Zorn Iii

John Zorn & Eric Friedlander - Volac: Book of Angels, Vol. 8 (2007) {Tzadik TZ 7363}
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© 2007 Tzadik | TZ 7363 | Tzadik Archival Series
Jazz / Classical / Avant-Garde / Modern Jazz / Modern Classical / Cello

Volume 8 in the continuing Book of Angels series is an intimate and breathtaking recital by one of the world’s most accomplished cellists. A vital member of the Masada family from the very beginning, Erik Friedlander has hypnotized audiences both here and in Europe with his own bands Topaz, Broken Arm and Grains of Paradise. Stepping out in a special solo project, Erik shows off his remarkable technique in ten compositions from Zorn’s lyrical Book of Angels. This is Erik at his best. Rich, romantic, gripping music to both challenge and soothe the savage beast.

The internationally acclaimed organist Stephen Farr presents his first J.S. Bach recording with the virtuosic Clavier-Übung III. Containing some of Bach's most stunning work, this collection demonstrates the composer at the height of his powers in composing for the organ and was one of the few works that Bach had published during his lifetime.
Recorded on the Metzler organ of Trinity College, Cambridge, this album follows Farr's contemporary organ recital on the same instrument released on Resonus Classics in 2012 - Jacquet's Ghost (RES10111). Clavier-Übung III is performed here in its entirety, complete with the four 'Duetti'.

In the last 20 years of his life, Bach focused on publishing works for posterity. This period brings us the Mass in B Minor, the Great Eighteen and the Schubler chorales, the Musical Offering, and the Art of Fugue. Bach also published four sets called Clavier-Ubung, or "keyboard interpretation," including the 6 partitas (Part I), Italian Concerto and French Overture (Part II), and Goldberg Variations (Part IV). Part III of the Clavier-Ubung, recorded here, comprises 21 chorale preludes based on the Lutheran mass and catechism (BWV 669-689) and 4 duets (BWV 802-805). These are flanked by the "St. Anne" prelude and fugue in E-flat major (BWV 552a & b), making 27 pieces in all.

Clavier Übung means 'a keyboard exercise' or 'practice', which is rather a humble term for such exquisitely-crafted music. Bach borrowed it from Johann Kuhnau, his predecessor as cantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, who in 1689 had published a collection called Neue Clavier-Übung consisting of seven suites of dances. Bach's Clavier Übung III was published in 1739, when Leipzig was celebrating the bicentenary of the Lutheran Reformation. The hymns on which the 12 organ chorales on this disc are based focus on the six chief parts of the Lutheran Catechism: the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession and Communion.

The Organ Mass continues with the Our Father, Vater unser im Himmelreich (Our Father in Heaven). Here a much ornamented subject appears immediately in the upper part, to be imitated by the second voice. The chorale melody itself is presented in canon between the upper part and the fourth of the five voices. There is a shorter alternative working of the Vater unser, for manuals, its melody in the upper part.

The German organist and choral conductor, Gerhard Weinberger, studied organ with Franz Lehrndorfer and church music at the Musikhochschule in Munich. In 1971, he was the prize winner in organ at the renowned international ARD Music Competition.
In 1974, after spending three years directing the choir at Saint Lorenz Basilica in Kempten, Gerhard Weinberger assumed a teaching post in organ and church music at the Munich Musikhochschule. He was Professor of Organ there from 1977 to 1983. Currently he is Professor of Organ and Director of the Church Music Department at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and of the Leipzig New Bach Society directorate.
Gerhard Weinberger's wide repertoire ranges from pre-Baroque to music of the 20th century, with a special emphasis on the works of J.S. Bach and Max Reger. He has given recitals throughout Europe, Asia and America.
Gerhard Weinberger has released close to fifty recordings, including the complete organ works of J.S. Bach on twenty-one compact discs. He has published the first complete edition of the organ works of Johann Ludwig Krebs and the organ works of Robert Schumann.

His colleague Georg Philipp Telemann, who was only a few years older, described him as “the greatest spirit of his time”. Reinhard Keiser is a striking example of a musician who was held in the highest esteem in his time, but is hardly present today. He wrote numerous stage works for the Hamburg Opera at the Gänsemarkt.