Bach - Prelude and fugue in B minor BWV 544 - Te Lindert | Netherlands Bach Society

This Prelude and fuga in B minor, performed by Elske te Lindert for All of Bach, may have premiered by Bach in St Paul’s Church in Leipzig. That is where, on 17 October 1727, the university held a memorial service for the recently departed Queen of Poland. During the ceremony, Bach played the organ himself. He opened with a prelude and ended with a fugue, and although nobody can prove it, it seems highly likely that it was this piece.
Recorded for the project All of Bach on October 2nd 2015 at Bovenkerk, Kampen. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating bit.ly/2uZuMj5.
For the interview with organist Elske te Lindert on the Prelude and fugue in B minor go to • Te Lindert on Bach Pre...
For more information on BWV 544 and this production go to allofbach.com/e...
All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material allofbach.com/en/. For concert dates and further information go to www.bachvereni....
Elske te Lindert, organist
Organ: Albertus Antoni Hinsz, 1742

[@bach]

0:07 Prelude 5:49 Fuga

[@anna-katharinaherbert4784]

Wunderschön und kraftvoll interpretiert, ich liebe dieses Werk sehr und es ist ein absoluter Hörgenuß, very well done 🎉🎉🎉

[@rgkd1951]

To all the nay-sayers and critics out there, having played this organ myself I can tell you IMHO that Elske's chosen tempo, choice of registration and semi-detached articulation are absolutely perfect for this space - she is playing the room. This is a tour de force of technique and concentration and should be appreciated as such.

[@robp2253]

This is a magnificent performance. The tempo seems perfection to me. Bach is Bach.

[@guyherter5286]

Toujours aussi beau, plus admiration profonde pour la technique, 2 mains et deux pieds, c'est ça l'Art. Merci

[@grahaml6668]

I agree, rgkd1951. Having visited a few times and played here (poorly, I might add) two things stand out: 1)The key action is rather "brisk" -- it takes good effort on the key, especially when coupled, and you can see that in the closeups of her fingers working hard. 2)The acoustic is marvelous. Listen to the decay at the end of the Prelude. If you play this work on this organ in this room in a legato style, the voices will just mush together. Likewise, I expect that this style in a dry acoustic would lack all character. Perfect tempo considering all the factors.

[@hugoclarke3284]

@@grahaml6668 I guess the way I'd put it is, this piece can have this tremendous weight to it that can only be achieved at a slower tempo (and it is a funeral piece). Obviously, Elske's technique is flawless; the crisp precision of her playing makes me imagine the Master at the keyboard himself.

[@timotheospetros]

Yes, I agree, tempo is perfect … when playback speed is set to 0.75 :)

[@MatthewChapmanSTL]

One of my absolute favorites. I studied this in college. Elske's performance gives me chills: so clean, so clear, and so full of drama! She absolutely nails it. Absolutely.

[@seven8n235]

This is one that I have never heard, new music to my ears! Wonderful. This is why ...ALL of Bach .

[@epincion]

Bravo Mme te Lindert. I enjoyed this very much and especially because you played an instrument that very much is of the sound-world of JS Bach. I have read a number of comments below which are critical of the tempo and style but to me it comes down to personal taste mostly. After all, none of us heard JSB himself play, and he left no detailed instructions, and we do not have records from writings of contemporary listeners when JSB performed. I'm just grateful that the Netherlands Bach Society has undertaken this project and that this recording exists. Thank You.

[@tyyoung3698]

This is a stunning performance and beautifully recorded. Well done, friends!

[@chriscarson2547]

What a grand performance of a great piece on a wonderful and historic instrument. Much obliged to het Netherlands Bach Society. Kudos to Ms. te Lindert.

[@late8641]

This is without question my favourite organ piece ever composed. It is as much a pleasure to listen as it is to play.

[@MarkHarmer]

Glorious playing and just perfect for the piece and the acoustic. Her phrasing makes this come alive and I was transfixed from start to finish. One I’ll be returning to again and again. Bravo!

