Organ: Sigfrid Karg-Elert – the suction wind harmonium

With his CD series on the tastenReich label, harmonium artist Lars David Kellner enriches more than just the community of harmonium enthusiasts. He is also offering organists a wealth of inspiration, including the opportunity to expand their repertoire of works by Reger and Karg-Elert and to engage with the subtle, expressive soundscapes of the harmonium in their own performance practice on this chamber music instrument.

Max Reger had been using this instrument, which was popular in its day, since his early years in Weiden and appreciated its potential as a primary medium during the phase of his chorale fantasies beginning in 1898. Performed on the Reger family’s original harmonium, this recording features 12 selected songs (1903) from various operas by Max Reger (Op. 31–62) in arrangements by his father and teacher, Josef, as well as pieces from Max’s collection *Selected Works by Classical and Modern Masters, Arranged for Harmonium* (ca. 1898/99). Lars David Kellner also presents world premiere recordings of organ pieces in Reger’s arrangement for harmonium: Fughette in A minor WoO IV/18, “Invocation”, the 2nd movement from the Sonata in D minor, Op. 60, and the famous Benedictus, Op. 59/9 (...). A major surprise—also recorded for the first time—are the Thirty Little Chorale Preludes, Op. 135a, which, from a methodological perspective, reveal the intimate microcosm of Reger’s musical culture in a quasi-introductory manner: a moving private devotional with Reger on the harmonium!

This must have been the case for Sigfrid Karg-Elert as well, when he performed the “Morning Devotions” live from his apartment for Leipzig Radio. The composer wrote a significant portion of his works for the (pressure wind) art harmonium, which, with its expressive versatility and rich range of registers, came closest to his ideal sound. Nevertheless, the more popular suction wind harmonium continued to be used without compromising compositional standards. In the Impressions, Op. 102, orchestral sound effects unfold with particular vividness, for example in “Fernsicht vor dem Regen” or in “Farben der Frühe.” The Vox humana lends the pieces a warm, vocal timbre and can simultaneously impart a floating lightness to high-pitched ostinatos. The cycle Romantic Pieces, Op. 103, places high demands on the instrument’s disposition, such as on (…) various 16’ stops in the treble and, in particular, on the French horn register, which is used with intense color in “Waldwanderung,” “Einsamer First,” or “Romantisches Tal.” In the Idylls, Op. 104, which build on Operas 102 and 103 in both form and content, the musical impressionist Karg-Elert reveals himself once again: “Sommerfäden” or “Wolken über See” work with expansive sound textures and pronounced chromaticism, creating static atmospheres and subtle tonal nuances.

With his delicately nuanced playing, Lars David Kellner explores every tonal possibility and once again helps restore the artistic reputation of this often-misunderstood instrument.