Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys, this is Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 584 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by John, and he writes: “I'm wondering if you could help with selecting the next piece I should learn, and give a ranking to the difficulty of these pieces. As you know I'm at a beginner/intermediate level, there's no way I can tackle a large Bach fugue. I know I should learn some French repertoire, but that is also a challenge with finger technique and playing fast passages. Let me know what you think. - BWV 547 Prelude in C major (Prelude only) - BWV 546 Prelude in C minor (Prelude only) - BWV 578 The Little Fugue in G minor - Fanfare by Lemmens - Noel X by Daquin Feel free to suggest any other pieces I should have in my next wish list! I am also hoping to spend some time preparing a basic composition or improvisation for Easter, perhaps on the Hymn tune ‘Christ the Lord is risen today’.” V: So, John from Australia is back with this question. Ausra, what do you think? 547 is this 9/8 “C Major Prelude,” a very difficult one. A: Yes, it’s a difficult one. I would not start, probably, working on that right away. V: 546 is C is “C Minor Prelude and Fugue,” probably also too difficult. It’s at the advanced level. 577, the “Gigue Fugue.” Oh, but he writes… 577 is the “Gigue Fugue,” but he writes the title as “The Little Fugue in G minor, which is actually 578. A: I think this might work, probably! V: Yes, 578 would work. A: I think. Out of these three pieces by Bach, I would say that “This Little Fugue in G Minor” is the most manageable. V: Yes. And of course, Lemmen’s “Fanfare” would work well, “Noel X” would work by Daquin, right? A: Yes, if you have good finger technique, because it’s very playful! All these Noels by Daquin. The easy part is that they don’t have the pedal part, but the hard thing is all that French ornamentation, which is so rich and varied, and of course fast tempo. V: That’s right. What can we suggest he could learn in addition to Bach, Lemmens and Daquin? Maybe some 20th Century music or 21st Century music, right? A: If he likes it, because not everybody likes contemporary music or 20th Century music. V: It depends on his occasion, of course—he is a liturgical organist, and in this question, he was preparing for Easter. As we are recording this podcast episode, we have passed Easter by a couple of weeks, and of course he has to look for other festivities, maybe Pentecost, right? A: Yes, I think this is the one that is coming. V: Maybe “Veni Creator” of some kind? A: Sure, why not? And if he is really interested in French music, let’s say French Baroque music, maybe, he could look at the “Veni Creator” by De Grigny V: Nicolas de Grigny! A: It’s gorgeous! It’s very nice. V: Do you think he could do it? A: Well, probably, yes. Maybe not the entire set, but… V: some parts A: Yes, some parts V: of the suites. A: And it’s a wonderful piece, because if he would learn it, especially the opening section and the closing one, they are very well fitted, not only for Pentecost, but also for weddings! Because I don’t know how the Protestant churches do, but let’s say Catholics, they always sing this hymn to the Holy Ghost during the wedding ceremony. V: In the beginning! A: Yes, which is, of course, “Veni Creator.” So, I guess this would work very well, and I have played it myself for many, many weddings in the past, and nobody complained. V: Nobody complained, yet! A: Yes. But of course, if we are talking about Veni Creator, there are so many sets, so many compositions based on it. V: Even I wrote two. A: Yes, and I played one of them, so… and of course, the famous Duruflé variations, Prelude, Adagio, and Variations on Veni Creator. V: Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a few Chorale Preludes based on this Lutheran version of the same Chorale. A: Komm Heiliger Geist, yes. V: Yes. And Dieterich Buxtehude wrote the same thing. A: You know, when John asked about repertoire and he named these big pieces by J. S. Bach, I thought if he doesn’t feel like he’s ready to play a fugue by J. S. Bach, maybe he needs to play some free works by Dieterich Buxtehude, because I think his free works are easier than Bach’s, but still really substantial works, and it’s a good preparation for Bach’s music. V: And you’re saying this from your own experience now! A: Why now? I always knew Buxtehude! V: But especially now, because you are in the middle of recording Buxtehude’s works! A: Well, I’m at the beginning of it. Let’s face it, there are like five volumes and I am just doing the first volume right now. V: Yes. A: But yes, if I will not fail, I might complete it in a year or so. V: Wonderful pieces. I can hear them first hand. Your recording sessions… very colorful music. A: So, and there are all kinds of Praeludium by Buxtehude, which also has this Stylus Phantasticus, famous for Northern Germans, where you have these free episodes alternating with sort of strictly counterpuntal episodes, sort of like fugal sections, but not as complicated as Bach’s fugues. They are shorter and easier. V: Of course there are Passacaglia, Chaconnes… A: Yes, and you know the Passacaglia is easier, because you have the same melody in the pedal all over again and again and again, so you don’t have to think so much about pedals, and it’s beautiful! Extremely beautiful. V: This could be a starting composition for anybody who is interested in Buxtehude’s free works, right? A: Yes, I think it’s very nice. V: Because, not too many pedals, but the style by