Although little is known about Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck’s training as an organist, and none of his autograph or printed keyboard scores survive, the evidence clearly shows his substantial competence as a composer and influence as a teacher. This disc offers selections from both Sweelinck’s output and that of several of his pupils. Copies of Sweelinck’s keyboard works–produced and preserved by his students–don’t specify the intended instrument, but obviously they translate very well through the organ medium, and the organ at St. Jacque’s Church in Liège–a “new instrument installed in the wonderful, well-preserved case dating back to the year 1600”–proves an ideal voice for the well-made, idiomatic compositions offered on this enjoyable 67-minute program.
Soloist Léon Berben not only performs with clear articulation and seamless fingering/pedaling technique, but he fully exploits the organ’s bright reeds and mixtures and mellow woodwind stops. He occasionally opts for a slightly throaty character (Schildt’s Paduana Lachrymae–after J. Dowland) or a more penetrating resonance (Sweelinck’s Psalm 23), but his choices invariably defer to the particular composition’s tone and texture, and for organ enthusiasts this disc will make a satisfying excursion through some decidedly uncharted territory.
Dirck Sweelinck’s variations on Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (Dirck was Jan’s son) is one of the disc’s highlights, along with father Jan’s Toccata XX and Fantasia II (a weighty work reminiscent of Bach’s more extended compositions) and Scheidemann’s powerful, majestic Praeambulum 8 that closes the program. The sound ideally captures the acoustic and faithfully represents the organ’s depth, range, and multi-colored registrations. The liner notes give details regarding the instrument’s disposition and other features, but almost no information on the works or composers.
