Volker Schumpenick

The music of Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) has been described as 'a lot like J. S. Bach's, only less so.' Indeed, Buxtehude was probably the most important single influence on Bach, who is said to have walked more than 200 kilometres, at the age of 15, to hear Buxtehude play the organ. The similarity in their organ compositions is unmistakable, though Bach's are ultimately more complex and subtler in their counterpoint. Nevertheless, anyone who loves Bach's organ music will find this recording a real pleasure. Volker Ellenberger plays the grand-sounding organ of the Evangelical Lutheran City Church in Buckberg with a sure feel for the composer's language and aesthetic. The chorale preludes are particularly engaging and played with special sensitivity.

Volume 4 of our Sigfrid Karg-Elert Edition contains an impressive collection of large-scale secular organ works: Kaleidoscope, Seven Pastels from the Lake Constance, Rondo and Homage to Handel…

Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) is by far the best-known organ work of European art music. It is traditionally attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, even if his authorship was occasionally doubted. The composition consists of three sections: a toccata, i.e. a prelude (prelude) of fast runs and full-grip chords, and a subsequent four-part fugue, which in turn leads to a final section called "Recitativo," which again takes up the quasi-improvisational character of the beginning. Clear motivic and harmonious references connect all parts.

Smetana was a musician of great talent who, in self-imposed exile from his native Bohemia, taught music and composition in Göteberg, Sweden. Like other Bohemian artists and musicians in the mid of the 19th century, Smetana longed for the day when his native land would be free from the oppression of its Austrian masters. After the Austro-Hungarian Empire granted political sovereignty to Bohemia, Smetana and other Czech composers could finally return to their home- land to create a national cultural identity for the self-governing provinces.