Buxtehude I think also is quite lively, but maybe moderately lively, and it’s a very famous piece, too! A: Sure, and I’m sure that Bach knew it, because you can hear some remnants of it in Bach’s Passacaglia. V: Yes, Bach’s Passacaglia has its own structure, nevertheless Buxtehude’s Passacaglia has four sections, and each of those sections are written in different keys: Tonic, third degree key, then dominant key, and then back to tonic, and each of those sections have seven variations each. And some scientists believe the number seven represents, back in the day as known, seven planets, so maybe cosmological significance. A: But anyway, it’s a wonderful piece, too, I thought. V: Wonderful. I should do the fingering and pedaling for this piece definitely in the future for people who are interested in learning it. So guys, please send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow. This was Vidas, A: And Ausra! V: And remember; when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
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SOPP585: Someone is bound to ask me to play the BWV565 Toccata, so I must learn to play it properly4/30/2020
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Let’s start episode 585 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by James. And he writes, Hi Vidas, James here from Rustington, England. Hope you are keeping well. Just getting ready for the first ever UK National Organ Day on April 18, when we'll be opening our church for the morning and hoping to welcome visitors- not least young ones- to explore the 'Hidden Mysteries of the Pipe Organ' with demonstrations, powerpoint presentations, to have a go themselves and play nursery rhyme tunes in a group on hand-held pipes if the coronavirus scare has passed. England desperately needs young organists! Someone is bound to ask me to play the BWV565 Toccata, so I must learn to play it properly. But my fingers refuse to obey in bars 12-15 however much I practice: they always want to play together rather than alternately. Can you give me some simple advice to train them? Best wishes and happy memories, James V: James was a guest recitalist a number of years ago at our church, and played wonderful recital of English music and also some organ favorites. And of course, he is talking about organ demonstrations on April 18, but we are recording this episode later, on May 1. So he was hoping that corona virus scare will pass, but we know from experience that it has not. A: It didn’t, yes. V: It only increased. A: And from what we heard on the news, that England isn’t going to cancel the quarantine right away. V: Yes. So hopefully this UK National Organ Day could be postponed for a later day. Talking about Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor bars 12-15, we have the score here in front of us, and we’re looking at it. It’s easy to discover the challenging points here. If you don’t have the score in front of you, we can sort of describe what’s happening. In measures 12-15, there is this passage which imitates violin - both hands play this single-voice passage - but it’s written like two voices. Right hand plays sixteenth notes up and down, and left hand plays sixteenth notes, but on repeated A. And it’s in syncopation with the first voice, a 32nd note later, not together. Sort of this pattern looks like, really violinistic. And therefore, many scientists believe that this work might be not written for the organ. A: Yes, because it doesn’t look like an organ piece, at least not this episode. V: And even, this might have been written not by Bach, right? A: Yes. I have heard rumours like that. V: Could be, Peter Williams, who passed recently, that was a great Bach scholar, and he wrote many books about organ and about Bach’s music, and in one of the volumes, he writes that the speculation is that either this piece was written for violin, or it could have been written by some organist from the region of Bach’s area - maybe Kellner, maybe even Böhm, or someone with similar skills. But, in the entire cycle, it’s a little bit different than North German compositions, right? A: Yes, it’s different, yes. V: It’s more emblematic for Middle Germany, Central Germany. And therefore, he concludes, Peter Williams concludes, that there wasn’t anyone with such a perfect pedal technique in that area. And therefore, in the Fugue, you have very lively subject, playable in the pedals as well, and he concludes that probably still, we have to believe it might be written by Bach. A: Well, maybe he was young at the time, and he wanted to show off his technique. V: Yeah. So Ausra, what do you think James could do to improve this passage? A: Basically, what I would do, I would really prolong each, the first note of the right hand, that makes an accent. That way, the left hand is just a complement here, and the right hand is much more important. V: You mean every 4th note? A: Yes, every 4th note. V: Mm hm. And practice slowly. A: Yes. And imagine if you would play this part on the piano, you would play the right hand louder, and the left hand softer. So I think even if you play the same registration on the same manual, you could have feeling that still your right hand is louder, and left hand softer. And then everything, I don’t know how James is fingering it, but I would alternate left hand between 2 and 3 - 2nd and 3rd finger. V: Mm. A: I wouldn’t play it with one finger all the time. V: I don’t remember exactly how I fingered this piece for our students, but since I didn’t suffer the challenge in this particular place, I might have