Pietro Paganini - Ach, was ist doch unser Leben? Organ works

The debut album from a distinguished pupil of Ton Koopman. Pietro Paganini has selected pieces by J S Bach with a wide range of characters, Toccata, Fugue, Trio and Chorale, to convey the whole spectrum of the composer's organ creativity. Paganini plays a historical organ, built by Mueller in the Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, in 1734.

Strangely enough, original handwritten copies (autograph manuscripts) of Bach's compositions for his most noble instrument are extremely rare; the majority of his organ works have been preserved in later copies, whereby it is uncertain who the author is. This is the reason why an extraordinarily large number of organ works have survived under Bach's name, which remains a challenge for researchers to this day. This album presents three large and undoubtedly genuine compositions. In addition, it presents some of Bach's doubtful and spurious works, which were already attributed to him in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

By using an original organ (Mueller, 1734, in the Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam) and a performance asesthetic based on historically informed choices of registration, touch, articulation and ornamentation - all magical details of Bach's music shine through.