that was undertaken by John Scott Whiteley and John Warburton (co-producer) and which is included as an 'extra feature '.

The range of questioning was carefully designed to appeal to a broad range of viewers, and the answers - evidently 'off- the-cuff’ - convey many fascinating insights. There is some interesting material, for example, on the authenticity of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565), though surprisingly no mention is made of its likely incarnation as a piece for unaccompanied violin. And there are some thought-provoking ideas about Bach's philosophical approaches to composition, religious symbolism and so on, even though one may sometimes regret that Wolffs arguments were not developed (or stimulated by the interviewers) more fully, if they were to be entirely persuasive. Nevertheless, within an interview lasting about half an hour, a remarkable range of material was covered.

The documentation supplied with the DVD includes some beautiful colour images, useful commentaries on the music , instruments and registrations employed, and also includes individual sections concerning the nature of the visual effects employed for each track. Discreetly mentioned only in the rolling titles at the end of each programme (which are atmospherically accompanied by the distant sound of the organ's Zimbelstern) is the fact that the titles were 'conceived' and 'the art directed' by Damien Hirst.

Variously, during the performances, we are treated to some remarkable filming of the instrument featured, sometimes displaying split screen images of the organist - intriguingly for example, in the trio sonatas (where the visual impression is almost as challenging to behold as the music itself is to play) - and elsewhere featuring numerous shots of the inside of the instrument (the action, pipework, and so on) and the performer. One of the most intriguing of all is a mouse-eye view upwards from beneath the pedal board.

Not many organ recitals have ever been seen from quite so many angles as this, though probably very many more people have now experienced Bach's organ music because of them. Musically stunning and visually having the ability to cushion and arrest in equal measure, this project remains - by virtue of the sheer vividness of its imagination and execution - entirely distinctive and compelling. Spectacular 'theatre' to be sure, though wearing its fifteen or so years of age with continuing impact and aplomb - at least for the present reviewer.

Gerald Cllifford