Robert Quinney,
organ. CORO COR16112.
Robert Quinney, Director of Music at Peterborough
Cathedral, is a relatively young man (b. 1976) insofar as classical organists
are concerned, and his playing shows it. His music is full of youthful dash,
vigor, and élan. Whether or not you like your J.S. Bach performed with such
enthusiastic verve is obviously a matter of taste, but certainly it’s good to
have such choices available.
Quinney plays this second volume of Bach organ works on
the Metzler Organ of Trinity College, Cambridge, which produces a gorgeous
sound. This second volume concentrates on the composer’s early organ music,
most of it from the 1710’s and 20’s.
Quinney begins the program with probably Bach’s most
well-known organ music, the Toccata and
Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. The organist attacks it with a fury, yet he
doesn’t actually rush it too much. Compared to four or five other recordings of
the work I had on hand, Quinney is the quickest but not by much. Let’s say it’s
about 10-20% faster than the others. It’s enough, though, to supercharge the
old warhorse with an extra degree of vigor that makes the interpretation sound
like something fresh, new, and invigorating. Of course, he misses out on some
of the music’s dynamic contrasts that he might have emphasized if he had taken
more time, yet that’s the trade-off we have to accept for the additional
thrills.
People of Bach’s day considered him “the world-famous
organist.” He was a virtuoso on the instrument. Apparently, Mr. Quinney wants
to make sure we still see Bach that way, with performances that point up the
man’s virtuosity (and Quinney’s own). I have to admit, though, that sometimes
Quinney goes so lickety-split through the readings, it’s hard to tell if he
isn’t just showing off. He’s that good.
Anyway, among the other pleasurable pieces on the disc, we
have the Passacaglia in C minor, BWV
582, with its wonderfully sonorous variations; the inventive Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564,
that Bach wrote just before his more-celebrated one; the three refreshingly
relaxed presentations of Allein Gott in
der Hoh sei Ehr, BWV 662-664; and the very early Toccata and Fugue in F, BWV 540, which sounds both powerful and
sensuous.
These are performances of strength and beauty, and even if
you find Quinney’s style a little too relentlessly fast-paced, it’s hard to
knock the sense of excitement and wonder he creates. Maybe this is Bach for the
twenty-first century; I don’t know. I do know that while it’s a little
different, it is not without merit.
Producer David Trendell and engineer David Hinitt recorded
the music at Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, England, in 2013. There is good
depth to the setting, as we might expect from a large chapel organ and a room
providing spacious, resplendent sound. Needless to say, any good organ
recording lives or dies by its bass response, and this one lives it up pretty
well. The bass is very deep and very taut. Overall, we get a realistic sound in
every way; very impressive. Quinney doesn’t always allow too many pauses,
however, so we don’t hear as much of the organ’s decay time as we might. Still,
fans of organ music will no doubt appreciate this new entry in the field.
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click here:
JJP
This is cool!
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