★★★★✰
Dresden is a city of radiating artistic culture, literature and music. Among many cultural achievements, the city on the Elbe could boast of an extraordinary organ tradition. It is worth remembering that Dresden, as the capital of Saxony, was one of the most important musical centers of its time. Heinrich Schütz spent his entire creative life in Dresden - from 1615 to 1672, educating many generations of composers who had a significant impact on the development of the musical culture of the 17th century. One who created strong base for musical culture of this city was organ builder Gottfried Silbermann, who was eminent organ masters of the late Baroque. He built in Dresden four instruments: the Sophienkirche, Hofkapelle des Residenzschlosses, Frauenkirche and unexampled organ in Katholische Hofkirche, which was the last instrument designed by the master.
The construction of Silberman’s last instrument was completed in 1755, two years after his death by his students and associates Zacharias Hildebrandt and his son Johann Gottfried Hildebrandt. Originally, Silbermann planned 66 registers, eventually the instrument had 47 registers on 3 manuals and pedal and 3000 pipes. In 1944, the organ was hidden in the monastery of St. Marienstern, thanks to which the pipework, the action and the console survived the British bombing of Dresden on February 13, 1945. The organ case was destroyed, carved wood prospectus and big parts of wind supply were lost. In 1963-1971, this monument of organ building has been restored by Jehmlich Company.
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| Herbert Tachezi an der Silbermannorgel vol.1 (1986) |
Exceptional instrument requires great artist who is able not only to present the instrument's unique features, but also can create interpretations of the best works of the era and build a recital adequate to the quality of unique instrument. The Dresden Cathedral Silbermanorgan was recorded many times. One of most significant session took place a year before the 300th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's birth. The Viennese organist Herbert Tachezi (1930-2016), who has recorded a set of works by the great composer on the organ of the Dresden Cathedral. The session was co-produced by two labels from the western and eastern parts of the then divided Germany - Teldec and Eterna. As a result, two albums in Direct Metal Mastering technology were published: in 1985 two LPs were released under the label Teldec (BRD) and a year later under the label Eterna (GDR). Both labels also released CDs - Teldec in 1985 and Eterna in 1989.
The program included a selection of Bach's most famous organ compositions, from the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 to the Passacaglia in C Minor BWV 582. Between these two pillars of the repertoire of each organist, Tachezi placed the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major BWV 552 and Prelude (Fantasy) and Fugue in G Minor BWV 542. This choice may seem too obvious - it contains the most appreciated, most spectacular works in organ literature, but after listening to the album, it turns out to be extremely accurate from an artistic point of view. By linking these works, Tachezi was able to demonstrate the depth and space of the sound of the instrument and the resonance interior in which it was built, while creating a philosophically and aesthetically coherent program. The majestic Prelude in E-flat Major, which, according to Schweitzer, is an image of divine power, and the corresponding triple Fugue, which is a representation of the Holy Trinity, are the only prelude and fugue for organ published by Bach during his lifetime. They form the frame for the third issue of Clavier-Übung - a collection with a clear religious and semantic plan, which is recognized by all significant musicologists writing on Bach's organ literature. As a result, this program allowed Herbert Tachezi to build a narrative presenting a close relationship between the top-class organ building achievement and the metaphysical content of Bach's work. It is hard to imagine a better tribute to the music of the great Leipzig cantor.
