Chiara Corona, Andrea Coen - J.S. Bach: Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599-644 arranged for Piano 4-hands by Bernhard Friedrich Richter (2024) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 599: I. Allegro non troppo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
02. Gottes Sohn ist kommen, BWV 600: I. Moderato assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
03. Herr Christ, der einge Gottes Sohn, BWV 601: I. Andante con moto (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
04. Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott, BWV 602: I. Andante maestoso (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
05. Puer natus in Bethlehem, BWV 603: I. Allegro assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
06. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 604: I. Andante (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
07. Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BWV 605: I. Allegro moderato (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
08. Vom Himmel hoch da, komm ich her, BWV 606: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
09. Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schaar, BWV 607: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
10. In dulci jubilo, BWV 608: I. Vivace (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
11. Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich, BWV 609: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
12. Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 610: I. Largo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
13. Christum wir sollen loben schon, BWV 611: I. Adagio (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
14. Wir Christenleut, BWV 612: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
15. Helft mir, Gottes Güte preisen, BWV 613: I. Lento assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
16. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614: I. Adagio (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
17. In dir ist Freude, BWV 615: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
18. Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 616: I. Adagio (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
19. Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf, BWV 617: I. Allegro assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
20. O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, BWV 618: I. Adagio (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
21. Christe, du Lamm Gottes, BWV 619 : I. Allegro tranquillo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
22. Christus, der uns selig macht, BWV 620: I. Andante con moto (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
23. Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund, BWV621: I. Andante (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
24. O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß, BWV 622: I. Adagio assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
25. Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 623: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
26. Hilf Gott, dass mirs gelinge, BWV 624: I. Andante con moto (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
27. Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 625: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
28. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland der den Tod überwand, BWV 626: I. Allegro moderato (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
29. Christ ist erstanden, BWV 627: I. Vers. 1 (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
30. Christ ist erstanden, BWV 627: II. Vers. 2 (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
31. Christ ist erstanden, BWV 627: III. Vers. 3 (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
32. Erstanden ist der heilge Christ, BWV 628: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
33. Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag, BWV 629: I. Allegro assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
34. Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn, BWV 630: I. Allegro (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
35. Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist, BWV 631: I. Allegro moderato (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
36. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend, BWV 632: I. Allegro moderato (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
37. Liebster Jesu wir sind hier, BWV 633: I. Andante cantabile (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
38. Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot, BWV 635: I. Allegro non troppo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
39. Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV 636: I. Andante tranquillo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
40. Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BWV 637: I. Lento assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
41. Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 638: I. Allegro non troppo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
42. Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639: I. Andante con moto (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
43. In dich hab ich gehofft Herr, BWV 640: I. Andante con moto (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
44. Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 641: I. Adagio (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
45. Wer nur den lieben Gott last walten, BWV 642: I. Lento assai (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
46. Alle Menschen müssen sterben, BWV 643: I. Andante serioso (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)
47. Ach wie nichtig ach wie flüchtig, BWV 644: I. Allegro non troppo (Arr. by Bernhard Friedrich Richter)

Innumerable transcriptions of Bach’s music were made in the 19th and 20th centuries, and many of them bear the signatures of both well-known and lesser-known composers. Among the former are Bruno G. Seidhofler’s notable piano 4-hands version of The Art of Fugue (1937) and the splen- did transcription of the Orgel-Büchlein by Bernhard Friedrich Richter (1902) that is featured on this recording. Before the advent of the phonograph, piano duo transcriptions made music of all sorts accessible to vast audiences outside the concert hall, in the intimacy of their own homes. They also allowed for repeated listening ‘on demand’, facili- tating a more detailed study of a work’s intricacies.

The artists’ approach here – in an advanced vein of historically informed performance –takes inspi- ration from well-established Bach performance practice and then filters that through two specific media: the chosen instrument of an early 20th- century upright piano and the set of performance indications scrupulously laid down by Richter, which range from tempo indications assigned to each chorale and numerous (yet not too intrusive) agogic signs, to the octave doubling he often added in the soprano and/or bass.

In the words of Harnoncourt, ‘Each period has precisely the instrumentarium best suited to its own music. In their imagination, composers hear the instruments of their own time […]’.

And the great Baroque oboist Bruce Haynes wrote: ‘Instruments can be seen in terms of Darwinian adaptation. They are constantly chan- ging in small ways to make it easier for musicians to perform the music currently in fashion. There is an immense pressure on instruments to be as well-adapted as possible to the music of their time.

Instrument makers are very receptive to the demands of players, and these demands are the immediate cause of mutations.’ The 1912 Kaps piano played here, with its many technical innovations for its day, comes precisely from the time of Richter’s interpretation of the Orgel- Büchlein.

The piano was preserved in perfect condition, with original strings and hammers, and its restoration afforded a scupulous reconstruction of every mechanism and resonator. Ernst Kaps obtained a number of patents on the inventions he applied to his instruments, among them double over- stringing (1865) employing three bridges (bass, tenor and treble), which provided even smaller instruments with greater power of sound.

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