The Grauhof organ includes a Glockenspiel, a stop that Bach himself seemed to favor, having suggested its addition to the Mühlhausen organ and having it expanded in his Weimar court instrument.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Clavier-Übung III was designed to showcase a stylistically diverse selection of chorale settings, aiming to restore the genre as an art form with expressive range and formal variety.
Composition History
Clavier-Übung III, a collection of keyboard pieces primarily for organists, was announced by Bach's nephew Johann Elias Bach in January 1739 and was expected to be around 80 pages.
Performer Biography
Léon Berben, the organist and harpsichordist on this recording, was the last student of Gustav Leonhardt and has received several awards for his solo recordings on historic instruments.
Instruments
The Grauhof organ, built by N. Treutmann from Magdeburg and completed in 1737, has survived virtually in its original form and is considered Treutmann's greatest work.
Critical Reception
Upon its publication, the Leipzig music theorist Lorenz Christoph Mizler praised Clavier-Übung III, stating that Bach excelled many others in this type of composition and few could imitate him.
Compositional Technique
The collection includes four duets, two-part manualiter compositions in strict counterpoint, which further explore the possibilities of two-part counterpoint that Bach had previously explored in his Inventions.
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