[@ru99414]

Wow that prelude is just so beautifully played I could spend a whole evening talking about it. There are so many fine details in the manner of how this prelude can be played, and preferences that will always be a little different by influences. The timing of not only the note values, but of the phrases, articulation and tempo is one of the most satisfying I've heard from a organ in a while. I'm not often that hung up on the actual performance more than the piece, but she surprisingly got my fullest attention after a few bars, and I think she deserves honor after clearly making a grand effort of an interpretation with so many details in a prelude, that is refreshing and inspirational to hear; I wouldn't be surprised if this could hold as a textbook example in playing Bach

[@thomasduval7019]

Magnifique 😍 Merci beaucoup ! Je suis un admirateur français de vos vidéos ! Ne vous arrêtez jamais 👌

[@late8641]

What a stunning piece and a most brilliant interpretation. Listening to this piece feels like being in the presence of an unmatched genius that Bach is.

[@harryjoseph1802]

The Netherlands Bach Society is to be lauded for it's painstaking compilation of All of Bach in the audio visual format. Kudos to the fine artists it has garnered for this purpose. This rendering of the BWV 544 stands with some of the best I've heard so far. What human activity can rival this flawless performance? Bouquets for Ms. Elkse Te.

[@gaiuswilson6351]

Absolutely fantastic, love everything about this piece and the way you play it! Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant! Keep playing forever!

[@LABratschist]

I love the articulation and phrasing. Sometimes this and other organ works are muddy and voices get lost. Here each voice is clear. What a fine organist!

[@martinvoogd5723]

Wat een overtuigend mooie uitvoering van dit complexe werk. Tempo, articulatie, spelen met de ruimte komen allemaal samen en op de juiste plek. Het straalt rust uit. De zinnen worden helemaal uitgespeeld en en je hoort de ademhaling tussen de zinnen. Ik vind deze uitvoering helemaal top!!!

[@russedav5]

Google: What a convincingly beautiful performance of this complex work. Tempo, articulation, playing with space all come together and in the right place. It radiates tranquility. The sentences are played out completely and you hear breathing between the sentences. I absolutely love this version!!!

[@holmespianotuning]

I like the energy in this performance it seems very appropriate. Unfortunately the piece is often played slowly, molto legato and with unsuitable romantic sentiments. Bravo!

[@teunis37]

Why the comments it’s played too fast...It felt ‘right’ to me, tempo and all! Masterfully done, thank you for that treat 😊

[@ednimed8034]

I would guess some people don't know metronome did not exist at the time;-) or worst: maybe some want to (re)impose some academic rules not relevant for Baroque music...

[@waking-tokindness5952]

To "teunis37", "Raden Laksamana", et al.: Well, in my KZbin viewer version's "Settings", I'm able to re-set the tempo; so, setting it down to 75% of "normal" (i.e., to a much more deliberate tempo) makes it sound, to me, even more majestic. (And BTW: A very detached style always seems to help better reveal Bach's magnificent architecture; a legato style, in comparison, tends to make it all seem rather "melted together" .) Finding myself decide the same re tempi, for virtually every rendition of J.S. Bach that I've ever tried slowing down (- a _lot_ of them -), this makes me wonder if JSB's own tempi were, +-all of them, much slower, & at times much _much_ slower, than ours, of his. ----- {Hope no one minds, BTW BTW, that this is almost the same comment that I submitted elsewhere here, re the same issue.}

[@gillianlander3708]

Just discovered this young organist and I'm impressed. True baroque articulation. I know this work well - my fingers and feet itch. Just a tad too fast, but immaculate playing. Clearly the organ has a heavy action when octave couplers are used. Hard work.

[@Airy59]

there are no octave couplers there. Just normal ones.

[@samshearman5251]

Love her intensity and musicality!

[@darthgeige]

This performance is really really really outstanding. Super Duper!!! Any comments can describe the magnificent performance and also the master piece is unbevlibable.

[@goranklaren]

Wonderful! I really enjoy the little faster tempo. It brings a new dimension to a piece that most of us have heard to many times. I don’t know how many students of mine who have played this.... Great performance !

[@marilynoakes5844]

I'd love to hear more attention to Baroque bowing but love the tempo.

[@christopherbarber9351]

Superb performance, clarity and complexity balanced with total commitment to the music!