not used alternating fingering in repeated notes. But it’s a good idea, if you want to do 2-3, 2-3, on the note A. But what I remember for myself, when I was practicing it, I had a problem here in measure 14, where the hands cross each other, right? From the beginning, they have interval of the 4th and up, because the melody goes up, and the left hand stays the same. But then, melody goes downwards, from the middle of measure 13. And when in measure 14, those hands meet, this is a trouble spot for a lot of people. A: But I think what you have to do, you have always to play your hands that your right hand will be above… V: Above… A: Above the left hand. Otherwise, you won’t be able to play it. V: So even probably at the beginning of this passage, place the left hand closer to the edge of the keys. A: That’s right. V: That’s it. This advice will help, definitely. A: And I have heard that some organists play this spot on different manuals as well. I wouldn’t do that myself, but if this is the case, that’s why it’s hard for you to play, you might try to do that as well. V: Mm hm. Good advice. Excellent. So guys, I hope you will practice like James probably will sometime in the future, this fugue and prelude. This is really worth doing. It’s probably the most famous Bach piece, and even organ piece, right? A: I think so, yes. Maybe just Widor’s Toccata might compete with it. But still I think Bach would win this competition. V: Depending in which country you are playing it. In France, probably Widor’s Toccata is very very famous. A: It is, but it’s not so much like this in America, let’s say. V: Yes. In our country, probably D Minor Toccata by Bach is more famous. A: Definitely. V: People don’t know Widor that much. I know some organists don’t like to play very popular organ music. They prefer to play less-known compositions, and that’s okay. But at some point, somebody might ask you, “Can you play D Minor Toccata?” You know, like a group of children during organ demonstration. Like James is describing his situation. What will you do then? A: Well, at least you can learn the first page of it. V: Yes. A: I think that might be enough. Just to demonstrate it. V: Yes. Lots of people don’t know the music beyond the first page. A: Sure. V: Or even beyond the first passage. A: That’s right. V: Good. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying SOPP581: Thanks very much Vidas. This should also be interesting as a pedal exercise technique.4/29/2020
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys, this is Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 581 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Amir, and he is taking our Secrets of Organ Playing course called “Sight-Reading Master Course,” and he writes: Amir: “Thanks very much Vidas. This should also be interesting as a pedal exercise technique Amir” And I wrote to him: Vidas: “You are right, Amir! Almost everything that can be played by the hand, can be played by the feet too. In fact, the feet often can be regarded as the third hand in organ playing.” V: I should give you a little bit of context about this question. Amir is studying this sight-reading course over maybe 17 or 18 weeks now, and sometimes he sends questions about it, and sometimes he struggles with things when he has to count rhythms. But this particular question, I wrote to him that he can actually transform any type of keyboard exercise into a pedal exercise, too. Do you think, Ausra that could be applied in organ playing, let’s say, in the Baroque period? A: Yes, I’d say it’s possible. V: Like if you take a Trio Sonata by Bach, and you play a manual part, but not with your hand, but with your feet. A: Well, it would be really hard. It’s possible, it would be really hard. V: Or a Two-Part Invention. You could play one part with your hand and another part with your feet, and then switch. A: Well, you could do all kind of tricks, because there is even one chorale from the Schubert collection where you can play the same voice with either the feet or with the left hand, so it’s up to you. V: I think sometimes it’s good to experiment with those techniques of placing any particular voice in pedals, let’s say. Because the organ is, back in the day, used to play chorale preludes or variations interchangeably. You used to place the chorale tune in the soprano, alto, tenor, or bass, and be able to play the bass not on the pedals, but let’s say with the left hand. This is simpler, right? But sometimes they do the opposite. Let’s say they play the tenor voice with their feet! A: Yes, you can use a 4’ stop, and it will work just fine, or you can do the same, to put a 16’ stop for your left hand, for example, and it will sound like you are playing it on the pedals. V: Have you tried it yourself? A: Yes, I have tried it. V: Was it difficult for you at first? A: Well, no, it was different! You have to get used to it. V: For me it was a challenge, because when you are not used to doing this kind of trick at first, you mix up your left hand with your pedals, and your left hand wants to read the lowest staff! A: True, and another problem that you might encounter if you are playing the cantus firmus with your feet, it often has the trills at the end of the phrase, so you have to trill your feet, so it’s not very comfortable, but it’s possible. V: Like in one of the Schubert’s chorales, the last one. You have trills in the cantus firmus, which is played with the feet. A: Yes, but you could also do another arrangement. You could play that left hand with your feet, and you could play the