Music Reviews : Organist Koopman in Baroque Recital

Sunday afternoon Dutch keyboardist Ton Koopman capped a local stand--he led the L.A. Chamber Orchestra last week--with an invigorating dose of stylistic confidence and bravura in a Baroque organ recital at the Granada Hills Presbyterian Church.

Consider just Bach’s Toccata in D minor, BWV 565. Gone was all suggestion of reverential ritual, horror movie camp or Stokowskian inflation, from the first, trill-extended notes to the active, emphatically unponderous close. Koopman negotiated the labyrinth with speed and clarity, reminding us along the way of what a marvel this piece really is.

The 10-year-old, mechanical action Rosales organ at the church proved a solid instrument for Bach. Koopman did not seem entirely reconciled to the response time of the low pedal, however, in the frequently blurry chorale preludes that preceded the toccata.

Koopman also revealed a full measure of Buxtehude’s quirky fantasy, while missing much of the serious weight in a generous set of that composer’s works. Brightest and best of these nimble offerings was the chorale fantasia on “Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern.”

The organist began with a Spanish group, featuring tientos by Cabanilles and Bruna. This is music that the Rosales organ is least suited to in temperament, but Koopman provided plenty of spice with pungent registrations.

Mass movements by Francois Couperin completed the printed program, again fleet and astonishingly fluid in phrasing. In encore, Koopman played a perky Offertory by Domenico Zipoli.