The next three chorale arrangements are for the New Year:

BWV 613 - Saorgin must think that the New Year has much danger lurking
around the corner; his reading is strong, stern, and I love it.  Preston
is subdued and light with less vibrancy than Saorgin; this isn't Preston
at his best.  BWV 613 would have played right into the strengths of Zerer,
but he downplays the power in the music.  However, unlike Preston, Zerer
does create a little sinister activity.  Jacob and Rogg are fairly similar
to Zerer.  Saorgin is my 'main man' for this music.

BWV 614 - This arrangement conveys dark and heavy emotional themes.  I
feel that Rogg and Saorgin overdo the heavy component with overbearing
atmospheres that dampen emotional breadth.  Zerer's reading, although not
lacking for darkness, is more transparent than Rogg or Saorgin; that's all
to the good.  Preston also possesses fine transparency and conveys greater
poignancy than Zerer.  Jacob's interpretation is superb.  The slowest of
the five, his transparency is excellent and his themes well nuanced.  At a
very slow tempo, Jacob savors the dark life and invests it with nobility
and tenderness.

BWV 615 - Joy filled and patriotic, this is one of Bach's most majestic
organ pieces.  The blending of a four-note motif with constant swirling of
notes and chords creates a surge of adrenalin in this listener; I almost
feel like saluting.

Zerer, Preston, and Saorgin need more optimism; they're too dark for this
music, and the swirling properties are not sufficiently pronounced.  Both
Jacob and Rogg are infused with joy and give outstanding accounts which
make the piece a great listening experience.

The following two arrangements are for Epiphany:

BWV 616 - Jacob is the opposite of joyful; he's ponderous and flat.
Saorgin, Preston, and Rogg are just as slow as Jacob but provide attractive
rhythms and lift to the music that makes their performances seem much
quicker and more vibrant.  Zerer is about twice as fast as the others and
totally forgettable; it sounds like a run-through of little involvement no
more vibrant than Jacob's performance.

BWV 617 - These are anxious times with restless runs from the tenor
voice and fluctuating quavers from the bass; however, there is still
an optimistic element in the music.  Except for Jacob, each performance
extends to well over 2 minutes; Jacob is at about 1 1/2 minutes with a
reading I find to be quite routine and without sufficient foundation.
Zerer is an improvement, but he again downplays the positive emotional
features.  Preston, Rogg, and Saorgin excellently convey the anxious and
optimistic elements; Rogg and Saorgin are particularly adept at detailing
the runs from the tenor voice.

The next seven arrangements are intended for the Passion:

BWV 618 - This is a great canon having sighing motifs and subtle but
intense sadness and hope from the tenor voice.  Jacob goes from too fast in
BWV 617 to a very slow and ponderous BWV 618; it simply lacks any vitality.
Zerer is just as slow paced as Jacob but has a tenor voice to die for; it's
so vibrant and well projected.  Zerer finally captures the tenderness and
incipient joy in Bach's music; he also delivers a fine level of majesty.
Rogg also is majestic and much faster than Zerer with a vibrancy that can't
be beat; both are superb performances.  Saorgin and Preston are in the
middle of the small pack.

BWV 619 - Descending scales and ceremony play a large role.  Zerer,
who must be on a hot streak, delivers much majesty and optimism.  Jacob,
although no slower than Zerer, is so smooth and flat that he sounds to
be taking forever to finish the piece.  Saorgin, who has an occasional
penchant to darken Bach's music excessively, does so with BWV 619; he's
very slow and melancholy.  The same applies to Preston's ponderous reading.
Rogg brightens up the proceedings some and also provides some ceremony, but
he's way below Zerer's level.  This is Zerer's piece all the way.

Update on Wolfgang Zerer: He's starting to loosen his austere shackles
and get more into Bach's uplifting emotions.  When he succeeds, Zerer is
as good as any other artist in these pieces.  Although Zerer has made up
substantial ground, he's still at the bottom.  I'm sort of rooting for
Zerer, because I feel he has a great deal of potential.  But, when he's
off-base, I won't hesitate to point it out.

BWV 620 - Well, it didn't take long to have to point out a Zerer problem.
It's the usual one of excessive austerity and insufficient lyricism.
Switch to Jacob and there's a consistent hint of hope.  Preston and Rogg
are darker than Jacob, but they are not austere; they are commanding.
Saorgin disappoints with austerity that even overshadows that of Zerer.

BWV 621 - The text concerns Christ's last seven words on the cross.  It
should go without saying that much emotion would be involved, but Preston
and his quick tempo just glide on the music's surface.  Jacob is a little
care-free and Rogg not very expressive.  Zerer is excellent with a very
sad and lovely interpretation.  The version that I favor and also best
represents Christ's last words comes from Saorgin.  His performance has the
most weight but also the most vibrancy and a pleading tone to the melody.

BWV 622 - Possessing one of Bach's most beautiful melodies, the embellished
upper voice supported by swaying and tender middle voices and a strong
foundation is a wonderful creation.  Wolfgang Zerer's slow reading of
ceremony and hope also has a mesmorizing foundation.  At the bottom,
Preston is again quick and surface bound, engaging in short note values
which detract from the music's depth.