chorale melody with your… V: ...left hand. A: ...left hand. I have seen two versions of this chorale, and actually I think I have played them both. V: Which one do you prefer? A: Well, probably I would do that fast part with the feet. It’s easier for me. It seems, maybe, very scary because you have so many notes in the pedal part, but that way you don’t have to trill with your feet. So basically, if you do this version, it’s more like “Wachet auf.” from the Schubler collection. V: And “Wachet auf” also can have two versions! A: Sure. Definitely. Because they are sort of similar in texture. V: And this is BWV 645, and in one version, you have a cantus firmus chorale melody in the tenor, played by the left hand, and the bass line with the feet. But in another version, you switch parts, you flip parts, basically, playing the bass part with your left hand, and the tenor line with your feet, with a Trumpet registration, maybe. A: Yes, so that’s just another possibility. So try and explore it, and see if you like it. V: Again, it’s a challenge sometimes at the beginning, because you’re not used to this kind of disposition, but it only takes a few of the chorales to be played this way where you free your mind from previous preconceptions, and then simply sight-read or practice any other way you want. Right? A: Sure. V: That’s a good brain exercise. A: It is! It is! V: Like solving a musical Sudoku. Do you like Sudoku? A: Yes! I used to do quite a lot of them. Not now, I don’t have so much time. V: And what has taken up most of your time today? A: Well, basically recording organ and grading my students’ assignments! “Distance education,” so called. V: Do you prefer playing organ and recording to grading papers? A: Well, playing organ is fun. Recording is not so much fun, because sometimes it gets frustrating and stressful. V: But you know what I like about playing organ and recording is that when I record, it’s like the finished product, finished result, and you can be a little bit satisfied, be a little bit proud of what you did today. Basically, you achieved something. When you practice, you don’t know if your level is suitable for recording. But when you sit down and force yourself to play the piece without mistakes during a certain number of takes… I know it’s difficult and time consuming and sometimes stressful when you make a mistake in the penultimate measure and have to start all over again, but it’s fun when you have the results. A: Sure. You know, it’s good exercise for your concentration, too, so it’s worth doing it—at least trying to do it. V: So guys, lots of different ideas to think about. Not only about playing with your feet, what can be played with your hands and vice versa, but also about practicing and recording your own organ music, and sometimes even sharing with the world! That’s another skill set that we can talk about later. Thanks guys, for listening, for sending your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow! And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. Vidas: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... Ausra: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. Vidas: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ Ausra: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. Vidas: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. Ausra: We hope you’ll enjoy it! Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 582 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Pieter. And he writes, Dear Vidas and Ausra, A friend has sent me a link to your website and I think that it is something that is very interesting for me. Before I look into it further I would be grateful for your guidance as to how I might proceed. I will tell you a little about my situation. I am an organ student living in the Netherlands although I have had a fantastic organ teacher in London where I lived for many years. I have an organ at home and practise every day. I do not have regular organ lessons at the moment as I am still very loyal to my teacher in London and prefer to go to her when I am there. Although I played the organ many years ago I did stop but about 3 years ago I restarted lessons. I am highly motivated and I am in the fortunate position that I have a lot of time to practise as I am now retired (I am 63). I have recently taken the Colleague diploma of the Royal College of Organists and I achieved success in the Pieces as well as the Harmony, Counterpoint, Theory and Aural sections. I was not successful with the tests at the organ although I did get a pass mark for transposition of a hymn tune. I think sight reading is my weakest area. As this diploma is modular I can repeat just the section that I didn't pass and if I am successful the next time then I will get the full award. Of course I do understand that playing the organ is so much more than passing exams and I guess my goal is to be a better musician. I suppose I am looking for guidance as to how to approach these challenges and whether your material might help me in that respect. I am sure nothing can substitute for regular lessons and somehow I need to sort that out but your thoughts on that would be much appreciated. Many thanks in advance for taking the time to read this email. Kind regards, Pieter V: Let’s congratulate Pieter that at the age of 63, he still continues to practice and still continues to improve himself, right? A: Yes, it’s very good. I think that’s how people need to live their life. V: Life long education, right? A: That’s right. V: Life long improvement. A: I always admire people