There is only one chorale for Pentecost:

BWV 631 - This bubbly and rhytmically alert piece is the model for the
Leipzig Chorale BWV 667.  The quavers from the pedal on unaccented beats
give the music a wonderful contrast to the bounce of the upper voices.

Zerer isn't very concerned about the bouncing aspects of the music; his
slow reading keys on power.  Personally, I find it too thick in texture.
Preston is light with great spring and optimism.  Although heavier than
Preston, Saorgin is not in Zerer's thick category; the result is a reading
of stature and magnificence.  Jacob is equally fine with quick and
exhilarating reading similar to Preston's.  Rogg's is the slowest
performance but has abundant stature and is quite uplifting.  Overall,
only Zerer misses the mark; there's neither adequate bounce nor optimism.

BWV 632 & 633/634 are 'Service' pieces.  BWV 632 is smoothly flowing music
with much imitation in the soprano and bass; its mood is deeply felt joy
and satisfaction.  Rogg is wonderful; his flow makes the music a gorgeous
creation of strong spirituality.  Preston is on the quick side with some
loss of depth of emotion; also, his flow has none of the mesmorizing
qualities of Rogg's.  Jacob is also quick, but he provides more weight and
a smoother flow than Preston.  Zerer's reading never gets off the ground;
it has a precious quality and Zerer has little ability to deal with a trait
that miles away from his strengths.  Saorgin's performance is quite nice
with a fine flow.  This is Rogg's music thoroughly.

BWV 633/634 - BWV 634 is the original, although I can tell little
difference between them.  This chorale is one of the most loved and
recorded of the pieces comprising the Orgelbuchlein.  To say it's gorgeous
music would be an injustice, but none of the five versions is among my
favorites.  Rogg and Zerer don't come nearly close enough to the music's
core; they seem to just go through the motions.  Saorgin and the very slow
Preston are at a higher level; Jacob reaches excellence.  However, the work
can pierce the heart and even Jacob doesn't do that.

The next four arrangements are of catechism hymns:

BWV 635 - Befitting a text concerning the ten commandments, the lower
voices beat the commandments into the listener.  The music has at least a
fair degree of severity, but Preston is entirely benign.  Zerer invests the
piece with strong bite, and he's a winner when it comes to severity.  The
only problem is that Zerer is not highly musical.  That's a problem easily
solved by Jacob, Rogg, and Saorgin who retain sufficient severity and also
give the music a supreme majesty.

BWV 636 - An adoration to God, the music has a 'reach out and touch
someone' quality.  Rogg is on the slow side and uses a thick legato which
I don't appreciate; it sounds cloying and undignified.  Preston and Saorgin
are way too oppressive and no better than Rogg; both seem to want to 'reach
out and club someone'.  Jacob has a lighter touch which is preferable;
still, his level of smoothness is a little syrupy.  Zerer hits the spot
with some angularity and life.  Unlike his uusual regimen, here he keeps
the severity to a minumum.

BWV 637 - Not an upbeat piece, the text concerns Adam's fall, Eve's
duplicity, and the serpent's triumph.  Bach is likely highly symbolic
with the falling sevenths from the pedal representing Adam's fall and the
circulating middle voices being the serpent.  Bach has Adam going down
continuously - not the best that humans have to offer.

There's a major difference between Zerer and Rogg.  Zerer, although severe,
is rather subdued while Rogg treats the event in the Garden Of Eden with a
strength that would carry well in Madison Square Garden in New York City -
the main event.  Jacobs is quick with sufficient bite.  Preston is on the
thick side, but the music well accomodates his heavy texture.  The four
versions are effective.  I prefer Saorgin who possesses plenty of strength
with better detail of the individual lines and some interesting and bouyant
registrations.

BWV 638 - Salvation is upon us, and victory is at hand.  Bach's music is
strong, confident, and brash as the pedal's bass exuberantly moves forward.
I love Zerer's performance; it's the epitome of vitality, angularity, and
high self-esteem.  Also he highlights the tug and pull rhythm of the piece.
With Zerer, there's no doubt that salvation is 'now'.  Jacob provides a
high degree of joy, but his typical legato makes his performance less
effective and more benign than Zerer's.  Saorgin is even more benign than
Jacob; not possessing Jacob's joyful nature, the smooth performance doesn't
exhibit much emotion.  Rogg is on the slow side and not very animated.
Preston finally wakes up on the right side of the bed; he's quite angular
and displays the same *tug and pull* rhythm provided by Zerer.

