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MICHEL BOUVARD & FRANÇOIS ESPINASSE
The Sonatina of the ‘Actus tragicus’ Cantata BWV 106 presents a much darker
atmosphere, imbued with a funereal serenity. The grave, flute-like timbres of the
organ faithfully reflect the bare original scoring for two recorders, two bass viols
and continuo, which constitute three identifiable layers of sound.
All these references to the world of the cantatas and their exploration on the organ
bring André Isoir’s undertaking very close to that of Bach himself, in particular
with respect to his chorale transcriptions known as the ‘Schübler’ Chorales, after
the publisher who commissioned and issued them. It was at the end of his life,
in Leipzig, that the Kantor sought an opportunity of transferring to the organ a
number of chorales he had already set in his cantatas, notably in the trio style, with
the hymn tune given prominence through presentation as a cantus firmus.