Melchior Schildt: Complete Organ Works

Album review

The historic organ of the church of Saint Stefan of Tangermünde in Saxen Anhalt (about 100km west of Berlin, to give you an idea) which was made in 1620, but has suffered all manner of misadventures over the centuries – restorations in 1712, 1790, 1858, 1913, 1929, before an "original state" restoration in 1994 – at the end of which it appears that around 50% of the original baroque instrument still exists, which is quite a considerable amount. And it is on this impressive instrument that the Dutch organist Léon Berben, a regular recipient of Chocs du Monde de la Musique, the Diapason d'Or and other awards, has chosen to play us a lovely handful of works by Melchior Schildt (1592-1667) and Delphin Strungk (1601-1694), two musicians who worked in northern Germany and the Netherlands, and for whom an instrument like the Tangermünde organ would have been an open book. The writing of this music follows the teachings of Sweelinck, of whom Schildt was a follower in Amsterdam in the 1610s; and it consolidates the north-German organ tradition which would later so grip Bach. Beautiful and rich organ sounds, beautiful and rich music, all wonderfully recorded - because recording an organ is devilishly tricky - this is an excellent contribution to the knowledge of this musical world. © SM/Qobuz