who have goal in life and not stopping doing things. Not only just watching TV all day long. V: He mentions passing exams and tests. I don’t think they are necessarily a bad thing, right? Even if you think that organ playing is so much more than tests and exams. But tests and exams can give you a goal. A: Sure. They can push you forward a little bit harder. V: They can give you deadline. A: That’s right. So they can increase your motivation. V: True. A: So I think that’s a good thing, to have your goals set ahead of you, of your time. So I think it’s very beneficial. V: Mm hm. A: And I thought while reading Pieter’s letter that our sight reading course might be beneficial for him. V: Definitely, definitely. A: To improve his skills. V: Yeah. A lot of people have very positive comments about this course. It doesn’t start very easy, like in the beginning level, you have to be able to sight read or practice, let’s say, a little bit syncopations, and eighth note movements, jumps, and polyphonic movement. Although the exercises start as just one single voice. But it’s not as easy as sight reading a hymn, separate lines of a hymn. The rhythms are more varied. But if he can, if he passed harmony, counterpoint, theory, and aural sections, I have no doubt that he has preliminary skills to take this course. And even though the course lasts for 40 weeks, we have supplemental material. People don’t have to necessarily stick to this schedule and do the course in 40 weeks. They can adjust the schedule and… A: Sure. Or we can rush if we have time. For example, now when quarantine is all over Europe and most places of the world. V: That’s right. If you find the course too easy at the beginning, you can sight read faster. And actually, he can let us know in advance, I can send you advance material. If you, for example, complete Week 2, Week 1, 2, 3, 4 material in two weeks let’s say, or one week, and you want maybe week 8 material right away, I can do that. I can grab the file and send it to you in advance. Just let us know. So, as Ausra thinks, and I agree, Pieter should look into our organ sight reading master course. This is a solid course, lasts 40 weeks, and will keep him occupied for quite some time, and is based on Bach’s Art of Fugue, with supplemental material at the end of playing Romantic organ music, based on Reger’s Chorale Preludes, legato style. Okay, guys, let’s ask Ausra if she has anything else to add. A: Probably not. V: Mm hm. So this was quite a specific question: How Pieter can improve his sight reading, basically, and we have very specific answer. Thank you guys for sending us those questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. Vidas: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. Ausra: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... Vidas: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… Ausra: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. Vidas: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. Ausra: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 580 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Maureen, and she asks: “Dear Vidas, Please could you suggest suitable music for this particular week in the Catholic Church? I love the harmonies for ‘O Sacred head sore wounded’. Is there an organ rendition for this one? Your suggestions would be appreciated as always. Thank you, Maureen.” V: I think, Ausra, she refers to “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” Right? A: Yes, I guess. This is a famous chorale. V: Passion Chorale. A: Yes. V: For the Passion Week, or Passion Sunday, or for the week before Easter, probably. And actually, I took the initiative and created a Chorale Prelude based on this hymn, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” and it became my composition, too. Let me check which opus number. I think it's Op. 71. So anyway, I hope Maureen will find it useful, and other people. But of course, it’s not about me, there are other composers that created similar Chorale Preludes based on this tune, right? A: For example, what? Could you suggest any? V: Dieterich Buxtehude, definitely. Johann Sebastian Bach. These two are very famous settings. And, obviously any Baroque composer from Germany has created their own rendition of this Chorale tune. A: Well, because I guess this is a Lutheran Chorale, so all the Lutheran composers have composed compositions based on this hymn tune. Although actually, I have heard this hymn with other words, not the Passion words, because this Chorale melody is very famous. V: It’s of course used many times in “St. Matthew’s Passion!” A: Yes, I think it goes throughout the piece. V: By Bach. A: It’s repeated many times, of course with a different text. V: Nice. So obviously, if Maureen takes the collection which is called “371 Chorales by Bach,” this collection was collected or gathered after his death by his students, and published from Chorale harmonizations of his four-part Chorales for famous Cantatas, and also, of course, Passion. So, I remember seeing this particular Chorale setting many times appearing in this collection, so you could get many different harmonizations and well as different keys! A: That’s a nice suggestion, I guess. V: Yeah, you could play different settings soloing out the melody with your right hand, playing all parts on one manual, and maybe even the soprano line one octave lower as a tenor line, but then the tenor line playing one octave higher, exchanging soprano and tenor, basically, and then this would be a perfect way to add the variety of your setting, and