Download REVIEW The Mendelssohn anniversary has been celebrated in style

REVIEW
The Mendelssohn anniversary has been celebrated in style by many companies with new recordings
of familiar and unfamiliar works.
The present issue is a mixture of both, with not only the well known Sonatas and Preludes and
Fugues but also thirteen shorter and less familiar pieces. It is an engrossing mixture where the
composer’s skill and inventiveness is shown even in what are admittedly more minor works. The
early Passacaglia of 1823, for instance, untitled in the manuscript and called “Ostinato” in the
recent Bärenreiter edition, is clearly based on Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor. Whilst it is perhaps
unfair to compare the two works, Mendelssohn’s early piece is certainly worth hearing for its
energy and craftsmanship, especially in this performance. This should be no surprise given the
miracle of the Octet, and admittedly it does not begin to approach the quality of that work, but it is
no mere prentice work.
I could make similar comments on most of the short pieces on these discs. It is a great pity that they
seem to be little known outside organ circles as there is much enjoyment to be had from them here.
They are more varied in character than their titles might suggest, and even if they are no
masterpieces they are worth hearing, as of course are the major works here. The Preludes and
Fugues have an obvious origin in the music of J.S. Bach, but they are no slavish imitations of his
style, and they are very varied in character. For example the first, in C minor, begins with an
energetic and extrovert Prelude followed by a gentler Fugue in 12/8. The second, in G minor, has in
contrast a gentle Prelude in the style of a Song with Words followed by a chromatically wandering
Fugue. All three are amongst Mendelssohn’s best music, as are the six Sonatas. I was delighted to
hear the latter again so soon after the recent Chandos disc (CHAN10532) on which William
Whitehead played them on the organ of the Ballroom of Buckingham Palace. Both are outstanding,
although I must admit to a slight preference for the Chandos version as the less resonant acoustic
and closer recording is more vivid in its impact and allows the more complex passages to emerge
much more clearly. Nonetheless the present version also has strong merits, and as part of a two disc
set does enable the listener to get to know significantly more of the composer’s music for organ.
Both players understand the composer’s idiom, and present the music in a forthright, unsentimental
but never crude manner.
One special merit of the present set is the accompanying booklet in which Hans Fagius introduces
the music in no less than 14 pages of notes written in a very approachable style almost as if the
player were speaking directly to the listener. These are fascinating and add much to one’s
understanding and enjoyment. Unusually the organ registration is not included, but perhaps this is a
positive decision intended to demonstrate that the discs have a potential appeal beyond the organ
specialist. If so, I welcome it as these discs do very much deserve to be heard in wider musical
circles.
John Sheppard
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