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CD reviews
Theophil Andreas VOLCKMAR & Daniel Magnus GRONAU: "Organ Sonatas & Variations"
Andrzej Mikołaj Szadejko, organ
rec: May 27 - 28, 2019, Gdańsk, Holy Trinity Church
MDG - 906 2139-6 (© 2019) (63'04")
Liner-notes: E/DF
Cover & track-list
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Daniel Magnus GRONAU (1699?-1747):
Es wird schier der letzte Tag herkommen;
Komm Gott Schöpffer, Heÿliger Geist;
Theophil Andreas VOLCKMAR (1686-1768):
Sonata I in F;
Sonata II in d minor;
Sonata III in B;
Sonata IV in g minor;
Sonata V in G;
Sonata VI in C;
Tanyec Polsky Primo et Secundo
The German label MDG carries an important recording project, called 'Musica Baltica'. Its aim is to release recordings of music by composers who worked in the Baltic region, and especially Gdansk (Danzig), mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries. The recordings I have reviewed so far included vocal music. The present disc is devoted to organ music, which was an important genre in Gdansk. "The highly developed art of organ playing constituted one of the pillars of culture in Gdansk. Organs were the pride and artistic hallmark of the city. Every Gdansk church had an organ, most of which were substantial in size. Many churches had two instruments, whereas St. Mary's church - the main church of the city - had at least four, possibly even five organs", Andrzej Szadejko states in his liner-notes. St. Mary's was also the church, whose post as organist Theophil Andreas Volckmar had set his eyes on - to no avail.
He was from Stettin - today Szczecin in Poland - and succeeded his father as organist of the Church of St Peter and St Paul there in 1707. From 1712 onwards he was organist of the Trinity Church and then of St Catherine's. Twice he applied for the position of organist of St Mary's but he was rejected. The reasons given in a document of 1720: his compositions, being characterised as "vain fancies", his harmful way of pedal playing, the discord with the Kapellmeister and his conduct in the churches he had served. In 1730 he moved to Köslin (Koszalin in Poland) and returned to Stettin in 1733.
The scepticism towards Volckmar had personal and stylistic grounds. The latter comes to the fore in a statement of the church's governors. They explained that the congregation, gathering for the service, "should be encouraged by proper accompaniment to sing prayers to God, and not listen to the vague gallantry that belong to completely different places." They allowed anyone to appreciate Volckmar's proficiency in music, but wanted to do everything possible to ensure that this music was to be performed in chambers, where it belonged, but not in the church, with its tradition of serious music. However, Szadejko believes that personal factors played the main role. "It seems that the main reason for not employing Volckmar was what the council mentioned at the very end, that is, his excessive self-importance". The set of six sonatas recorded here were dedicated to the Polish King August, who paid a visit to Gdansk in 1716. "As a musician in Gdansk, he had no right to do this without special permission of the City Council (...)". It seems that in Stettin his activities as organist were much more appreciated than in Gdansk.
Volckmar composed chamber music and cantatas, but apparently nothing of that part of his oeuvre has been preserved. It seems that the six sonatas played here - a seventh is unfinished - are all we have from his pen. They are of different construction: the Sonata I is written in one single movement, but divided into various contrasting sections, which is reminiscent of the stylus phantasticus of the 17th century, whereas the sonatas II to V consist of two or three movements. The Sonata VI is again in one movement, but with two sections, an adagio and an allegro respectively. The sonatas include movements of a toccata-like nature, such as the capriccio which opens the Sonata V. On the other hand, they are influenced by the modern Italian style. This way these sonatas are a mixture of old and new. According to the preface they ideally require a large organ of three manuals and pedal, but can be played on two manuals and pedal. Four of the sonatas have the addition pieno organo, which means "full organ", or what in German organ music is often called organo pleno. However, "in order to show the variety of sounds on the Holy Trinity Church organ, I have tried to make it as different as possible and adapted the Pleno registration to the character of the particular composition", Szadejko writes.
There is very little biographical information about Daniel Magnus Gronau. We don't know where or when he was born or who his teachers were. We are also unaware whether he was active elsewhere before his time in Danzig. From 1717 to 1719 he was active as organist of St Anne's Chapel, from 1719 to 1724 he played the choir organ of St Catherine's, then until 1730 the choir organ of St Mary's. In the latter year he was appointed organist of the other main church, St John's. For a long time his entire oeuvre was considered to be lost, except five sets of chorale variations. In 2012 Martin Rost and Krzysztof Urbaniak discovered a microfilm with 40 further sets of chorale variations. Originally Gronau had planned to compose variations on all existing chorale melodies but this didn't materialize. When Gronau died, the chorale variations he had written were bound in two volumes. The second of these was rediscovered in 1909 and in 1927 four of these were published. In 1988 a fifth was printed on the basis of a copy once owned by the editor of 1927. The original volume had disappeared during or shortly after World War II. The microfilm was discovered in the Newberry Library Chicago. This discovery cannot be rated highly enough, as undoubtedly Gronau was one of the greatest composers of organ music, and especially chorale variations, in the German-speaking world in the first half of the 18th century. The two sets of variations included here are brilliant works, and it is to be hoped that more are going to be recorded. I strongly recommend the recording of the 'original' five sets of chorale variations by Matteo Venturini. Like the sonatas by Volckmar, they are mixture of old and new. The former is represented by the double counterpoint in which the chorale is presented at the start of each set, whereas in other variations we find the traces of a basso continuo as accompaniment. The technical challenges of these pieces are considerable, such as playing with two hands on three keyboards simultaneously.
Szadejko masters these challenges impressively. His performances are outstanding, and he has the luxury of a splendid organ. Szadejko was responsible for the concept used to reconstruct the organ on the basis of the instrument that was built in the early 18th century and was replaced by a pneumatic organ in 1914. Only the case of that organ could be put together again. The builder of the new organ, Kristian Wegscheider, a specialist in the restoration and reconstruction of historical organs, has done a magnificent job in the Holy Trinity Church. This instrument is perfectly suited for a performance of this repertoire. The sound of the full organ, which can be heard frequently, is magnificent and exciting. No lover of organ music should miss this disc.
Johan van Veen (© 2023)
Relevant links:
Andrzej Mikołaj Szadejko