Organ Works Vol. 7 by Jacques Van Oortmerssen

Jacques Van Oortmerssen

Organ Works Vol. 7

Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917210828
Catnr: CC 72108
Release date: 01 January 2002

1 CD

Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917210828

Catalogue number
CC 72108

Release date
01 January 2002

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

Although Bach was not occupied exclusively as an organist, his name and his works are clearly associated with the organ. He was acquainted with the instrument from his earliest years. After the death of his parents, ca.1795, he lived with his elder brother, Johann Christoph, the organist of Ohrdruf, and his family, and from 1700-2 he was a pupil at the Michaelis School in Lüneburg, where he probably came into contact with Georg Böhm (organist of St Johannis) and with the organbuilder Johann Balthasar Held (a pupil of the famous Arp Schnitger). From Lüneburg he journied to Hamburg where he heard Johann Adam Reincken (organist of St Catherinen) play. At the end of 1705 Bach travelled on foot to Lübeck to hear Dietrich Buxtehude, the renowned organist, play; he remained there for three months! Bach received his first appointment in 1703 at St Bonifacius in Arnstadt, and his nomination to the organistship (which included duties as a church musician) of St Blasius, Mühlhausen followed in 1707. From 1708 to 1717 Bach was employed as the court organist at Weimar, where he wrote the majority of his works for organ. Subsequently he served as Kapellmeister to the court at Cöthen (1717-23). In his capacity as Kapellmeister he was expected to write church cantatas for specific occasions. Although it is uncertain whether Bach had to fulfil duties as an organist, various organ works date from this period. His last appointment was as Kantor at St Thomas's Church, Leipzig (1723-50). There he was responsible for the church's music (both as composer and director), but, as at Cöthen, there was no specific task for him as an organist; this seemed to be no obstacle to his composing numerous works for the instrument. In earlier centuries it was the norm for composers to write functional music. Bach was no exception to this. Not only the chorale- based works, clearly written for specific times in the Church Year, but also most of the 'free' organ works can be accorded a place in the liturgy.

Het 7e deel uit de serie met orgelwerken van Bach, gespeeld volgens de tradities van zijn tijd
Dit is het 7e volume uit de serie Organ Works, met orgelwerken van Johannes Sebastian Bach, uitgevoerd door Jacques van Oortmerssen, die recent is overleden. De serie bestaat uit negen delen.

Ook al was Bach niet alleen werkzaam als organist, zijn naam en werk zullen altijd geassocieerd worden met het orgel. Bach was al vroeg bekend met het instrument. In de periode 1700-1702 was hij een leerling op het Michaelisgymnasium in Lüneburg. Daar kwam hij waarschijnlijk in contact met de organist Georg Böhm en de orgelbouwer Johann Balthasar Held. Later heeft hij ook Johann Adam Reincken en Dietrich Buxtehude op het orgel horen spelen.

Tussen 1708 en 1717 was Bach organist aan het hof in Weimar, waar hij het merendeel van zijn werken voor orgel componeerde. Vervolgens werd hij Kapellmeister aan het hof van Cöthen (1717-1723) en cantor van de Thomaskirche in Leipzig (1723-1750). Op beide posities was Bach verantwoordelijk voor het componeren van geestelijke muziek. Het is niet duidelijk of hij daarnaast organist was. Hij componeerde wel talloze werken voor orgel in deze periode.

Van Oortmerssen voerde de werken op dit album uit op het Treutmann-orgel uit 1737. Hij maakte gebruik van de aanwijzingen van Bach bij het kiezen van de registers. Bovendien baseerde hij zijn interpretaties op de registerpraktijk in Bachs tijd en regio. Jacques van Oortmerssen was jarenlang een prominente figuur in de orgelwereld. Hij stond bekend om zijn veelzijdigheid en om zijn uitvoeringen van de muziek van Bach. Hij gaf optredens over de hele wereld en werd vaak uitgenodigd om op prestigieuze festivals te spelen, zoals de BBC Proms.

