With Bach on the Thielemann Organ

Italian organist plays a German program.

The program of the latest concert at the Trinity-Church (Dreifaltigkeitskirche) in Gräfenhain consisted of pieces from the German Baroque period.
Two years later on nearly the same day, the organist Giorgio Parolini from Villasanta near Milan gave another concert on the historic Thielemann organ. The large audience found his clear and impressive playing convincing.
The concert began with Georg Muffat’s (1653 – 1704) Toccata Septima. The registration was brilliant and clear, the most impressive section in this piece being the great Fugue. In Johann Kaspar Kerll’s (1627 – 1693) “Toccata Quarta Cromatica, con durezze e ligature” influences of the Italian school were experienced: the years Kerll spent studying in Italy were evident in the use of dissonance and suspension (“con durezze e ligature”) in the predominantly chromatic voice-leading, which Parolini contrasted with the monolithic chords of the Toccata.
The majority of the program was devoted to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Obviously Parolini was totally in his element with this composer. This was clear from the very first piece, “Prelude and Fugue” in c minor BWV 549, and was particularly evident in the Fugue. The Partita “Christ, der du bist der helle Tag” BWV 766, with its artful variations, resounded in the colourful stops of the organ.
A quiet and restrained approach to the “Canzona” BWV 588 gave it a completely different character. After this piece two Chorale Preludes were in the program: “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” BWV 653 and “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” BWV 659, both of which Parolini interpreted in a finely differentiated manner, practically inviting the listener to pause and reflect.
The organist achieved a splendid climax with the “Passacaglia” BWV 582. With this work the organist poured a veritable cascade of sound onto the audience, culminating in the powerful final chords. Long and heartfelt applause was the appropriate acknowledgement to Giorgio Parolini for his wonderful concert. In turn the organist acquitted himself with a “Fugue in G Major” by Johann Pachelbel (1653 – 1703), as if to prove that Bach isn´t everything.

Horst Gröner (“Thüringische Landeszeitung”, 29/07/2015)