the congregation would love it, probably, because it’s very unusual. You could add your own harmonizations if you know how to do it, but you first have to learn how to harmonize. Right Ausra? A: Yes, true. V: So lots of ideas! Pick and choose a few and practice, and send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 577 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Steven, and he writes: “Hi Vidas, Not long ago Vidas it was my job to serve at the organ to lead a congregation of mostly untrained singers in a meeting outside a worship service with the singing of a closing song with which most of them were unfamiliar. The tune was St. Clement, a traditional hymn not especially easy for a trained voice to sing that's better known to members of the Anglican faith and perhaps a Methodist or two in the audience but completely unfamiliar to everyone else. This number does not appear in any of the newer hymnals -- I have only found it included in a couple of very old editions of hymn books which have been out of print for a very long time. People singing this tune on YouTube videos are doing so at a tempo Moderato about half the time and the other half of the time they sing at something close to an Adagio. Three stanzas of this closing song were to be sung, the words were provided to the audience, and I began with a short introduction and took the first stanza at an Andante (slow walk tempo) thinking that this pace would keep everyone together and the organ would lead. I was wrong. Instead of the organ leading them, the Anglicans in the audience who were used to hearing it sung at a still slower tempo ignored the organ and sang it at the tempo they remember from their worship services -- some of them even lagged behind a few others. The result was that they all trailed behind the organ through the whole first stanza and were late to the finish line at the point where the organ paused between stanzas. They were still trudging through the words of the first stanza at that point, and, as I began the second stanza to avoid the awkward silence a senior officer stopped the whole thing and a member of the audience was then asked to conduct the congregation (and the organ) beginning at the top with the slow tempo, through all three stanzas, with everyone including me brought back to the starting line and subject to the baton. We managed to get through it this way, but not without considerable embarrassment. Up until then I used to believe that "not every day is a good one for the organist" was an observation that tended to fade into oblivion with the onset of crow's feet, gray hair, more pill bottles, and the use of a cane. I was wrong about that, too ! Even though I was well prepared and the instrument gave sufficient support for the singing, I never anticipated that the singers would drag through it with such perfunctory indifference to the tempo set by the organ. This wasn't the typical dragging that an organist can encounter in a singing congregation from time to time -- it was a complete mismatch in tempo from the get-go. When any congregation sings, the organ MUST lead, but this time that didn't seem to matter.. Afterwards, since the same closing song is prescribed for the organization's regular meetings, I was asked to chair a committee to come up with a solution to keep this kind of calamity from happening again, even to the point of recommending a different song be prescribed, if need be. My feeling is, the problem isn't with the song although it isn't particularly easy to sing, and I really don't think it needs to be changed. It's a beautiful song -- the singers just need to get in sync with the organ and stay that way, pay attention to the tempo taken by the organ, and not go their merry way with blinders on their ears. The fact that so many of the singers in the audience preferred such a slow tempo was only learned by this organist, sad to say, after everything crash landed and not before. The organist wasn't fired over it, the situation wasn't that dire, nobody lost their life over it, no blood was drawn, but it occurred to me that the question of how to best move forward from here would benefit other organists as well as myself. Any suggestions you or Ausra may have from your personal experiences or circle of acquaintances that could be shared with your subscribers, including myself, about possible steps to take would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks, as always, Steve” V: So, that’s a very colorful question, very extended description. I hope Steven wrote a blog post out of it. A: It’s very entertaining. I kept laughing inside of me while you kept reading it, because actually, we have talked about rehearsing the congregation before the service if you know that hymns are unfamiliar or putting your choir member downstairs, mixing them among the congregation members so that they could lead the congregational singing, but obviously there are sometimes ways when you just have to adjust to your congregation and you have to adapt. Because if a minister has to stop service and to start that hymn over again, that’s not a good sign. It shouldn’t be like this. And, in some cases, I think what you can do is actually just to adapt to them or just to quit the church. It reminded me about that situation that we had many years ago in Lithuania when we were just organ students for the Academy of Music and Vidas and I were sharing one position of organist in a small church in the center of Vilnius, and basically old ladies were so unhappy about how we played organ, and it was a problem of