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DVD REVIEW
from Organists' Review
This is quite the most beautifully produced volume that I have ever seen. In a hard-back slipcase are a hard-back book and hard-back case for five CDs and the DVD. The book contains, in Dutch, German and English, an historical survey of the organs in the Province of Groningen, which, as I’m sure you know, is in the North of Holland. There is a chapter on Arp Schnitger, who worked extensively in this area, and much of whose work survives. There are also precise histories, specifications and photographs of no fewer than 19 organs, all in an enviable state of preservation, unlike so many of the neglected wrecks in this country. As a bonus, there are pictures of the churches, interiors and exteriors, some with carillon towers. The photography is breathtaking, doing full justice to the subjects, the whole thing produced on very high quality paper and bound in hard covers.
The five CDs are recordings of the same 19 organs. CD1 is devoted to the big three-manual organ in the Martinikerk in Groningen and begins with the Bach Fantasia in G, BWV 572, played by Wim van Beek, followed by three Chorale Preludes on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659, 660 and 661, the Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564, the Partita on Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig, BWV 768, all played by Sietze de Vries, who ends the CD with an improvisation on Jesu, meine Zuversicht. The other four CDs cover the other 18 organs with a similar programme of works by various composers – Sweelinck, Buxtehude, Tunder, Krebs, Reincken, Bruhns, Brahms and Schumann, among others – played by and interspersed with chorale-improvisations by Sietze de Vries, all in character with the chorales and the instruments. Also in the CD slip-case is a booklet, giving not only the contents of the CDs but also all the registrations used throughout the series and containing yet more pictures. The playing is impeccable and the sounds of the organs are a delight, some quite exceptional.
It is difficult to describe the DVD in a few words: the key figure is the 85-year-old Cor Edskes, the greatest living authority on the historical organs of northern Europe and advisor to organ builders Jürgen Ahrend and Marcussen. He describes the various restorations of the organ in the Martinikerk at Groningen, illustrating each one by comparing it with organs that date wholly from the period concerned, including three by Schnitger. The film contains hundreds of shots of the organs and their surroundings and performances by Sietze de Vries; the discussions are in Dutch with English (or German) sub-titles. A veritable feast!
This whole set is a work of art and a labour of love – a real collector’s piece. 75 Euros is a lot of money but, calculated in Euros per hour of pleasure of both sight and sound, it is well worth the price. Sietze de Vries is to be congratulated on conceiving such a project and bringing it to fruition in a truly impressive fashion.
Richard Popple, Organists’ Review
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