Marek Toporowski - Köhler: Organ Works (2021)

Ernst Köhler numbers among the representatives of the so-called Wroclaw organ school from the first half of the 19th century; this group of composers, whose œuvre combines respect for the contrapuntal refinement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music with the emotional aspects of the new Romantic trends and also heralds an apogee of synthesis; the most perfect embodiment of which was the organ and cantata-oratorio œuvre of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. A certain stylistic conservatism and established opinion concerning the crisis in organ music during the first half of the 19th century is perhaps responsible for the relatively rare performance of works by such composers as Adolph Hesse, Moritz Brosig and Ernst Köhler, the latter of whom is without doubt the least-known figure among the three names mentioned.

Tracklist
1. Prelude & Fugue in F Major (05:39)
2. Einleitung (After C.H. Graun‘s Tod Jesu, Op. 15) (07:09)
3. Fantasie "Hallelujah" (After G.F. Handel's Messiah, HWV 56) (09:03)
4. Wie schön leuchtet‘ uns (03:15)
5. Prelude in A Minor "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen" (02:17)
6. Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (03:42)
7. Fantasie "Amen" (After G.F. Handel's Messiah, HWV 56) (06:16)
8. Variationen über die österreichische Volkshymne (14:07)
9. Prelude & Fugue in E Major (04:57)
10. Prelude in A Minor, Op. 68 No. 2 "Trauerfeierlichkeit" (04:24)
11. Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes aus der Schöpfung von Josef Haydn (07:38)
12. Prelude in D Major "Festlichkeit" (01:56)