Classical Editor: Rob Barnett                               Founder Len Mullenger: Len@musicweb-international.com

BACH. Attributions.
Eight Little Preludes and Fugues BWV 553-560
Fifteen Chorale Preludes
Fugue in G minor BWV 581
Partita Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr BWV 771

Christopher Herrick on the organ of Pfarrkirche St Michael. Kaisten, Switzerland.
Hyperion CDA 67263 (DDD) [76.45]
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This disc is infuriating.

The super preludes and fugues are not played as a straight set but annoyingly interspersed with chorale preludes. This sort of thing has, regrettably, become a fashion. Could we imagine the movements of a Beethoven symphony being interspersed with movements from his string quartets. Christopher Herrick is a fine organist and the performances and sound is good but what a gaffe to arrange the programme like this. I have yet to find anyone who can offer any real justification for this approach.

I love these preludes and fugues from the days when I was twelve and playing them on the super Father Willis organ at All Saints Church, Ryde. I think Herrick is too slow on the prelude in D minor and there is not enough space in the E minor prelude but, by now I have waded through six chorale preludes which should have put together later on the disc. He plays the chorale preludes beautifully, sometimes almost romantically, with an excellent registration and style. The Metzler organ is a good instrument.

I would politely ask Hyperion and others to note the points I have made about track sequence. The performances are good but the presentation is infuriating.

David Wright

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