Bach/Buxtehude : De divina Inventione

   in Choir & Organ (May, 2013)
This is a fine modern organ in Werckmeister III temperament, housed in resonant acoustics. The programme is inspired by Kircher’s and Mattheson’s notions of stylus phantasticus, here juxtaposing major works by Buxtehude and Bach in similar keys: Buxtehude’s Toccata in F (Bux WV 156) and Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in F (BWV 540), Buxtehude’s Praeludium in G minor (Bux WV 149) and Bach’s Fantasia & Fugue in G minor (BWV 542), Buxtehude’s Passacaglia in D minor (Bux WV 161) and Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor (BWV 582). The playing is fresh and lively, though the wall-to-wall plenum in BWV 582 is rather relentless. …