Ricercare – Bach in Lövstabruk

The Johan Niclas Cahman instrument at Lövstabruk Church, 130 km north of Stockholm, is one of the organ world’s best-kept secrets. Footprint is proud to release this recording from the multi prize-winning organist Christina García Banegas, who plays works by Johann Sebastian Bach on this magnificent instrument organ built in 1728, just as the composer reached the peak of his powers.

Banegas’s album presents a fulsome and revealing snapshot of Bach the organist-composer, from the gravitas of his Prelude and Fugue in F Minor BWV 534 with its stern five-voice fugue, to the touching simplicity of his strophic variations on Lutheran chorale tunes BWV766. We also hear the fourth of Bach’s Trio Sonatas – works of which the composer’s first biographer Forkel claimed ‘it is impossible to say enough of their beauty,’– and un fathomably inventive Ricercar à 3 BWV 1079/1, from which the album takes its name.

In his time, Cahman was unrivalled among Swedish organ builders. The instrument at Lövstabruk is the best preserved example of his work and a masterpiece of high-baroque organ design. After a full restoration in 2006, its sound is forthright yet sensitive, its heavy mechanical action a test for organists but a delight for listeners with sensitive ears who relish the mechanics of baroque organs as much as that of Bach’s music.

Christina García Banegas studied with the legendary French organist Marie-Claire Alain. She has conducted Bach’s choral works and served on the jury at multiple organ competitions, while occupying the organ chair at the University School of Music in Uruguay. She brings her wealth of experience to these performances, as well as interpretative flair, impeccable technique and a sensitivity to both music and machine that bring the best from both.