Organist Ralph Greis (Germany) performs Bach, Franck and Vierne at the Dormition Abbey, Jerusalem

The Israel International Organ Festival closed its 2014-2015 season with a morning recital by Ralph Greis at the Dormition Abbey, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, on June 27th 2015. Fr. Ralph Greis, born 1972 in Germany, studied sacred music in Detmold, Germany, graduating in both church music and performance. In addition, he has studied Catholic theology in Paderborn (Germany) and at the Dormition Abbey. On receiving his diploma in 2001, he joined the monastic community of the Dormition Abbey, then taking responsibility for liturgical music at the Dormition Abbey as well as for concerts taking place in the basilica of the monastery. As music is an important part of liturgical life in Benedictine monasteries, Greis addresses much importance to the musical content of the liturgy, also believing in the spiritual content of all good music. The large organ of the Dormition Abbey, made to fit the exact measurements of the central gallery of the church, was built by the German firm of Oberlinger and inaugurated in 1980.

The recital opened with two works of J.S.Bach (1685-1750), beginning with the Prelude and Fugue in C-major BWV 547, written around 1725, either in Leipzig or Weimar. Greis displayed the bright, forthright and concentrated writing of the Prelude as well as its exploratory character. The 5-voiced Fugue, constructed from a very concise subject and no less concentrated in texture, is unusual in that the entry of the pedal comes in quite late in the piece. In one of Bach’s major variation works - Partite diverse sopra “O Gott, du frommer Gott” - written for manuals only, the chorale is presented with eight variations. A work of particular interest to an organist/theologist, each variation corresponds to the content of a stanza of the hymn; Greis also brought out the work’s contrapuntal and chromatic beauty, its decorative content and its variety of musical styles, offering registrational combinations to create strident, bright bell-like timbres, mellow moments and some of delicate fragility.

This was followed by “Prière” (Prayer) in C-sharp minor, opus 20 (1860) by César Franck (1822-1890). One of the “Six Pièces pour le Grand Orgue”, it was written in Franck’s religious period and is a personal, devotional meditation on grief, hope and faith, its pensive music eventually spiraling to an ecstatic, richly-textured climax. No small feat for the organist, “Prière” bristles with tenths, elevenths and cross-rhythms (César Franck had huge hands). Greis gave expression to the chorale-type melody forming the basis of this lush mood piece as it developed in a Romantic, symphonic manner, yet never losing sight of the work’s serious and ultra-legato essence.

The final work on the program was Louis Vierne’s Organ Symphony No.3 in F- sharp minor, opus 28. Schooled by both Franck and Widor, then becoming organist at Notre Dame, Paris, Vierne (1870-1937) brought the great French organ symphony to its zenith. His six organ symphonies, all in minor keys, were all written with the sound of the big, Romantic Cavaillé-Coll church organs of his day in mind. Influenced by his teachers and by Debussy, Vierne developed his own personal idiom, which was rich in Romantic harmony, complex in contrapuntal working and, indeed, symphonic in concept. In the opening Allegro maestoso of Symphony No.3, Greis’ forthright playing highlighted the movement’s imposing character and its complexities. In total contrast, the Cantilène’s melodiousness and dreamy poly-timbred toning took the listener into the languid mood of the senses. Greis gave the Intermezzo a touch of whimsy and elusiveness, to be followed by a leisurely-paced Adagio movement of great beauty, its introspective mood temporarily embellished by the church bells ringing outside…an interesting effect to remind the listener of where he was. The final movement, brilliant and fresh in style, intricate in footwork, brought the work to an impressive conclusion.

Fr. Ralph Greis ended his recital with a short, improvised piece, a token of his appreciation to the audience. Adding to the enjoyment of the concert was the fact that the artist at the organ was projected onto the front wall of the church. How often is it that one can watch the organist at work?

Soprano Heidrun Goettsche and organist Gunther Martin Goettsche in an all-Bach recital at the Jerusalem Redeemer Church

An event of the Israel International Organ Festival, now in its 4th year, was a program of music of J.S.Bach performed by Gunther Martin Goettsche and Heidrun Goettsche at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem’s Old City on April 26, 2014.

Born in Germany, Gunther Martin Goettsche studied in Mannheim and Berlin, working as organist and choir conductor in Aalen/Württemberg and Braunschweig. From 1992 to 2013, he was director of the Schleuchtern Academy of Church Music and, from 2008 to 2013, he taught organ improvisation at the Heidelberg University of Church Music. Goettsche composes and arranges organ- and choral works for German publishers. As of 2013, he has been first organist of the Lutheran Redeemer Church, Jerusalem.

German-born soprano Heidrun Goettsche is presently working as a voice teacher at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, where she also trained, at the Schleuchtern Academy of Church Music and at the Schmidt Girls College, Jerusalem. A lyric soprano, she has performed in Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Estonia, the USA and Israel. The founder of the “Voce libera” voice course (using the Corneius Reid method), she is a member of the German women’s sextet “Allegria-Vokalensemble”.

The program opened with Gunther Goettsche’s performance of “Christ ist erstanden” (Christ is risen), a chorale prelude based on an Easter carol published in 1529 (but probably three or four centuries older) in Bach’s “Orgelbüchlein” (Little Organ Book) BWV 627. The largest of the four works dealing with the Resurrection from this 46-work collection, it was composed when Bach was nearing the end of his service in the Weimar court of the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar (1708-1717), by which time Bach himself was a keyboard master. Opening with a forthright, brassy timbre, Goettsche chose to color each verse differently as the work became progressively more complex and more contrapuntal, the final section, animated and triumphant, encapsulating the religious meaning behind the piece and Bach’s profound belief. Of the large-scale organ works grouped under the title of “Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes” composed in the last decade of Bach’s life, Goettsche played the substantial organ partita that uses the Good Friday hymn “O Lamm Gottes unschuldig” (O innocent lamb of God), beginning in a reedy, personal timbre, intensifying and spiraling into anguished chromaticism, the final eighth notes flowing in veiled tranquility.

Still in the spirit of Easter, soprano Heidrun Goettsche and her husband presented two Easter songs from the “Schemelli” songbook. It is not sure how much involvement Bach had in the production of this hymnal, a historic selection of 950 sacred Lieder and arias published in Leipzig in 1736, collected by Georg Christian Schemelli, the musical director of Zeitz Castle. The two strophic, homophonic songs we heard were clearly arranged for home use, the artists addressing their simplicity in the spirit of house music of the time. Three arias from cantatas and oratorio represented a more sophisticated and challenging genre, starting with “Oeffne dich, mein ganzes Herze” (Open yourself, my entire heart) from “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” (Now Come, Savior of the Heathens) BWV 61, an early cantata for Advent from Bach’s Weimar days. The artists gave expression to this introspective aria, addressing its personal aspect, presenting its rhythmic ambiguity. From the St. Matthew Passion, the joyful “Ich will mein Herze schwenken” (I will give you my heart) Gunther Goettsche chose bright, reedy registrations to replace the oboes d’amore and bassoon in the original scoring. In “Mein gläubiges Herze” (My faithful heart) from Cantata 68 “Also had Gott die Welt geliebt” (God so loved the world), with its tricky vocal line, the artists preserved the piece’s joyous energy throughout. This aria is a reworking of a piece from an earlier secular cantata. “Bist Du bei mir” (Be thou with me), from Anna Magdalena Bach’s Notebook, a piece misattributed to Bach, is thought to be a popular aria composed by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel. This was followed by a poignant reading of “Schlummert ein” (Slumber, my weary eyes) the central aria from Bach’s sublime cantata “Ich habe genug” (It is enough) BWV 582. The aria also appeared in Anna Magdalena Bach’s Notebook in a version with continuo accompaniment. The artists gave this lullaby a sympathetic, mellifluous reading, its mostly tranquil message ( with some dark undercurrents) coming across. Heidrun Goettsche chooses to present Bach’s sacred music in a straightforward, unmannered way, offering the listener the freedom to interpret each piece in his own way. Her firm, stable voice carried well into the church.

The concert ended with Gunther Goettsche’s imposing performance of one of J.S.Bach’s supreme masterpieces for organ, the Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor BWV 582. Robert Schumann described the 20 passacaglia variations as “intertwined so ingeniously that one can never cease to be amazed”. Following his majestic, richly-colored playing of the chaconne, Goettsche launched attacca into the large double fugue, its multi-layering articulate and gripping. The organ of the Redeemer Church, built in Berlin by Karl Schuke (1971), has 21 registers connected to two manuals and the pedal. It is an instrument rich in colors, character and warmth. Making fine use of its attributes, Gunther Martin Goettsche’s performance was articulate, easeful and genuine, offering an interesting, unmannered and learned approach to J.S.Bach’s organ repertoire.