BWV 623 - A short and celebratory piece with only Zerer not fully
satisfying; low on majesty and high on joviality, he doesn't give
sufficient weight to the music.  Saorgin is the most ceremonial, Preston is
the most vibrant, and Rogg and Jacob provide tender and uplifting readings.

BWV 624 - Simon Preston is the slow-poke here with a reading over two
minutes; since it's not majestic nor vital, I'll pass.  Saorgin is only
about 20 seconds faster, but he invests the music with urgency and vitality
in an excellent reading.  Rogg trims another ten seconds of the total time
with a very alert and bouncy performance.  Zerer and Jacob cruise along for
just over a minute.  Outside of being speedy and severe, Zerer offers
little and joins Preston as a 'pass' version; Jacob is just speedy and
innocuous.

Now we have six arrangements for Easter.  Uplifting qualities are prevalent
here due to Christ's acscension:

BWV 625 - Zerer and Jacob continue with a quick speed and are joined
by Preston; Rogg and Saorgin maintain their slow regimen.  The music is
dominated by a descending step-by-step motif which also rises up; the
struggle between light and dark is upon us.  Preston is very strong and
certainly captures the struggle and the music's beauty in a severe way.
Zerer can sniff out 'severity' with the best of them; his reading is
similar to Preston's.  Jacob largely removes the severity and is quite
optimistic.  Each of these three quick performances is highly rewarding.

It's back to the relatively dark and severe approach with Saorgin.
His much slower tempo doesn't impact me one way or the other.  I was
hoping that perhaps Rogg would lift the work through greater majesty,
poetry, detail, or something else that's special.  Rogg answers the call
beautifully as he invests the music with a 'reaching out' quality that's
very effective and helped by a little lighter texture than those severe
versions.  Rogg's the one who best depicts the ascension element; actually,
he's the only one of the five to depict it at all.

BWV 626 - This majestic piece has plenty of severity to offer which
is mixed with some magnetic rays of light.  Rogg delivers everything I
could want from the music, a reading of great stature and strength.  In
comparison, Saorgin and Preston are low on majesty and spirit; their quick
tempo likely doesn't help matters.  Listening to Jacobs, I wouldn't have
any idea that there's important events going on; he takes all the bite out
of the music.  Zerer could have been colossal in this work, but he goes too
fast and with little angst.  Lionel Rogg has no competitors in this group.

BWV 627 - This arrangement has three sections with separate but related
motifs.  The first section has a syncopated rhythm, the second is flowing
and legato, and the third section is highly ceremonial and swaying.
Saorgin isn't significantly faster than the other versions, but he gives
that impression; the third section sounds particularly rushed and a little
raucous.  The other four performances are excellent with Rogg having the
edge for his majestic third section; again, he stretches the music upward.

BWV 628 - This piece has me thinking of Christ swirling upward toward
heaven.  Preston is so fast and lacking grace that the picture of Christ's
ascension is not a pretty one.  This time it's Saorgin, not Rogg, who best
conveys the 'reaching out' element of the music.

BWV 629 - Majestic and uplifiting music that still possesses plenty of
bite.  Saorgin is wonderful; his phrasing is sharp and loses none of the
music's poetry.  Speaking of poetry, Preston conveys little of it in a
severe reading which would do Zerer proud.  As it happens, Zerer keeps the
severity to a minimum with a very effective performance which I find a
little too smooth.  Rogg is also low on angularity.  I wouldn't expect much
angularity or bite from Jacob and he gives little in BWV 629.

BWV 630 - A highly legato reading of a spiritually uplifting nature is just
the ticket for this work.  Werner Jacob takes to the music with a strong
addiction; his degree of power is perfect and the swirling sensation is
exceptional.  The theme of the text is the triumph of Christ, and Jacob is
right on target.  Rogg is not on target as his phrasing becomes monotonous;
I feel no triumph from this reading.  Preston, Saorgin, and Zerer are
excellent but can't reach the spirit conveyed by Jacob.

Update: Not a great deal has changed from Part 1.  Rogg continues to
maintain supremacy as he displays no flaws which are habitual.  With a body
of 45 pieces of music, the infrequent problems win the day.  Of course,
Rogg is not just about a lack of negatives.  His rhythmic vitality and way
with Bach's swirling music is infectious.

Preston has lost much ground.  He has been displaying a penchant for
severity and heavy textures which are not strong areas for him.  Saorgin is
faring very well; outside of some tendencies for excessive darkness and the
occasional raucous approach, he's been as good as Rogg.  Jacob, although he
was superb in BWV 630, tends to deliver insufficient bite which gets old
over time.  Zerer's regimen of severity fades now and then, but he just
can't leave it alone.  I tend to favor relatively strong and severe Bach
on organ, and I'm having some trouble with Wolfgang Zerer.  So, I have
to assume that most folks would not take well to his interpretations.

Don Satz
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