Four works written between 1899 and 1901 show how far Max Reger opens out the expressive possibilities of the organ. The first volume of the complete edition ranges from the concentrated layout of the Introduction und Passacaglia in d-Moll to the changing states of sound in the Symphonische Phantasie und Fuge. Martin Schmeding plays the large Wilhelm Sauer organ of Bremen Cathedral, whose four manuals and manifold stop combinations give this music a sonic foundation at once supple and load-bearing.
In the Phantasie und Fuge über B-A-C-H op. 46, the four notes are far more than a signature. Their chromatic tension sets harmonic and melodic developments in motion; the motif returns in changing shapes, gathers density and drives the climaxes forward. The calm, cantabile opening of the fugue is followed by a more animated subject in quavers. As the two subjects are combined and the tempo gradually quickens, the music grows back into the power of the opening chords.
The Introduction und Passacaglia WoO IV/6 gathers related forces into a smaller space. In the introduction, a lyrical passage in several parts interrupts the striking blocks of chords. The passacaglia then begins with the unaccompanied bass subject. Above its recurring course the movement thickens into octave runs and pedal trills: an unchanging point of departure carries a continually changing shape of sound.
The Symphonische Phantasie und Fuge op. 57 unfolds a different, more abrupt dramaturgy. Dante’s Inferno provided the impulse; no fixed plot is bound up with it. Short sections, abrupt changes of registration and great crescendos meet a slow middle section marked by chromatic sighing figures. Out of a lively main subject and a lyrical countersubject the fugue develops four clearly distinguished sections. Symphonic thinking thus takes shape within the contrapuntal form.
The Zweite Sonate in d-Moll op. 60 follows with a more strongly articulated layout. Behind the title Improvisation stands a first movement with contrasting subjects and their development. In the Invocation the cantabile solo voice leads through harmonic tensions and a great climax to the chorale Vom Himmel hoch. The finale joins a scherzo-like introduction to an energetic fugue.
The programme demands a long breath in the shaping of form and close attention to the individual voices and changes of colour. The Sauer organ, built in 1894 and enlarged in 1905, offers a spectrum for this that ranges from flute and string stops to powerful reeds. The DSD recording is available in stereo, 5.0 surround and as 3D binaural stereo for headphones. Alongside the movement within the writing, Bremen Cathedral thus becomes part of the listening as a resonating space.