[@HDougMatsuoka]

A wonderfully vigorous and clear interpretation of perhaps my favorite work by Johann Sebastian Bach, or maybe even of any composer! I’ve always loved the prelude, and often thought the fugue was somewhat less, musically speaking. This interpretation finally “makes sense” of the fugue and makes the Prelude and Fugue a single coherent work. Kudos also to the recording crew where an empty church must make for a challenging environment!

[@geiryvindeskeland7208]

H. Doug, I am sorry for my inadequate English. If this BWV is your favorite organ work, I want you to listen to A. Newman's performance of the Preludium. Choose the harpsichord version, not the organ, the organ sounds awful! I believe that Newman in the Preludium is closer to the original style then anybody else, including this well sounded performance. Please tell me what do you think.

[@HDougMatsuoka]

@@geiryvindeskeland7208 Thanks you so much for pointing me to Newman's performance of BWV 544 on the pedal harpsichord. The harpsichord brings certain musical elements out in a way that is quite different from the organ, and Newman's performance of the Prelude is played with the quickness and rhythmic idiosyncracies that made Newman so famous (some would say notorious). Those who are curious can find it here (or by searching "BWV 544 Newman harpsichord"): kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnqZhYCNg8-jkNk

[@dpol123]

Doug, it always amazes me when I encounter a new interpretation that changes the whole work's meaning. This is so crisp, played with intelligent clarity. A new piece has arrived from the past!

[@pollywanda]

Makes me glad to be human.

[@magcreepy4267]

Makes me human to feel glad.

[@angelacooper2661]

If a Bach work (especially organ) is in a minor key like this one in B minor I always listen out for last chord as I notice Picardy Thirds. I am not disappointed, hearing a triumphant B major chord with the crucial D#!

[@prof.m.ottozeeejcdecs9998]

WOW, fabulous! Thank you, Elske te Elske te Lindert & Netherlands Bach Society... what a treat!

[@franciscoantonio4321]

Dios! , Bach nos sigue maravillando hoy y lo hará siempre mientras exista gente hermosa que interprete su obra, gracias.

[@cricciethcastle5077]

I was interested to watch the short video "Te Lindert on Bach Prelude and fugue in B minor BWV 544 | Netherlands Bach Society", where she explains some aspects of these works and her approach to performing them. (I also love the sound of the tracker action which is recorded alongside her comments.) She could well feel bemused by some of the negative comments below, and I do wish that people would not make adverse comments on such a wonderful musician simply because they have different images of their "ideal" performance. They should also bear in mind just how far we have come in the last 70 years as part of the "period instrument movement". I now shudder to think that I was once content to listen to JSB played on the typical English cathedral organ by the typical English cathedral organist. But at that time, I knew no better!

[@jorgeacunadalvit994]

Te envidio sanamente Srta Elske. La disociación entre manos y pies es muy difícil lograrla. Yo nunca pude. Te super felicito y te agradezco muchísimo por haber tocado tan bien. Me llenaste el alma y el espíritu. Sos un ángel. Saludos desde C.A.B.A., Argentina. Soy Jorge Acuña Dalvit. Abogado y Locutor

[@muyu69]

Splendid rendition with dignity and passion. Very fortunate to find this one!

[@seanmarshall7529]

Bravissima..... Amazing the result... Amazing how women have come from the hidden to a position of prominence! Technically wow, but there was a lot of heart. I cannot make any comments similar to rgkd1951! but I've been around for some 50 years too... the times of Walcha, K Richter and others that are gone! you are of the new as T. Koopman I'm counting you in you1.vvL'impegno di questa donna e' esemplare e il risultato esemplare... sono d'avvero in ammirazione!

[@francoislaagel2444]

Merci. This is the best rendition of BWV 544 I know of. I appreciate the (fast) tempo which makes the work of the organ player even more valuable, without removing anything from Bach's original intent. Of course, this is a personal opinion.

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

Why are there people who give this splendid rendition a thumbs down?

[@geiryvindeskeland7208]

Klaus Karbaumer, some people need manual changes, else the music sounds boring. And some others think this performance should be more legato. This is not my opinion, but I still wondering: Is it only Anthony Newman who pay attention to the dots from measure 18?

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

@@geiryvindeskeland7208 I understand, but is it necessary to diminish the virtuosity and obvious musical talent of the performer over this?

[@holmespianotuning]

A great many people prefer romantic performance practise unfortunately.

[@wanderingpalace]

@@holmespianotuning this is most romantic to me No other composeR can rival bach

[@passacaglia28]

Bach was a consumate genus! This is an amazing performance.

[@seanlebas]

This performance took my breath away. Thank you!

[@mrlucasa223]

What a great composition -and a great organist as well. Thank you for uploading this!

[@middelkoop10]

Groots! Een van de beste orgelwerken ooit fantastisch gespeeld op een weergaloos instrument.

[@katbullar]

It requires a great genious to manipulate the harmonies and to manage holding the drama throughout the whole piece... absolutely sublime

[@061mozart123]

What an astounding performance!

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

This performance was clearly intended to show what the piece sounds like, and might have sounded like when new. It is free of any quirks or indulgences of individual taste. Perfect.

[@katrusinka]

Thank you Dearest! So powerful and truly your Bach! I love it! I grew up next to an organist…. Blessings and Thanks again! 🎉

[@PMS1950]

Beautifully poised and thrilling performance. This is, I'm sure, the sound and speed Bach would have loved. The organ is perfect and has surprisingly less resonance than one would expect for such a barn like setting. I imagine the mics were placed quite close to the instrument. This is by far the best performance I've heard to date. (My Nicholas Kynaston recording on the Rieger organ in Clifton cathedral, near Bristol U. K., from the 1970s remains my absolute favourite. Although a smaller instrument, Kynaston achieves the most exciting build up with the fugue. The final addition of the 16ft pedal reed towards the end is spine tingling and perfect). Also noticed your equally accomplished 'assistant' turning the pages - I imagine she was due to perform next.

[@SandInSloMo]

This is an amazing display of skill. The footwork! As a guitarist, you sometimes have to allow the capabilities of your fretting hand to determine the speed at which you play a piece. I'm wondering if the same is true of an organist's feet, and I would imagine that the speed in this piece is right at the limit. Great job!

[@larikipe940]

No, the pedal part does not determine the tempo of the piece; however, in my subjective opinion, I agree with you, this is at the very top of the speed limit for this piece; in fact, I think it's just a little too fast---this quick tempo detracts from the grandeur of the piece. And as far as the major organ works of Bach are concerned, this prelude is actually one of the easier ones to play, it fits very well under the hands. I'm not saying it's easy, but it is not as technically demanding as some of the others. The fugue, on the other hand, is quite difficult in sections, and I thought the tempo she chose for the fugue was perfectly fine.

[@joannescouchet7038]

@@larikipe940 I'm working on the fugue right now, and it's a real jerk! But I like more than the prelude :)

[@teom3711]

Bravissima!! manful performance and not a robot at all, I think Bach will happy to hear this !

[@garnierfacteursdorgues9829]

Superbe découverte, agréable tempo, phrasé et articulation. Une rhétorique affirmée, sans gêne et conquérante sur cet orgue difficile à apprivoiser !. Bravo vous m'avez apporté du plaisir et merci à vous.

[@late8641]

This is my favorite organ piece. Period. I get a hundred goosebumps during this piece.

[@darwinshaver5692]

Best performance ever! Tempo and everything about the playing get no better!

[@markd.falcone8002]

She breathed such great passion into the piece that it came alive in a way I've never heard before..... magnificent performance.

[@michelsauzier1144]

When I listen to JSB, I sometimes - not always - get a glimpse of universal geometry. This performance took me somewhere beyond. Elske te Lindert brings out the incredible life force of this music - which has nothing to do with the romantic Bach of some 20th century organists. And the instrument, as most Dutch organs, is fabulous. From deep down, thank you to the Nederlandse Bachvereniging !

[@alejandromosquerasouto6614]

Oír al genio siempre es algo especial. Fantástica intérprete

[@daucuscarota6602]

Ein kraftvolles Spiel voller Dynamik und Rhythmik. Auch sehr schön, diesen alten Orgelspieltisch mit seinen vielleicht jahrhundertealten, vielfach bespielten Tasten zu sehen ... Danke!

[@patrickmoeyaert6607]

Schitterende uitvoering. Mooi om die concentratie te zien en de volgehouden intensiteit.

[@nelsonwhaley6348]

Yes, superbly energetic, commanding and well paced dynamic performance. Not easy. Fugue taken at a stately pace in contrast. I must dig out Simon Preston's rendition of it to compare! Fantastiche!!

[@giacomonicotra3112]

Elske te Lindert, BRAVA and SPLENDID !!! I see your video for the first, and You have an exceptional temperament and an enviable knowledge of executive practice. Best wishes for Your life and Your musical career.

[@lessismore4470]

No complaints from this listener. More, please.

[@ScoG33]

One of the best and most consistent recordings!

[@MegaFount]

Exquisite! It blows my mind to contemplate that she is playing on an organ that the great composer may have played on himself some three hundred years earlier. That is truly magnificent!

[@timmy9796]

Had to come back here after hearing about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. RIP you will be missed. 😔

[@g.k.failla9389]

Great playing on my favorite Dutch organ. (Also subscribed to the Bovenkerk channel). Notice her laser focus on the sheet music. From Chicago,U.S.A.

[@JohnMcPhersonStrutt]

This is definitely one video I will be coming back to again and again ! !

[@Humble_Electronic_Musician]

I like the tempo 🙂 Very well played!

[@woodbridgeorgan8847]

Mesmerizing...makes me want to learn this piece. Thank you, God bless!!!

[@marilynoakes5844]

Working on it now. :)

[@austingutzke569]

@@marilynoakes5844 I am going to at least buy the score and give it a try. Post an update of how it's going if you want!

[@GaryGP40]

Really nice job! I am learning a 4-dvision Austin myself. The Passacglia and Fugue in c is one I want to master. Thanks for sharing!

[@1stecha1]

Magnificent. Excellent performance.

[@NeilGastonguay]

A magnificent rendition of a magnificent piece. Everything was perfect.

[@james.flores]

Great to hear this instrument and of course the playing is stunning. Would love to own the Hauptwerk sample set. Like if you agree! 😇

[@AnDieMusik2]

I have the Hauptwerk sample set. It is magnificent! I have a way to go before I sound like te Lindert, but there is the challenge...

[@AnDieMusik2]

I notice Milan Digital have this organ on special at half price at the moment. Still a lot of money but probably as good as it is going to get.... www.hauptwerk.com/milandigitalaudio/

[@sinergioathkinsons6382]

this work is the paradigma of baroque spirit and construction.

[@celibaatpiraat6337]

Prachtige muziek dit! Jammer dat jullie geen concerten meer geven, geweldig werk doen jullie!

[@JSB2500]

She doesn't give concerts anymore??

[@Bachforever1704]

A stunning performance, indeed, on this magnificient Hinsz-Orgel in Kampen. Many years ago I studied this piece and was proud to finally play the prelude it in a comparable tempo like this here. Meanwhile I prefer to see this piece a bit more in the mourning, melancholic mood and play it slower (e.g. in the way as Albert Schweitzer did). But I must say, the way it is played here the affect / emotion of "bitterness and anger" is created in a fascinating and breathtaking way. Which is also an element of grief and fits as well to this passionate piece in the "passion key" B minor. The performance of the fugue is for my ears perfect in every respect, (tempo, registration, etc.), a real benchmark 🙂

[@AkiraBergman]

Faster pace brings out more drama, and slower more melancholy. A matter of taste perhaps. I like both.

[@JSB2500]

Me too.

[@MrPeter3011]

fantastic interpretation of that wonderful JSB-piece......

[@Sathrandur]

This is an EXCELLENT performance. Maybe the best I have heard. The articulation is fantastic. I had never considered this sort of tempo and it actually works. Having said that, I personally would still take the fugue more slowly because I like to be more _pesante,_ particularly when the pedal returns (am I the only one who likes to add a 32' reed for the pedal's return?). I am also convinced that they didn't feature here a female organist merely for politically correct reasons, as she brings here an interpretation of considerable substance and is thus truly deserving.

[@RudolfKlusal]

Nicely done, this P&F is really a beast ❤ I played it on my graduation konzert, when I studied organ 🙂

[@LectronCircuits]

Awesome performance! Heavy & Heavenly. Cheers!

