Jean-Charles Ablitzer is an excellent French
organist who has made brilliant recordings of Buxtehude’s organ
works, as well as several recordings of works by Bach, Couperin
and other baroque composers. While he has not yet embarked on
a complete Bach cycle, this is his fourth Bach set. Perhaps
completion is approaching. This recording contains the eight
Schübler chorals, some of Bach’s finest organ writing,
framed by some of his finest larger works, the Toccata and Fugue
in D Minor, the Prelude and Fugue in C minor, and others. It
is presented with one "large" work, followed by two
chorals, and so on.
Ah, yet another recording of Bach’s Toccata
and Fugue in D minor, opens this disc.....Yet another one. This
overplayed work is so familiar that I often shudder when hearing
it. It can be played in any way, in many forms, in movie soundtracks
and in supermarket aisles. Yet my ears perked up when listening
to Jean-Charles Ablitzer performing this piece. The opening
toccata did not stand out too much, but when he began playing
the fugue I realized that he was coming from a more different
place than many organists. It is difficult to reproduce the
subtle counterpoint of this work on the organ - the notes can
blur if played too quickly, but Ablitzer has the perfect touch,
allowing the different voices to be heard individually, playing
almost as if on a lighter instrument, such as a harpsichord.
Part of the beauty of this performance is the excellent organ
he plays. This organ has a beautiful range of sounds, and the
church it is in resonates perfectly without carrying the low
notes too long.
Ablitzer gives the chorals an intensely intimate
reading, almost as if he were playing them on a positive organ
instead of a large church organ. This approach is quite fitting,
because of the subtle intimacy of these chorals, with their
delicate writing and themes. He performs them as lyrical works,
not divorcing them from their roots as songs. His choice of
registers is always interesting, and his tempi fit the music
perfectly.
This is a very satisfying recording of some
of Bach’s finest works - the Schübler chorals represent
perhaps the apex of this form, and the longer works, the Tocatta
and Fugue and Preludes and Fugues, show the more demonstrative
range of his compositions. Ablitzer shows a deep sensitivity
and a true understanding of these different types of works,
and the program he has selected is interesting and varied.
Kirk McElhearn
Jean-Charles Ablitzer,
organ: Christoph Treutmann, Goslar-Grauhof, Lower Saxony. 