Brahms: Chorale Prelude Op. 122 No. 5 'Schmücke dich, o Liebe Seele'

Recorded on the Great Mascioni Organ of Pontevico Abbey

Georg Stanek and Ludger Stühlmeyer perform pieces on the city of Hof’s most historic organs. Recorded at St Mary's Church, Hof, on 24 July 2012 and St Michael's Church, Hof, on 25 July.

Apprehending Brahms's organ music, which is marginal compared with his orchestral and instrumental catalogue, calls for an intimacy with his successive pianistic aesthetics. Indeed, although the forms and polyphonic writing (the Preludes and Fugues) are rooted in an implicit homage to J. S. Bach and Lutheran liturgical practice (the Chorale Preludes), the highly personal atmosphere emanating from this music induces groupings that send us to the extremes of the Brahmsian chronology.

Edouard Oganessian studied piano with Mikhail Voskressensky and organ with Leonid Roizman at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Since then, the two instruments have been inseparable in his life as a musician. He did advanced training with Leo Krämer. Winner of the Franz Liszt Organ Competition in Budapest in 1988, he taught at the National Music Academy in Vilnius until 1990 when he settled in France.

Edouard Oganessian performs throughout Europe. His interpretations of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Liszt and Mendelssohn have been hailed by audiences and critics in Germany, Netherlands, Russia and France. He devotes a large portion of his work to recording and loves performing, in addition to his vast classical repertoire, rare works.

Brahms’ organ works are often overlooked, but represent an important aspect of his overall musical development. They epitomise his lifelong devotion to Bach. This collection includes his 11 Chorale Preludes Op.122, as well as the Prelude and Fugue for Organ Op.16 by Clara Schumann.

A look at various biographies reveals two main reasons for such people to occupy them-selves with the organ: firstly, to improve polyphonic composition skills through a close examination of contrapuntal writing and the works of baroque composers (such as Buxtehude, Handel and Bach) and, secondly, to help cope with personal crises in life by working with themes of a religious nature. Both of these reasons apply to the works of Johannes Brahms: His organ compositions appeared in two phases of his life, characterised especially by close contact to Robert and Clara Schumann.

This fine Norman and Beard Organ stands untouched in Wellington Town Hall in New Zealand. Douglas Mews, the Town hall organist plays an exciting progamme of little recorded music to suit this fabulous instrument.

For her previous CD Edna Stern proposed to build a recording on four interpretations of Bach’s Ciaccona (Brahms, Lutz, Busoni and Bach at violin with Amandine Beyer). This new record follows a similar path and the choice of three chorals transcribed by Busoni and of 12 Preludes & Fugues takes us for an exploration of Bach’s keyboard pieces beyond the specific environment of the piano.