By Christine Facciolo
Organist/composer
David Schelat explored the Baroque and beyond Saturday, October 14, kicking off a brand new
season of Market Street Music at First & Central Presbyterian Church on
Rodney Square in Wilmington.
Schelat’s
program traced J.S. Bach’s steps back to his admirer Dietrich Buxtehude then
forward to his “rescuer” Felix
Mendelssohn as well as offering a sampling of Bach himself.
The
first half of the program featured three Baroque “Bs”: Bruhns, Buxtehude and
Bach. Their work spanned the years 1664-1750, a time when north German
mercantile trade funded both composers and construction of pipe organs on
increasingly grander scales.
The
music of this period was largely improvisatory and known as stylus fantasticus,
characterized by short contrasting episodes and free form. Bruhns’ Praeludium
in E Minor exemplifies this style and Schelat delivered it with insight and
intelligence, maintaining the thematic material clearly while providing
auditory interest in the repeated ornamentation with a variety of colorful
registrations.
Buxtehude’s O Morning Star, how fair and bright (Wie
schon leuchtet der Morgenstern) again showed Schelat’s expertise with the
articulation of Baroque musical gestures.
Bach
received his due with a rendering of the Prelude and Fugue in G Major (BWV 541)
that was both meaty and full of energy. Tucked between them was the melodic
simplicity of the chorale prelude Blessed Jesus, we are here (Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (BWV 730).
From
Spain came Juan Cabanilles’ Corrente Italiana, a mixture of Renaissance and
Baroque. Schelat added a subtle touch of percussion to good effect.
There
were more surprises following intermission, including an organ sonata by C.P.E.
Bach, J.S. Bach’s second surviving son. Although much better known for his
harpsichord works, Bach did produce six organ sonatas on commission from
Princess Anna Amalia, sister of his then employer, King Frederick the Great of
Prussia. The writing is for manuals only, because the Princess
was — reportedly — unable to play the pedals.
Schelat
offered an effervescent rendering of the Sonata No. 5 in D Major (Wq70),
indulging in much hopping between the two manuals — and adding a bit of pedal — to
create a sheer delight for the ear.
Another
pleasant surprise came with a performance of the Andante sostenuto from Charles-Marie Widor’s Symphonie Gothique. This sweet, meditative piece allowed Schelat to
reveal a whole other side to a composer better known for the pyrotechnics of
his Toccata in a work we rarely get
to hear.
The
program concluded with a performance of Mendelssohn’s Sonata in B-Flat Major.
Mendelssohn had a great love for Bach and played a major role in his revival. While
this music is Romantic in its approach, it displays a certain restraint which
is very appealing. Schelat obviously loves this music and that affection came
through in this assured and sensitive delivery.
Schelat
reached into his own catalog for an encore with a performance of Kokopelli, a whimsical piece dedicated to the flute-playing trickster deity who represents
the spirit of music and who presides over childbirth and agriculture. Schelat wrote
the piece for the Fred J. Cooper Organ
Book, which was commissioned by the Philadelphia chapter of The American
Guild of Organists to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the organ in
the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall.