Family Reunion
The grand Arp Schnitger organ in St. Jacobi (Church of St. James) in Hamburg is remarkable in several respects. This instrument with four manuals boasts of the largest extant inventory of original pipes from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the Trompete 16’ in the great organ is the very oldest of its kind. Harald Vogel, the Nestor of the Northern German organ tradition and the recent recipient of the Buxtehude Prize of the Hansa City of Lübeck, presents this magnificently restored organ in conjunction with an unusual Hamburg “family reunion.”

Hamburg Generations
Hieronymus and Jacob Praetorius, Joachim Decker, Matthias Weckmann, Heinrich Scheidemann, and Dietrich Buxtehude – they all were closely associated with St. Jacobi and its organ and stood for the towering significance of Hamburg’s music culture over several generations. And, as luck would have it, Arp Schnitger, certainly the most important organ builder of the Northern German school, refrained from renovating some qualitatively superb stops by his predecessors Scherer and Fritzsche. Consequently, the development of the Northern German style can also be traced with special authenticity in the sound dimension.

Italian Innovations
And this style learned important new lessons first and foremost from Italy. Hieronymus Praetorius had introduced Venetian polychorality in Hamburg already around 1600, and alternating playing on more than one manual of course perfectly corresponded to this style. Dietrich Buxtehude, the youngster in our illustrious succession, later combined this tradition with the highly virtuosic toccata, it too an Italian import. However, simultaneous playing on various organ divisions also profited from the special stop colors of the St. Jacobi organ – as the chorale settings by Jacob Praetorius and Matthias Weckmann very impressively demonstrate.

Full Color
From individual flue stops to Schnitger’s famous reed-based plenum, from the Cornet 2’ to the Posaune 32’’, Harald Vogel presents a bonus featuring numerous examples of the special tone-color richness of this extraordinary instrument. Knowledgeable commentaries introduce us to the fascinating world of an organ sound that has developed over the centuries while preserving a valuable tradition. This is the way things always should be: learning with pleasure!

Dieterich Buxtehude (1637–1707)
Praeludium ex C (BuxWV137)

Hieronymus Praetorius (1560–1629)
Hymnus: Te lucis ante terminum
1. Versus (C.f. im Discant und Bass)
2. Versus sopra 2 Clavier

Joachim Decker (c.1565-1611)
Vater unser im Himmelreich
aus: Hamburger Melodeyen Gesangbuch (1604)

Jacob Praetorius (1586–1651)
Vater unser im Himmelreich
1. Versus Manualiter a 4
2. Versus a 3
3. Versus
4. Versus Pedaliter
5. Versus a 3 auff 2 Clav:
6. Versus auff 2 Clavier Pedaliter
7. Versus Pedaliter

Matthias Weckmann (1616–1674)
Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet
Primus Versus - Choralfantasie

Heinrich Scheidemann (1595–1663)
Praeambulum ex C
Praeambulum ex d

Harald Vogel
Registervorführung
(Improvisationen)

Harald Vogel
Arp Schnitger Organ St. Jacobi Hamburg