Franz Lehrndorfer, resident organist of the Liebfrauendom (Cathedral of Our Lady) in Munich for more than three decades, must have played the comprehensive portfolio of hymns of praise and thanksgiving very often during mass. But he never allowed tired routine to creep in. On the contrary, the five live recordings on this CD made between 1968 and 1976 are eloquent documents of his untiring search - the driving force behind all improvisation.
Lehrndorfer does not start his search haltingly or meekly but assertively, safe in the knowledge that appetite comes with eating.
"Herr, ich bin dein Eigentum", recorded in the Eisenbarth organ of the St. Heinrichs Kirche (St. Henry's Church) in Fürth, opens with what seems to be a typical fugue à la Lehrndorfer but soon turns out to be a free prelude with loosely interwoven motif blocks. Only after this forceful opening does the actual tune come to the force in ritornello-like figures. A toccata follows with the choral tune in the pedal and finally the inevitable fugue, the formal plan of which had already been determined in his head. But its content is absolutely spontaneous finally culminating in what could be described as a musical colon: the congregation sets in with gusto and you feel reminded of Bach's practice in Arnstädt - although Lehrndorfer does not seem to have confounded the congregation with excessively bold harmonisations.
Surprise definitely is part of the repertoire of Lehrndorfer's improvisations, though. He opens his improvisation on "Lobe den Herren", recorded in the St. Franziskus Xaverius Kirche (St. Francis Xavier Church) in Düsseldorf, with the Latin "Te Deum" and goes on to build the whole first parts from motifs derived from there. Only then follows the tune the audience expects, again to a ritornello registered transparently and rich in overtones.
On this CD we hear the improviser Franz Lehrndorfer three times on the Klais organ in Düsseldorf, and when you listen very carefully you will get the impression that over the years he became more and more familiar with this four-manual instrument and its unusual specification. The motto of his programme is always - unlike that of other guest organists - "German Organ Music". In his third programme in 1972, Lehrndorfer extemporises from works by Bach, Schumann and Reger as well as a world premiere of Günter Bialas on the typically German hymn "Die güldne Sonne" in an absolutely adequate way: from the fanfare of the toccata-like opening to medieval sounding tongue registrations with baroque terracing effects and moderately modern harmonisation and finally the obligatory "Lehrndorfer" fugue.
The improvisation on "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" was recorded in September 1976. It was the conclusion of a duo concert with the trumpet player Rolf Quinque in the Munich Liebfrauendom. They had played a trupet concerto by John Stanley and works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Karl Höller and Jan Koetsier. Lehrndorfer's final improvisation showed his sensitivity and intuition - it guided his audience gently from modern music back to the old world of Protestant church tunes only to conclude in the 20th century anyway.
Matthias Keller
