This is the part of a projected complete recording of Bach's organ works. The common denominator of the series is not a single player but the organ, a 35-stop instrument in unequal temperament and at high pitch (a semitone higher than the modern norm) built in 1991 by the leading 'authenticist' builder in the North German tradition, Jurgen Ahrend. Previous volumes have featured equally authenticist players: Harald Vogel, Jean-Claude Zehnder and Michael Radulescu (the Clavier-Ubung Part 3). Clearly this is intended to be a 'politically correct' project far removed from the more generalized stance of recent, high-profile Bach issues such as those by Simon Preston (DG) for example.
Lorenzo Ghielmi is organist of the spaciously resonant Basilica of San Simpliciano in Milan, and his performances are quite as commanding as the tonal qualities of his instrument: here is a player who can project the inner logic of Bach's forms as compellingly as the surface narrative. The finales of the three Trio Sonatas (Nos. 3, 4 and 5 of Bach's set of six) and the fugues of BWV542 and 537 possess sinewy energy and culmulative power at moderate though resilient tempos. The Fantasia in G minor has real rhetorical bite and the slow movements of the sonatas are graced with a wealth of articulatory detail. Yet, there is also a somewhat dispassionate quality in Ghielmi's playing, most obviously in his rather brusque treatment of pedal lines and I suspect some listeners may feel at times that patrician strength is insufficiently touched by warmth and spontaneity. Nevertheless, these are distinctive performances of scrupulous lucidity and intelligence from a player I certainly want to hear more of. The documentation (which includes specification and registrations) is as clear and informative as the recording quality. '