François Couperin & Jean-Henri d’Anglebert
Complete works for organ
Julien Tribuot organ,1699, Eglise St Martin, Seurre, Burgundy, France
Metronome Recordings MET 1098 & 1099
American Record Guide Johnstone treats us to some very stylish playing…[he] puts a human face on this music and brings it to life, demonstrating at every turn that he understands it from the inside…One could hardly ask for anything more…There are many recordings of the Couperin masses but I am confident that listeners will not go wrong with this one.
Early Music Review My admiration for James Johnstone’s choice of instrument, disciplined approach to the registration and strict observance of the conventions of rhythm and ornamentation knows no bounds: he plays this repertoire with a detailed knowledge of the style on an appropriate organ that I’ve never heard before in an acoustic that allows the detail and flexible rhythms of his inégales to be appreciated and enjoyed…It is by the fluid rhythms of the recits en taille that I think players of this repertoire – which looks so plain on paper until it is brought to life by a player who has the conventions of late 17th- and early 18th-century French music in his bones – should be judged, and I think Johnstone has it. I particularly value Johnstone’s nose for sniffing out such high-quality, lesser-known instruments.
J S Bach Vol 2
Fantasias, Preludes & Fugues
Raphaëlis organ, 1554-55, Roskilde Cathedral, Denmark
Metronome Recordings MET 1095
BBC Music Magazine [Johnstone] has certainly got quite an ear for organ heaven…His subtle phrasings shadows Bach’s wistful musings, teasing out a wealth of expressive asides….[BWV578] is driven with inexorable clarity lending whirlwind exhilaration.
Choir & Organ Wonderful playing!
Organist’s Review ★★★★★ The pieces heard here have an orchestral excitement to them, and Johnstone’s playing expresses a kind of purity, a luminous clarity of line, which is involving.
Diapason magazine Johnstone shows an completely convincing personality. Radiant yet never showy technique, clarity of the most intricate polyphonies, spontaneous sounding ornamentation…Among the total successes of this recording the BWV 544 Prelude in B minor is a notable example…a noble discourse, perfectly placed between contrasts and overall conception, perfectly counterbalanced by the sober and restrained tone of the fugue that follows…this disc is impossible to do without. Diapason d’Or
Orgues Nouvelles Coup de coeur!
Early Music (OUP) Johnstone’s realisation of Bach’s organ works is remarkable… a tantalizing series. Johnstone possesses total musical integrity, seeing a rock-solid rhythmic drive propel Bach’s music forward with a peerless technique, allowing seamless execution and innovation. It is throughout a breath-taking performance that bedazzles and beguiles from the off. Johnstone’s fresh and dynamic articulation…and nuance, ornamentation and phrasing are intelligent and well communicated throughout….imaginatively refreshing perspectives on the performance of Bach’s organ compositions.
J S Bach Vol 1
Clavier-Übung Part III
Joachim Wagner organ, 1739-41 Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway
Metronome Recordings MET 1094
Gramophone August 2016 Johnstone thrusts us almost immediately into a bright world of urgent theatricality and rhythmic momentum… this is not just fine organ-playing but top-drawer keyboard-playing. [Johnstone] never fails to offer the listener a probing intellectual template, fortified by a commanding technical presence…an unusual blend of stylistic flair [and] effortless class
Early Music Where Johnstone’s performance becomes peerless lies with his interpretation of examples of Bach’s most complex chorale setting…closing the recital, the vast proportions of the Fuga a 5 pro Organo pleno, Bwv552ii, exude a sense of proportion, majesty and awe, stamping James Johnstone’s mark as a world-class interpreter of Bach’s most challenging organ music with rightful authority.
Music Web International Johnstone’s delicate registrations for the Duetti make excellent musical and stylistic sense…As a player, Johnstone has a tremendously agile technique and a superb keyboard facility…he delivers fluent and compelling performances…These are performances show a great deal of intelligent stylistic thought.
Early Music Review Johnstone’s vivid and sparkling performance on an excellently recorded, crystal-clear organ
Peeter Cornet (c.1560-1626)
works for harpsichord and organ
Harpsichord by Malcolm Rose after Lodewyck Theewes, 1579
Organ by Severijn, c.1640-50, Cuijk, Netherlands
Gaudeamus ASV, 2005
Gramophone Of all Johnstone’s fine recitals this is my favourite…he has hit the bull’s-eye. If you knew about Cornet, chances are it will delight you; if you didn’t, the chances are just the same.