[@leonegrossi8141]

Sei bravissima, grande tecnica, e grande interpretazione, è una gioca sentirti

[@1685kawosz]

Bardzo ciekawa interpretacja, brawurowe wykonanie, fascynujące brzmienie instrumentu.

[@antoniomaglione4101]

Compliments for such wonderful execution! The sound of the mechanical organ is, for the listener, like travelling back in time... The response and timings of the sound are the same that Bach experienced himselves. Modern organs, with keyboard using high speed serial communication on fiber optics connections, do respond sometime too fast to the touch, and is not what the author coded in the tempo of his work.

[@barbbirdyard]

Wow. Beautiful and fabulous. I love Bach

[@PAVELARTEMIEVPiano]

Great performance! So difficult fugue! Thank you, dear!

[@journeymancellist9247]

Bach is the voice of God. Somehow he always makes me feel Divine Hope.

[@stephanegermain151]

C'est absolument magnifique!

[@tonysouter8095]

By far the best performance of this work I've heard. I was particularly looking for non-legato semiquaver passages, and she delivered (helped by careful microphone placement-always a challenge in bouyant church acoustics). Quaver and longer notes were cleanly detached on the manuals, and well executed on the pedals, where detached playing can sometimes sound lumpy (the final note on some of the isolated pedal gestures in the fugue could have been cut shorter for crispness-just a personal preference). The agogic treaments marked short- and long-term structural corners beautifully. I say to students: go to this player to learn how to do it!

[@ron88303]

Magnificent! The sound is incredible!

[@adamt4399]

Piękna i uduchowiona muzyka,wykonywana z pasją na dobrym instrumencie w zabytkowym obiekcie i to jest to ☆☆☆☆☆

[@dlwangxiaohu]

The main problem with tempo is that if the prelude and fugue are at the same speed, the former will be too slow and the latter too fast. In view of Ms. Elske te Lindert ’s discussion of the melancholy features in the prelude, which is more notable if a slow temple is choose, but I don’t think it ’s necessary to avoid it. At the same time, this melancholy mood is also easily reminiscent of Bach's other b minor works, such as the violin sonata and the b minor mass. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful performance and interview on this work

[@RIXRADvidz]

instantly, a much better performance than I've seen of the men on these things, the Men are all about dominating the organ through the music, this lady is playing the music through the organ, and it sounds so much more heavenly. Brava!! Brava Brava Brava !!

[@theMusicWellOrg]

This might be a silly Comment, but let's all recall that women were not allowed even to sing in church in JSB's time. The world has come a good, long way. Thank you for your enlightening Comment video, and brilliant rendition, Elska!

[@xbqchm]

This is not true, women WERE allowed to sing in church in Bach's time.

[@farahmohammed1963]

Very beautiful, on all fronts!! Thank you!!🌺

[@toinedini7188]

Great performance on a magnificent organ. I just wonder about tempo and the choice of organo pleno. I was told by one of my organ teacher that Bach wrote this prelude and fugue for funeral of a lady who wasn't married (this would be the reason why Bach used an old german song "no, i don't want to be married" as theme for the fugue) ..... In my opinion, the choice of registration and the tempi are too brilliant for funerals, but your interpretation is splendid !

[@tomofadown]

Life without JSB would be less beautiful. Hats off to this woman. Her interpretation is wonderful

[@francoisplaniol1489]

Wow, a revolutionnary rendering!!!

[@jonathanclinch]

Wow. Wonderful articulation. Pure joy.

[@HenrikBergpianorganist]

Perfect tempo for that prelude!

[@patricemoretti9719]

Tres belle interprétation bravo

[@charlottewhyte9804]

thanks Te,love your playing of this yea

[@sandro1609]

Better than LSD

[@mikeschlomas6920]

A masterwork so beautifully performed. Thank you for posting this!

[@jonasroman627]

Very well played. I have never heard the Prel that fast but in your very skilled hands and clarity in the interpretation that works fine. excellent played!. The fugue is according to my taste a little to ”heavy”, I guess you have 16´from start? and do not change manual in the second part. But ofcourse excellent performed also that. Thanks for this video:_) excellent !

[@t.m.carter4171]

It is now a wonderful morning! :)