Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 / Helmut Walcha et al.

This is one of my favorite Bach organ pieces. The long fugue theme, including the sequentz, is particularly captivating. The prelude begins with a chromatic leaping motif, then shifts to a passage with an organ point, and the opening motif is played again with the pedal. The piece develops in a truly introspective and profound way, leading to a coda on the organ point. Next, we hear the impressive fugue theme mentioned at the beginning. After the theme is strictly developed in all voices, a free development section follows for a while in three and two voices. While techniques such as stretto and inversion are not used, this is a masterpiece of a fugue, effectively employing Bach’s signature methods of strict imitation and free development. Regarding performances, I compared the following:

① Simon Preston (2010, recorded 1980～)
② David Goode (2020)
③ Helmut Walcha (1956 – 1962)
④ Helmut Walcha (1947 – 1952), monaural
⑤ Bernard Foccroulle (1982 – 1997)
⑥ Stefano Molardi (2013)
⑦ Peter Hurford (1974 – 1986)
⑧ Wolfgang Rübsam (1996)
⑨ Marie-Claire Alain (1959 – 1967)
⑩ Marie-Claire Alain (1978 – 1980)
⑪ Ton Koopman (1994 – 1999)
⑫ Masaaki Suzuki (2015)
⑬ Karl Richter (1964 – (1980)

In general, the prelude are often played with a weighty tone using principal and reed pipes from the beginning of the piece. However, ③ Walcha and ⑧ Rübsam begin with flute pipes and then build up the intensity with reed pipes. ④ Walcha, while using reed pipes, begins with a relatively restrained tone and then adds more reed pipes to increase the volume. The tempo varies among performers, but ⑫ Suzuki has the fastest tempo. The fugues, without exception, begin with a tone primarily using reed pipes, clearly playing the theme, then settle down by using flute pipes in the two- and three-part sections, and then add more reed pipes (especially on the pedal and organ points) towards the climax. The tempo of the fugues is fastest for ⑦ Hurford, ⑧ Rübsam, and ⑪ Koopman, all at roughly the same speed. As an aside, there is a historical performance by Albert Schweitzer. Both the prelude and fugue are played at an extremely slow tempo, but the sound, primarily using reed pipes (with a variety of crumhorns and trumpets), sounds fresh to our modern ears. #baroque #bach #organ #fugue #片山俊幸 https://excelkobo.net/bachwerke/archive/BWV0543.pdf