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Naxos

Brahms: Complete Organ Works / Robert Parkins

$19.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
BRAHMS
Artist
Robert, Parkins
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Jun 01, 1994
Catalog #
8550824
UPC
730099582421

About

It's good to report Naxos again sweeping aside the competition not only in price, but in the quality of both performance and recording as well. Not that Brahms's organ works have received quite as much exposure on CD as one would have expected. The 11 Chorale Preludes, Brahms's swan-song (the cynics would describe it as a deathbed conversion), for all their popularity are elusive works attempting a synthesis between the essentially functional chorale prelude form and the intimate, personal language of an impromptu. They may well be "a high point in German Romantic organ literature" (to quote Parkins's own note) but their curious blend of impersonal formality and deep emotion renders really satisfying performances something of a rarity.

Robert Parkins hits the nail absolutely on the head. He paces each one perfectly, the second "Herzlich tut mich verlangen (No. 9) seems almost to float on air while "0 Welt, ich muss dich lassen" (No. 3) avoids any hint of self-indulgence in its heartfelt statement of impending death, Of course this excellent instrument helps. Registrations have to be subtle rather than obtrusive with a strong bias towards unadorned eight-foot tone. Parkins chooses his stops with care and sensitivity—the gentle caressing of a Tremulant throughout "Schmiicke dich, o liebe Seele" (No. 5) transforms a pleasant sound into a ravishing one.

The whole disc (the four early works fare equally well) is a significant addition to the recorded literature of both the organ and Brahms.

-- Gramophone [12/1994]

Tracklist 15 tracks

  1. 1 Prelude and Fugue in G Minor 07:25
    Track
    1
    Title
    Prelude and Fugue in G Minor
    Duration
    07:25
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  2. 2 Fugue in A-Flat Minor 07:53
    Track
    2
    Title
    Fugue in A-Flat Minor
    Duration
    07:53
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  3. 3 Mein Jesu, der du mich 06:20
    Track
    3
    Title
    Mein Jesu, der du mich
    Duration
    06:20
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  4. 4 Herzliebster Jesu 03:47
    Track
    4
    Title
    Herzliebster Jesu
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  5. 5 O Welt, ich muss dich lassen 03:41
    Track
    5
    Title
    O Welt, ich muss dich lassen
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  6. 6 Herzlich tut mich erfreuen 02:21
    Track
    6
    Title
    Herzlich tut mich erfreuen
    Duration
    02:21
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  7. 7 Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele 02:48
    Track
    7
    Title
    Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  8. 8 O wie selig seid ihr doch 02:00
    Track
    8
    Title
    O wie selig seid ihr doch
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  9. 9 O Gott, du frommer Gott 06:20
    Track
    9
    Title
    O Gott, du frommer Gott
    Duration
    06:20
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  10. 10 Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen 02:37
    Track
    10
    Title
    Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  11. 11 Herzlich tut mich verlangen 02:35
    Track
    11
    Title
    Herzlich tut mich verlangen
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  12. 12 Herzlich tut mich verlangen 04:18
    Track
    12
    Title
    Herzlich tut mich verlangen
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  13. 13 O Welt, ich muss dich lassen 03:29
    Track
    13
    Title
    O Welt, ich muss dich lassen
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  14. 14 Chorale Prelude and Fugue on 'O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid' 08:58
    Track
    14
    Title
    Chorale Prelude and Fugue on 'O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid'
    Duration
    08:58
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins
  15. 15 Prelude and Fugue in A Minor 06:03
    Track
    15
    Title
    Prelude and Fugue in A Minor
    Duration
    06:03
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Performer
    Robert Parkins