The Organ Johnstone’s playing is superb throughout; there is never a dull moment with his sense of balance and spaciousness together with effortless articulation and scintillating registrations
BBC Music Magazine Johnstone’s enthusiasm for Cornet’s gifts radiates from both the programming and the playing…[he] firmly guides the listener illuminating Cornet’s logic…this disc is a delight
Early Music Review Johnstone’s playing is colourful and insightful..he is fine form on this disc…impressive and enjoyable…this disc is full of superb performances – it’s hard to imagine Cornet being given a more sympathetic and persuasive reading. A fascinating disc, highly recommended
Choir and Organ Johnstone plays with great clarity and energy
Ercole Pasquini (fl 1580-1610)
complete works for keyboard
Italian harpsichord ‘F.A.’, 1677 (K Gilbert collection)
Italian Positive organ in 17thc style, Goetze and Gywnn, 1996
Gaudeamus ASV,2003
Independent on Sunday …the harpsichord writing is flushed with tenderness offset by dazzling figurework and decorations…Expressive organ playing and punch and dexterity of harpsichord playing are both exemplary. A brilliantly programmed, audacious piece of scholarly detective work
Gramophone Johnstone is a meticulous and zestful interpreter
Diapason ★★★★★ Johnstone a brillamment surmonté la reconstruction difficile [du texte] pour se consacrer à la variété, d’un jeu toujours libre et inspiré, témoin d’une belle intimité avec ce répertoire et, comme dans le disque précédent de Johnstone, un récital de Gibbons, faisant toujours ‘parler’ l’instrument…Il exploite pleinement les possibilités expressives du splendide clavecin italien. Une découverte majeure, d’autant que cette intégrale est servie par un musicien de tempérament et de goût.
Choir & Organ ★★★★★ The recorded sound is excellent, the two instruments wonderful, & Johnstone’s playing is exemplary, mixing the contemplative and fiery elements of this lovely music in equal measure. This recording is quite superb!
Elizabethan Keyboard Music
Works by Byrd, Sweelinck, Bull & Gibbons
harpsichord by Malcolm Rose after Lodewyck Theewes, 1579
Rose Records, 2002
J S Bach organ recital
Christian Müller organ, 1733/34 Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam
ASV Quicksilver 6250, 2001
BBC Music Magazine – Critics’ Choice 2001 Wrenching Bach from the grip of academic reverence, James Johnstone makes the Waalse Kerk organ crack and fizz with life. There is also grandeur and eloquence…Holistic, clean-lined Bach, packed full of vitamins.
Early Music Today …a stunning Bach recital. An electrifying performance of BWV 541…Johnstone’s playing has its own strong identity…[he] ends with a brilliant account of the ‘Wedge’. This CD is a winner.
Organists Review Johnstone’s interpretations are packed with an energy…a joyous celebration of all that is great about Bach’s organ music which, when well performed, is so edifying, gratifying and exciting to listen to.
Early Music News …there is demonstrable logic to every semiquaver he plays.
Bach-Cantatas.com …a fine accomplishment…a very impressive performance…this reading is as uplifting as any I know.
The Organ Here you will find playing of virtuoso stature…I find the technical facility of Johnstone more than allows the work to reach depths with a clarity that is quite remarkable…brilliant, fast, yet controlled, performances.
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
Works for harpsichord and virginals
Harpsichord by Willem Kroesbergen, Utrecht 1972, after Bartolomeo Stephanini,1694
Virginals by Adlam Burnett
Gaudeamus ASV, 1999
DEUTSCHE SCHALLPLATTENKRITIK PREIS
1999/4 Classic FM Magazine Runner-up Baroque CD of the Month
www.medieval.org This is now easily the best Gibbons programme on disc
Gramophone …a high quality disc…lucid and empathetic playing
BBC Music Magazine James Johnstone has captured to perfection the private interior musings that characterise Gibbons’ fantasias and pavans.
Choir & Organ Beautifully presented performances…Johnstone plays with great sympathy and conviction — very flexible and musical at all times…a splendid disc. Essential listening.
Early Music Johnstone’s playing is mature…Clearly very much master of the idiom, he is bent on maximal expressiveness, in a decidedly virile and rhythmically firm yet still expressive manner.
Classics Today Johnstone is a vastly experienced keyboardist and happens to be just the clever, inventive, imaginative player this music requires…you can’t do better than this.
John Blow’s Anthology
Elizabeth Edgeworth’s Keyboard Book (complete)
works by Froberger, Fischer, Strungk, Blow
harpsichord (Kroesbergen,1972, after Stephanini,1694)
organ (Goetze and Gywnn after Father Smith, St.Michael’s Sheffield)
Meridian Records, 1996
Classic CD, March 1997 …Throughout the disc James Johnstone displays an extraordinary balance between discipline and passion, and an unswervingly refined and precise touch. This is playing of undeniable musicality.
Organist’s Review, February 1998 …On this interesting and first-class disc Johnstone’s bold, rhetorical and virtuoso playing lifts the music off the page with exemplary style.