Now come four chorales dedicated to 'Faith in God':

BWV 639 - A reverential prayer to God, Saorgin gets bogged down in a heavy
dose of gloom and doom.  By having a more vibrant chorale melody line,
Rogg keeps one's interest alive.  Jacob adds another 30 seconds to the
2 1/2 minute performances of Saorgin and Rogg; I'm afraid that this very
slow tempo makes the reading sedentary.  Preston takes the opposite tempo
approach and is too quick and superficial; it doesn't sound like any prayer
I've ever heard.

That brings me to Zerer who is making some fine upward strides as we get
closer to the conclusion of the set.  This time, he easily surpasses his
four competitors and everyone else with a perfectly paced and highly
expressive reading which is reaching out for God's guidance and love.

BWV 640 - Much more active and fast than the previous chorale, BWV 640 does
retain the reaching out characteristics of BWV 639.  Surprisingly, Zerer
eschews all sharpness, sounding a little like Jacob usually does.  However,
the 'reaching out' aspect is strong.  Speaking of Jacob, he's actually more
angular in this piece than Zerer athough no more effective.  Rogg applies
a staccato approach which works decently; it does have a slightly frivolous
effect.  Preston essentially uses the same tempo here as he does in BWV
639; the result is no contrast at all.  Saorgin is even slower than
Preston.  Overall, there is no gold in these hills.

BWV 641 - The circulating and embellished soprano voice carries this
gorgeous and heart-felt music.  Saorgin is suffciently slow at about 2
minutes; Jacob extends the music almost another minute in a reading that
hardly moves.  Preston is on the quick side but completely reverential;
it's a fine performance with abundant depth.  Rogg is equally excellent
with a strongly projected soprano voice.  Zerer, although faster than
Jacob, seems to plod his way through the piece as his embellished soprano
voice is too recessed; I'd say that his balances are out of sync.

BWV 642 - Dealing with the satisfaction of leaving all power to God, the
music is strenuous, energetic, and very optimistic.  That's the case unless
you're listening to the slowish Lionel Rogg who supplies low energy and
optimism in a heavily legato haze.  Although Jacob is as slow as Rogg, he's
much more optimistic and reaching for something better.  Zerer is certainly
energetic and bouncy but misses some of the music's poetry; he's more
strenuous than optimistic.  Preston has the energy, bounce, and optimism
in his hands.  The version I favor comes from Saorgin who has bounce and
energy at high levels; what puts him over the top is that his reading is
the most muscular I know without any loss of lyricism.

The last two chorales deal with death and eternity:

BWV 643 - "All people must die" is the theme of the text to this chorale
arrangement.  However, it isn't a gloomy statement of resignation but a
milestone on the way to eternity.  One of the phrases in the text mentions
the "great splendour offered to the pious".  Splendour is the last thing
one would think of when listening to Preston's slow and gloomy performance.
Jacob is as slow as Preston but carries great optimsim.  Rogg, Zerer, and
Saorgin are exceptional.  Both Rogg and Zerer make the most of the constant
sharps in the middle voices, and Saorgin takes the majestic approach I love
so much.

BWV 644 - Bach's Orgelbuchlein concludes with discreet but optimistic and
driving piece whose text is about the transitory nature of life.  In the
order of things, Zerer is the preferred version; his is the only one which
has great drive and the added advantage of some strong angularity.  At the
other end, Saorgin goes back to his dark approach and delivers a totally
'downer' ending to the set.

Summary: None of the sets is unworthy of your consideration.  I find
Lionel Rogg the best of the five.  First, he diplays no flaws which keep
coming back with regularity.  Generally, his rhythmic flow is exceptional,
and he has no problems delving into the core of the chorales.

Second on the list is Rene Saorgin.  Many of his performances are superior
and often involve the heroic approach I always fall for.  What keeps him
back from Rogg's level is a tendency for dark readings which sometimes do
not mesh well with Bach's music.

Third is Wolfgang Zerer who rose significantly with the latter chorales.
When the man is 'on', he is magnificent.  However, his shortcoming is a
penchant for severe readings which can miss the thrust of the music.

Simon Preston and Werner Jacob hold up the rear.  Preston does have a
particular style in the beginning chorales: light and vibrant.  But he's
not content to stay there as he goes on a merry-go-round of different
approaches which often are unmusical and/or wrong-headed.  Jacob maintains
the same style throughout the set: smooth readings which either hit the
spot with majesty or die on the vine with lack of vitality.

The way I look at it, I can't have the best of every chorale without
keeping these five versions and a few others as well.  For those who only
desire a very limited number of versions, Rogg and Saorgin are the best
bets.  Listeners who like 'smoothness' more than I do will likely have
greater appreciation for the Jacob set.  If angularity and severity is the
prevailing disposition, grab Zerer immediately.  Preston is more for those
who don't really have a center of gravity, or perhaps for individuals of a
highly eclectic bent.

Don Satz
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