This volume presents a pleasing and satisfying mixture of familiar and unfamiliar works. Some of the pieces may not be by Bach, but that doesn’t matter – it’s all wonderful music!
Bowyer’s straightforward approach to Bach makes for comfortable listening. At all times there’s subtle, unobtrusive articulation which doesn’t draw attention to itself. After hearing the two settings of Von Himmel hoch, or the fugues, one feels that his clear, unaffected playing is preferable to the self-conscious phrasing of other British organists. Also noticeable is the finely judged rubato.
However, some listeners may find Bowyer’s playing too impersonal and restrained. In the Toccata in F sharp minor, for example, one might long for the declamatory flair that a harpsichordist would bring to this dramatic music; or one might wish for a more liberal use of ornamentation. In the C minor Fantasia, BWV562, though, Bowyer shows what he can achieve: expressive ornamentation is plentiful, and the final semiquaver flourish is strongly delivered. One wishes he had been just as responsive to Bach’s imaginative harmonic colouring, but instead we get a rather matter-of-fact performance of the Kleines harmonisches Labyrinth. Also, it’s a pity that his penchant for rapid tempos seriously detracts from the impact of the Fantasia in G, BWV572, the Allabreve in D, BWV589, and the Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV550.
Nevertheless, there is much to enjoy here. The two trio sonatas are beautifully played with excellent pacing and shapely phrasing in pedal lines. The slow movements unfold calmly and naturally, and the outer movements have a lovely buoyant pulse. The D minor Sonata is the less successful of the two, due to some brisk and curt ornamentation in the Adagio and grotesque use of the en chamade Trompet in the last movement. However, I liked the use of notes inegales in the first movement, and I also liked the inventive chorale variations on the second disc. Bowyer evidently enjoyed the Aria variata on CD 1 too; there’s a sense of fun here, which also extends to his informative booklet-notes. As expected, Nimbus’s recording is first-class.'