Composer: Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Michael Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Böhm, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Johann Jakob Froberger, Nicolas de Grigny, Johann Kuhnau, Louis Marchand, Johann Pachelbel
Performer: Benjamin Alard, Gerlinde Säman
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Catalogue: HMM90245052
Release: 2018
Size: 4.02 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
01. Bach JM: I: Nun Komm, der heiden Heiland
02. Bach JS: Fantasia in C major, BWV570
03. Bach JS: Fuga sopra ‘Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her’, BWV700
04. Frescobaldi: Bergamasca, F12.46
05. Bach JC’ph: Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat Major
06. Kuhnau: Suonata quarta ‘Hiskia agonizzante e risanato’
07. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1091 ‘Das alte Jahr vergangen ist’
08. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1113 ‘Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt’
09. Böhm: Choral Prelude: Vater unser in Himmelreich
10. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1112 ‘Christus, der ist mein Leben’
11. Bach JS: Fugue on a theme by Tomaso Albinoni in C Major, BWV 946
12. Bach JS: Fugue in A major, BWV949
13. Bach JS: Wie nach eine Wasserquelle, BWV 1119
14. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1097 ‘Ehre sei dir, Christe, der du leidest Not’
15. Bach JS: Gott, durch deine Güte, BWV 724: Choral
16. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1094 ‘O Jesu, wie ist dein Gestalt’
17. Froberger: Canzona
18. Pachelbel: An Wasserflüssen Babylon
19. Marchand: Suite in D minor (Excerpts): Prélude – Sarabande – Chaconne
20. Bach JS: Prelude & Fugue in A minor, BWV551
21. Grigny: Point d’orgue sur les grands jeux
CD 02
01. Bach JS: Prelude & Fugue in D minor BWV549a
02. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV741 ‘Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein’
03. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1105 ‘Jesu, meine Freude’
04. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1092 ‘Herr Gott, nun schleuss den Himmel auf’
05. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1118 ‘Werde munter, mein Gemüte’
06. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV957 ‘Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt’
07. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1115 ‘Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr’
08. Bach JS: In Honorem Johann Christoph Bachii Ohrdrufiensis in E Major, BWV 993
09. Bach JS: Sonata in A Minor, BWV 967
10. Bach JS: Fugue in A minor, BWV947
11. Bach JS: Prelude & Fugue in A major, BWV896
12. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1114 ‘Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut’
13. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1117 ‘Alle Menschen müssen sterben’
14. Bach JS: Partite diverse Sopra il Chorale Ach, was soll ich Sünder machenp. di J: S: Bach, BWV 770
15. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1116 ‘Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan’
16. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1099 ‘Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir’
17. Bach JS: Chorale Prelude BWV1111 ‘Nun lasst uns den Leib begraben’
18. Bach JS: Prelude & Fugue in C major, BWV531
CD 03
01. Bach JS: Fantasia in C minor, BWV1121
02. Bach JS: Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo, BWV992
03. Bach JS: Prelude and Partita del tuono terzo in F Major, BWV 833: Præludium – Allemande – Courante – Sarabande & double (allegro) – Aria
04. Bach JS: Suite in A Major, BWV 832: Allemande – Air pour les trompettes – Sarabande – Bourrée – Gigue
05. Bach JS: Aria Variata in A minor, BWV989 ‘alla Maniera Italiana’
06. Bach JS: Prelude & Fugue in G minor, BWV535a
07. Bach JS: Keyboard Sonata in D major, BWV963
08. Bach JS: Fugue on a theme by Tomaso Albinoni in A Major, BWV 950
09. Bach JS: Fantasia (Concerto) in G major, BWV571
10. Bach JS: Prelude & Fugue in E minor, BWV533
11. Bach JS: Fantasia (and Imitatio) in B Minor, BWV 563
12. Bach JS: Fugue in B Minor, BWV 951a (on a theme by Tomaso Albinoni)
Bach’s youth was a vast field of observation. From the years of apprenticeship in Ohrdruf, where his precocious artistic sensibility was dazzlingly demonstrated, to his first major post as organist at Arnstadt, Bach constantly enriched his musical culture, underpinned by a strong family tradition and driven by iconic respect for the old masters, crucial affinities and unfailing curiosity. As the prelude to a complete recording of a new kind, the eloquence and vigilant intelligence of the admirable Benjamin Alard’s playing are the ideal medium to reveal the technical mastery of Bach’s early keyboard works and convey the essence of this young composer’s musical discourse at a time when he was already measuring himself against the yardstick of predecessors and contemporaries alike.
Organ player and harpsichordist, titular player of the Aubertin organ of the Saint-Louis-en l’Île church in Paris, where he regularly plays Bach in concert, Benjamin Alard is an unstoppable talent. Passionate about the world of Johann Sebastian Bach, this young man, “reserved, with an understated sense of humour”, has undertaken a complete recording of the Cantor’s keyboard works for harmonia mundi. The project is vast, and has never before been completed by a single musician. Benjamin Alard’s very original approach is based on the idea of taking on this vast catalogue split into fourteen chapters, following the timeline of the composer’s life, describing his influences, his travels and his professional choices. Every volume is to be thought of as a series of episodes retracing the life and works of the Cantor of Leipzig.
This first volume paints a picture of “the young heir”, whose music is still very much a tribute to his predecessors, such as Georg Böhm, Johann Kuhnau, Tomaso Albinoni, Johann Pachelbel, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Louis Marchand and Johann Jakob Froberger. The instruments used for this complete recording have been selected, thankfully, with great care. Recorded in May 2017, this first volume uses the Silberman organ in Sainte-Aurélie in Strasbourg, a superb instrument built in 2017, which benefited from a magnificent restoration in 2015, to mark its tricentenary. As for the harpsichord, it is a modern instrument produced by manufacturer Émile Jobin, inspired by models from Ruckers and Dulcken. A young man of his times, Benjamin Alard accompanies this complete works with an original idea: every work is recorded and published separately on streaming and download sites (like Qobuz), along with videos on social media.