Selected collaborative recordings
Webern Bach
Webern: Complete Published String Quartets
Bach: The Art of Fugue
Richter Ensemble
Passacaille, PAS 1129
Biber: Sonatae Tam Aris, Qual Aulis Serviente
Florian Deuter, Monica Waisman, Harmonie Universelle
12 sonatas & 12 trumpet duets
Organ by Balthasar König (1714) Kirche St. Leodegar, Niederehe, Germany
Accent ACC 24386
La Gamme
works by Marin Marais & Antoine Forqueray
Trio Sonnerie
Monica Huggett – violin, Emilia Benjamin – viola da gamba, James Johnstone – harpsichord
including Forqueray Suite in d minor
harpsichord by Stephan Geiger,1996, after Johann Christoph Österlein (1792)
International Classical Music Awards 2014
Best Baroque Instrumental Nominee
Diapason James Johnstone insuffle á ces dernières une belle originalité qui justifie (en dehors d’une prise de son superlative) l’achat de ce disque
Linn Records CKD 434
JS Bach Motets & organ music
Trinity Baroque
includes Chorale preludes BWV 622 & 601, and the Fugue on the Magnificat BWV 733 performed on the 1746 Hildebrandt organ, St.Wenzel, Naumburg, Germany
Gramophone The Hildebrandt organ sounds very fine in Johnstone’s hands
Independent Stunning performances of two chorale preludes on the organ of St Wenzel Church, Naumburg
RAUMKLANG RK 2601
The Triumph of Apollo
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault
Cantatas and instrumental music, including Clérambault Suite in c minor
Meridian Records CDE 84272, 1994
JS Bach Epiphany Mass
Gabrieli Consort Consort & Players
including organ solos by Bach and Pachelbel on the Adam Gottfried Oehme organ 1770-74, Brand-Erbisdorf
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 457 6312 5 DDD AH2
Bach & Telemann
Florilegium
including Bach’s Triple Concerto BWV 1044
Channel Classics CCS SA 27208
Diapason ★★★★★ Le Triple Concerto bénéficie avec l’excellent Rodolfo Richter au violon et James Johnstone au clavecin
Bolivian Baroque Vol.3
Florilegium
including organ works by Zipoli on the 18th century Blockwerk organ, Santa Ana, the Missions, Bolivia
This organ is the sole surviving 18th century organ of the Chiquitania that has been preserved with its entire case and mechanics. Probably built by Fr. Martin Schmidt in San Javier sometime prior to 1767.
Channel Classics CCS SA 28009
Gramophone Other highlights are Johnstone’s virtuoso performance of several colourful organ pieces by Domenico Zipoli: the texture and detail of the Canzona in G minor is enthralling.
San Francisco Classical Voice The SACD showcases the restored 18th-century Blockwerk organ located in the Mission Church of Santa Ana de Chiquitos deep in the rain forest. The organ’s sound — light, sweet, and entirely shorn of bombast — makes a fitting complement to the voices.
Joseph Haydn
Die Schöpfung
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Bernard Haitink
BR Media 2012
Gramophone A word, too, for the witty fortepiano continuo, whose creative touches include a delightful suggestion of angelic harps
JS Bach Cantatas
Florilegium
including Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 146
Chest organ Winold van der Putten & Berend Veger, 1991
Channel Classics CCS SA 23807
Edison – Best Baroque Recording 2008
Music for the Duke of Lerma
Gabrieli Consort and Players
including solos and duos on the Diego Quijano organs, 1616 and 1617
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 471 6942 0 DDD AH2
French Baroque Flute Music
with Rachel Brown and Mark Caudle
including Rameau’s Pièce de Clavecin No.5
Private Passion
Quantz Flute Sonatas with Rachel Brown
Uppernote Recordings 002
A Hanseatic Festival
German Renaissance Music
English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble
including Paduana Lachrymae set by Melchior Schildt
Deux-Elles DXL 1088
Telemann Paris Quartets Vol.3
Florilegium
Channel Classics CCS SA 21005
Classicstoday.com I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful disc of Baroque chamber music than this one…the scintillating harpsichord playing of James Johnstone. He is just the right sort of continuo player, an inventive and expressive presence.
Gramophone Florilegium are masters of this repertoire and, built on the imaginative continuo work of James Johnstone, offer charming delights aplenty
Crazy
iFuriosi, Toronto
Dorian Sono Luminus DSL-90802
JS Bach St.Matthew Passion
Gabrieli Consort and Players
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 474 2002 6 2 CDs DDD AH2
JS Bach Orchestral Suites
Sonnerie – Monica Huggett
Avie AV2171
Grammy Award nomination 2010
Diapason d’Or June 2009
Missa Salisburgensis – Biber
Gabrieli Consort and Players & Musica Antiqua Köln
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 457 6112 1 CD DDD AH
Monteverdi – Vespers of the Blessed Virgin 1610
Gabrieli Consort and Players
including solos on an Italian chamber organ in 17th century style by Goetze & Gwynn
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 477 6147 1 DDD AH2
Praetorius – Christmas Mass
Gabrieli Consort and Players
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 439 9312 8 CD AH
Schütz – Christmas Vespers
Gabrieli Consort and Players
ARCHIV Produktion 0289 463 0462 4 DDD AH
The Road to Paradise
Gabrieli Consort and Players
℗ 2007 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin