COMPOSERS: Knecht
LABELS: Dabringhaus und Grimm
WORKS: Die Auferstehung Jesu; Kleines Hoboeconcert
PERFORMER: Franz Raml (organ)
CATALOGUE NO: MDG 614 0764-2
One of the wonders of the organ world, the Gabler organ at Weingarten (completed in 1750) is the perfect instrument for Justin Heinrich Knecht’s music. Besides his famous programmatic representation of Christ’s resurrection, Die Auferstehung Jesu, this engaging disc contains a cross-section of Knecht’s mainly pedagogical works, covering most of the categories of composition – ancient and modern, serious and spirited – with which Knecht thought the well-informed organist should be familiar.
Franz Raml is an able interpreter of Knecht’s ‘syllabus’, and is fully aware of the magnificent resources at his disposal. None can become weary of the colours of this instrument, and Raml works hard in this respect to sustain interest in Knecht’s familiar language and sentiments. Some of the faster tempi are a little counter-productive given the acoustics, but the sensational histrionics of the Auferstehung and the beauty of the Kleines Hoboeconcert make this disc an enjoyable experience. Andrew McCrea