Brahms: Chorale Prelude Op. 122 No. 6 'O, wie selig seid Ihr doch, Ihr Frommen'

Recorded on the Great Mascioni Organ of Pontevico Abbey

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.

St. Rupert's Catholic Parish Church in Munich is home to one of the few surviving Maerz organs. The recent restoration of this marvellous late-romantic organ to its 1907 operating standards means that it can now be heard in its original splendour of sound.

The young organist Anne Horsch, performs the complete organ works of Brahms. His preludes and fugues and his eleven chorale preludes, which are often regarded as masterpieces in this genre, can be heard to perfection with the SACD quality.