Claude Debussy: Petite Suite, L.65
Michel Béroff and; Jean-Philippe Collard, piano four-hands
Edvard Grieg: Symphonic Dance No.2, Op.64
Neville Marriner/Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Johann Sebastian Bach: Motet No.6, BWV 230 "Praise the Lord, All Ye Nations"
Helmuth Rilling/Gächinger Kantorei; Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
I love the Grieg, especially performed by the Academy. I'm not so fond of the Bach, although the story is that Mozart was fascinated by his counterpoint. In 1789, Mozart traveled to Leipzig and performed on the organ Bach had played at St. Thomas Church when he was the music director. According to an eyewitness, the German musicologist Johann Friedrich Rochlitz,
"Mozart played without previous announcement and without compensation on the organ of the church of St. Thomas. He played beautifully and artistically before a large audience for about an hour... Doles (Johann Friedrich Doles, a former student of Bach's who had succeeded him as the church’s music director) was utterly delighted with his playing and thought that old Sebastian Bach... had been resurrected. With good taste and with the greatest ease Mozart employed all the arts of harmony and gloriously improvised upon the themes, among others of the chorale 'Jesu, meine Zuversicht'...
"At the instigation of Doles,... the choir surprised Mozart by performing the motet for double choir, 'Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied'... As soon as the choir had sung a few bars, Mozart started; after a few more he exclaimed: 'What is that?' And now his whole soul seemed to be centered in his ears. When the song was ended, he cried out with delight: ‘Now, here is something one can learn from!'"
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