Masaaki Suzuki -
Sweelinck: Psalms From Geneva (comp. 1600-21, rec. 2006)
This record is surely a Lost Classic. A century before Johann Sebastian Bach created the "Toccata and Fugue In D Minor" Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck composed a diverse series of organ works for the Calvinist church in Amsterdam. He also taught a number of North German students who were Bach's direct progenitors. If less ebullient than those of Bach, Sweelinck's pieces combine a delicate yet emotionally reverent tone with sophisticated use of counterpoint.
Masaaki Suzuki is no stranger to Bach. Wiki tells us that he is "an
organist,
harpsichordist and
conductor, and the founder and music director of the
Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of
Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label
BIS Records, for which he is also recording Bach's concertos, orchestral suites, and solo works for harpsichord and organ. He is also an artist-in-residence at
Yale University and the principal guest conductor of its Schola Cantorum, and has conducted orchestras and choruses around the world."
This album was recorded on an modern organ built in the Dutch style of Sweelinck's time that resides in a church at Kobe, Japan.
Given the impact of Bach’s organ works that runs all the way through to contemporary progressive rock, this album is well worth a listen to show where it all came from.