Bach and the Oberlin Flentrop #2529
. . . in celebration of this instrument’s 50th Anniversary as a provocative teaching tool, we review Bach’s Clavierübung III with faculty performers Christa Rakich and Jonathan William Moyer.
Any annotated performance of the entirety of this largest of Johann Sebastian Bach’s published organ collections lasts longer than can be incorporated in the two hour-long segments of this program. As a result, ours inevitably will be a ‘selective survey’ that includes the well-known prelude and fugue that bookend the volume, but only a sampler of the great and lesser chorale-settings that Bach brought together in this volume, music inspired by hymns representative of the Lutheran catechism.
In addition to the 3-manual, 44-stop 1974 Flentrop organ located on a balcony overlooking the Warner Concert Hall stage, performers also used the 2-manual, 18-stop 1989 Greg Harrold organ in 17th century Spanish style that stands on a platform at the rear of the hall (r. 11/15/24). Links are provided to scores, should you wish to follow along.
This broadcast also commemorates the 275th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach on July 28, 1750. We are not able to include every page from Clavierübung III here, but the following list accounts for what you will hear:
Hour 1
Christe, aller Welt Trost, BWV 670
Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671
Kyrie Gott Vater, BWV 672 (manualiter)
Christe, aller Welt Trost, BWV 673 (manualiter)
Kyrie, Gott heiliget Geist, BWV 674 (manualiter)
Gloria – Allein Gott in der Höh, BWV 675 (trio)
Gloria – Allein Gott in der Höh, BWV 676 (pedaliter)
Gloria – Allein Gott in der Höh, BWV 677 (manualiter)
Credo – Wir glauben all on einen Gott, BWV 680 (pedaliter)
Filler – BACH: Kyrie 1, BWV 669 (see above)
Hour 2
10 Commandments -- Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot, BWV 679 (manualiter)
--this item is played by Robert ‘Bart’ Pitman on the Holtkamp organ at St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN
10 Commandments, Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot, BWV 678 (pedaliter)
Lord’s Prayer - Vater unser in Himmelreich, BWV 682 (pedaliter)
Communion – Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, BWV 688
Penitence - Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir, BWV 686 (pedaliter)
Penitence - Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir, BWV 687 (manualiter)
Filler – BACH: Prelude in E-flat, BWV 552/1 (see above)
PIPEDREAMS is supported in loving memory of Lucinda and Wesley Dudley by their family, with additional support from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, from Ed and Wanda Eichler, from the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of the HRK Foundation, and from the Buzard Pipe Organ Builders of Champaign, IL and Casavant Freres, Ltd. Of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. An APOBA resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.