Artist(s)

Jacques van Oortmerssen

Jacques van Oortmerssen (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1950) studied at the Conservatory of Rotterdam, where he completed his soloist diplomas for both the organ, as a student of André Verwoerd, and for piano as a student of Elly Salomé. Thereafter he undertook postgraduate study with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris (France). He was awarded the Prix d’ Excellence in 1976. In 1977 he won first prize in the National Improvisation Competition in Bolsward (NL) and was runner-up in the Tournemire Prize in St Albans (England). He has been professor of organ at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (NL) since 1979, where his organ class attracts students from many countries. In 1982 he succeeded Gustav Leonhardt as Organiste Titulaire of the Waalse kerk in Amsterdam, where he plays the famous 1734...

Jacques van Oortmerssen (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1950) studied at the Conservatory of Rotterdam, where he completed his soloist diplomas for both the organ, as a student of André Verwoerd, and for piano as a student of Elly Salomé. Thereafter he undertook postgraduate study with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris (France). He was awarded the Prix d’ Excellence in 1976.
In 1977 he won first prize in the National Improvisation Competition in Bolsward (NL) and was runner-up in the Tournemire Prize in St Albans (England). He has been professor of organ at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (NL) since 1979, where his organ class attracts students from many countries. In 1982 he succeeded Gustav Leonhardt as Organiste Titulaire of the Waalse kerk in Amsterdam, where he plays the famous 1734 Christian Müller organ. Jacques van Oortmerssen enjoys an international reputation as both soloist and pedagogue, in which context he is regularly invited to teach at Universities and Conservatories throughout the world.
He has been leader of the Falun Organ Academy in Falun (Sweden) for many years since 1984, was Betts Fellow in Organ Studies at the University of Oxford (England) during the 1993-1994 academic year and Associate Professor at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland) during the 1994-1995 academic year. He will receive an honorary doctorate at this academy in June 2012.
Jacques van Oortmerssen was a regular guest professor of organ at the Lyon Conservatory (France) between 1999 and 2004, and he has also been a guest professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (England) and during many years at the Conservatory in Göteborg (Sweden). In addition he has been a member of the advisory board of the Göteborg Organ Art Centre (GOArt) at the University of Gothenburg. As soloist Jacques van Oortmerssen regularly performs throughout Europe, North and South America, Africa, Japan and South Korea and is frequently invited at prestigious international festivals sucu as the BBC Proms in London (England), the Prague (Czech Republic) Spring Festival, the Bach Festival in Leipzig (Germany) and the City of London Festival. He is well known for his interpretations of early music and in particular of music of J.S. Bach.
Jacques van Oortmerssen is also active as a composer and conductor.
As a recording artist, van Oortmerssen has featured on more than 50 CD releases for prominent international labels, as well as broadcasting on both radio and television.
Among the recordings he made are the complete works of C.P.E. Bach and Johannes Brahms as well as a series of records of J.S. Bach’s organ music, already having released nine volumes.
Jacques van Oortmerssen has been actively involved with the art of organ building in the broadest sense since 1970. Through his international career he intensively used and examined many organs, both historical and new, all over the world. As an organ expert he guides both restorations of historical instruments and constructions of new instruments.
Jacques van Oortmerssen is one of the inspirators of the Göteborg Organ Art Centre (GOArt) at the University of Gothenburg. This centre is committed to improve the quality of the art of organ building, both in restoring historic instruments and building new instruments, having built up a huge international reputation in doing so. Therefore interdisciplinary research is being conducted here in which musical instrument builders, musicians, organologists, technologists and musicologists cooperate on an international level. Thus the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg carries out important research on different aspects of historical organ building in the field of metallurgy, thermo-dynamics and acoustics.
As a result of these efforts two large projects have been realized, of which the North German Organ Research Project particularly caused an international stir.
Jacques van Oortmerssen believes the current profile of ‘omniscient advisor’ to now be obsolete. The complexity of restoring organs and the diversity of the historic patrimony demand a different approach in which the organ advisor will increasingly develop into a leader of a team of specialists.

less

Composer(s)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

less