us playing hymns too fast for them. And since I played a little bit slower, they preferred me over Vidas, and I remember one little old lady chasing Vidas for maybe one kilometer behind after a service until she finally caught him and started to teach him how to play, that he needs to take a slow tempo because elderly people are in the congregation, and so on and so forth. But basically, right at that moment I understood that it’s basically a good time to quit. We didn’t at that moment, but actually we were both fired without any explanations maybe a few months later. So I guess sometimes these things are simply hopeless. V: That’s right, Ausra. I guess another solution would be to sing more new hymns that people don’t know, and they don’t have any prejudice. A: Yes, that way, you know, they could listen more to what the organ is doing. V: But this situation shows that this congregation is not willing to adapt. It’s simply the fact of life. Right? And I wonder if they sing loudly enough or actively. I presume that they are sort of lethargically sleeping with their eyes open and moving through the motions, not actively participating in the service. A: Well, I’m not sure about that, but anyway, you could either play the Organo Pleno and try to ignore what is happening downstairs, or you could maybe have your own microphone and sing like solo very loudly above them all. But basically, I think in these cases like this, it’s useless to fight. V: Yes, because one or two or five people will start complaining, and those people, maybe they are in a minority, they will be a loud minority! A: And you know, like in our old story, I think what happened is that old lady and her friends started complaining to the priest day after day after day after day, and he didn’t have another solution, only to get rid of us. V: It was easier for him to get rid of us than to get rid of those ladies! A: But what I found out later, is that actually instead of us, her son started to play the organ in that church! V: The old lady’s son? A: Yes, so that was a corruption, a little bit… so…. V: Ah, maybe she had some plans! A: Yes! V: Evil plans! A: She definitely did, because these sort of pretenders to be very faithful in the Catholic churches that are there day and night, they are not doing really good things to their church, although they think they are the most holy and they know the things right, and… V: Aren’t you glad that we are no longer working in this church? A: Yes, I am. I really am! V: So, you always have to choose sometimes the less obvious way. And do what feels right for your heart. Yes? A: That’s right. V: Thank you guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen! SOPP579: Definitely counting while reading new music is helping me to keep on a stable rhythm4/4/2020
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 579 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Amir. And he writes: Hi Vidas, Definitely counting while reading new music is helping me to keep on a stable rhythm. I still found rapid shifts in note values and spacing of melodies in my left hand a bit challenging. Thanks. V: Ausra, what does he mean about “spacing of melodies” in his left hand? A: I guess he has trouble in his left hand in general... V: Mm hm. A: ...it seems to me. Well, because he is keeping talking about playing music in a stable rhythm. What I would suggest for him to do, since he has trouble with the left hand, that he would not sight read music with both hands together. V: Go back to single lines. A: That’s right. V: Mm hm. He is working on my Organ Sight Reading Master Course, and I’m not sure which week he is on, but from the beginning, and quite a few weeks involves only one single line. A: I see. V: Soprano, then alto, then tenor and bass. A: But I guess he’s talking about when he plays both hands together. V: Mm hm. A: Or if it’s the Sight Reading course, then maybe he just needs to take a slower tempo. V: Yes. I think his question was aimed for this course, this particular course. And ideally, a person should take a very slow tempo and just play it through, one day. And the next day will be the next exercise. Not to master completely, one exercise, but just to sight read it. It could be done twice actually. One, and the second time through also works. But for him, I think sometimes the tempo is too fast. You know, when I say play it slowly, people are just saying to what they think is slow. And for some people, I think, or for most people, slow is not slow enough. A: Yes. Do you think it’s really important to keep steady tempo when you sight read things, or you may slow down when things get harder? V: I would prefer to keep a steady tempo. Even though it’s really slow. I would take it twice as slow - even more than twice as slow. You know, if you take a really slow tempo and it’s still unsteady and uneven rhythm, and it’s still too difficult for you to play without mistakes, it means that either the texture is too complicated for you, or the tempo is too fast. So you can slow down, right, but you cannot omit one line from a single line; already, it’s already too few notes. So in general, might be just a good idea to slow down. A: Yes, I think that’s a good suggestion. V: Yes. You guys, may be noticing a change in our audio quality, and we’re just testing the first recording we’re making on our new MacBook Pro, using Garage Band app, and I’m not sure how it will go, but so far we’re just testing it. Let us know if the quality is different or better, or whatever you feel, whatever you hear. Okay? So, and keep practicing