For those who revere JS Bach’s music, especially his organ works, an understanding of its antecedents is essential. Although his pilgrimage to hear Buxtehude in Lübeck is well documented, one should not overlook the importance of Bach’s earlier, teenage studies in Lüneberg with the organist Georg Böhm (1661-1733). CPE Bach, writing to Forkel in 1775, claimed his father loved Böhm’s music. Evidence of a close association emerged in 2006 with the discovery of the earliest known Bach autographs, one of which is a copy of Reincken’s chorale fantasia An Wasserflüssen Babylon signed ‘Il Fine â Dom Georg: Böhme descriptum ao 1700 Lunaburgi’. Later, in 1727, Bach named Böhm as his northern agent for the sale of the second and third keyboard Partitas.

Böhm’s reputation rests squarely on his development of the chorale partita into a sophisticated variation form, models of which are included here and clearly influenced Bach. The same applies to the hefty and free-flowing Praeludium in C which opens this disc. However, its sheer solidity becomes a little wearying at times. The main criticism to be levelled at Böhm’s music is, sadly, that it lacks flair, with few audaciously hair-raising harmonic moments to prick up one’s ears.

However, Bernard Foccroulle does his very best to put over this sturdy music with plenty of refreshing choices of registration, especially in the partita on Auf meinen lieben Gott. The recorded balance of the Van Hagerbeer organ in the church of St Laurence in Alkmaar is revealingly close.