Pressing On, Radio New Zealand Concert, Sunday 12 December
For his debut recording, Wellington organist Richard Apperley has chosen a most unusual branch of repertoire. Johann Kuhnau was Bach’s predecessor at the St Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, and although his music has been almost totally eclipsed by that of Bach, it seems that he did have some influence on his successor.
Above all of what has survived the centuries, it’s Kuhnau’s keyboard music that is considered to be his most important, and the best known work in this genre is the set of six biblical sonatas, performed either on harpsichord or, as in this recording, on the organ.
To the best of my knowledge, this new CD is the only currently available recording of these works to perform the entire set on organ, and the smaller scale of the organ of St. Paul’s is probably better suited to the essentially intimate nature of the majority of these sonatas than the larger church organ used by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent. Richard Apperley’s performance is both agile and well characterised, and it’s clear that he’s evolved his interpretations over a long period. The recording, produced and engineered by Kyle Macdonald and Reuben Moore, is clear and well-balanced, conveying well the sense of intimacy that these works seem to demand, while also having ample projection for the battle scenes depicted in the First and Fifth Sonatas.
This intriguing recording is apparently the first to appear on the Organism label. It was officially launched at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wellington on December 3rd, and I see that it’s available through Richard Apperley’s website, www.richardapperley.com
Listen to the review, which includes audio samples from the CD here: