Search - Johann Pachelbel, Antoine Bouchard :: Pachelbel: Complete Organ Works, Vol. 1

A fine recording but with a few imperfections.

canzona86@hotmail.com | Traverse City, MI USA | 09/17/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The pieces themselves do not need much comment especially for those of us familiar with the repertoire. They are quite interesting and pleasurable albeit not as profound and dramatic as in Bach's works but then what else is from that period? The performance given by Mssr. Bouchard is a most well thought out and diligent one. I especially liked most of his choices for registration. However, in one instance for example, the chorale prelude on "Gelobet Seist Du Jesu Christ", the cantus firmus is almost inaudible against the registration used for the accompaniment. This brings up another point. The organ used for this volume one recording is a 1964 Casavant. This instrument has a very fine French disposition but one that may not be so well suited for music by a central German composer. I found the Fourniture(Mixture) and a few of the reeds uncharacteristic for this type of music. More suited for the organ masses by de Grigny or Couperin. That aside, one other problem I had was why did Mssr. Bouchard stop at the twelfth fugue in the Magnificat when there are eleven more to follow? An inconsistency that needs some explanation. I did enjoy his adding of ornaments where none are written but in the "last" fugue of the Magnificat it caused some problems with articulation and tempo. That could have been taken over again. Despite my concerns with these very few problems, I did enjoy the performance overall and favorably await listening to the rest of this proposed set of CD's. - Norbert Fronczak"