of course, and sight reading. Sight reading from my Organ Sight Reading Master Course is really helpful, because we start with one single line, then going to two parts, three parts, and finally four parts, of Bach’s Art of Fugue. But then, in Bonus Content, we have seven weeks, seven additional weeks. We have Reger’s small chorale preludes. So basically, the entire course is baroque-like course with articulation, but the bonus material is dedicated for legato playing as well, because people were asking about modern technique as well, modern touch. Okay, and let us know how your practice goes, and keep sending more of your questions. We love helping you grow. V: This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 576 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Julie. And she writes, I tend to focus too much on what I am playing on Sunday and don’t make as much progress on the “bigger” pieces that take much longer than a week to learn. Sometimes there isn’t much I can do about that if things are particularly busy at work. V: Ausra, this challenge seems to be particularly common among liturgical organists, right? A: Yes, I think so, yes. V: Who have constant duties at church, preparing hymns, preludes, and other liturgical music week after week. But then, what comes after that is really hard to learn, right? After a month or three months from now, a person doesn’t have enough time. A: True. Although I think there are some solutions that could be applied. First of all, if you are a church organist for more than one year, well, each liturgical year has its own festivities and occasions. And after some time, you will see that, you will notice that the hymns will come back, and you will be playing the same hymns as the last year or the year before that. So I guess after knowing your hymnal really well, it doesn’t take so long to prepare hymns for Sunday. And the same with preludes and postludes. You don’t need to play new things every Sunday. Maybe you can repeat some of older pieces after some time. And you can alternate between them, so that will save time, too. V: This situation kind of reminds me of your schoolwork and preparation for it. How much time did you have to spend in your first or second year? A: A lot. Many hours. V: Many hours. Mm hm. Half an hour for each lesson, class? A: Yes, for when I worked the first year, probably yes. V: And you were teaching, like maybe 20 or more classes every week? A: Yes, around that. I started with 18 hours per week, and then I had more. V: Mm hm. But then the second year, did you notice some things got easier? A: Well, some things. But still, it was quite hard. V: Obviously, because the course was more advanced, right? A: Yes. V: Eleventh grade. You started from the tenth grade, then eleventh grade? A: Well, I have taught since the fifth grades. V: Uh huh. A: When I started to work, so… V: And then the third year afterwards it got even more complex, right? A: True. V: With twelfth grade harmony. But when did you start to notice things to be repeating, and your skill level and experience level helping you out? A: Well I guess after five years, I noticed. V: I wonder how long Julie is working in church, and is she having five year’s experience or not? A: But now it takes me one hour for, to prepare for entire week, so, at the very most. V: So I would imagine with your experience, a person who would play at church for a decade or more, they could simply practice those hymns and liturgical music and preludes one hour in advance, maybe on Saturday evening, right? A: Yes. And when we are talking about problems like this, I just think, how blest are the organists who can improvise. How much time they can save. V: Yes, that’s a great idea. So Julie, I think Ausra is suggesting you to improvise. A: Yes. V: Or do some kind of combination of repertoire playing and improvisation. At first, you will be very, you will feel like you are a beginner at this, inadequate skills. It’s like starting to play the organ from the, from scratch. But little by little, after a year or two, you will get more experience. A: And another thing: If you are working on the larger scale repertoire for, let’s say a recital, you could integrate some of that music into a liturgical service as well. Maybe not to play an entire piece, but maybe just an episode out of it. V: And finish with a nice cadence. A: I know. And that way, you will then go both ways. You will add to your larger repertoire, and you will fill in your service. V: Yes, I know what you mean. It’s like a cycle. Prelude and Fugue has two parts, right? You could play the Prelude in the beginning and Fugue at the end. A: That’s still a lot of music. V: Still a lot? A: Yes. V: So what you could do, to play just the prelude, but split it in two parts, and finish it with a nice final cadence, maybe with extension towards subdominant key at the end and then coming back to the tonic. And then this would be your prelude, half of the actual prelude. And then the other half could be repeated after the service. Maybe starting with some kind of gradual introduction so you could drive into this postlude gradually, musically, in an aesthetically pleasing way. A: Yes, that’s a good suggestion. V: This requires obviously harmony skills, maybe music theory skills, and even a little bit more experience. But the general suggestion could be like this. Incorporate your bigger works into liturgy. A: And of course, when you’re picking up larger pieces for recitals, you could think about that too, if they would strategically fit into the service music. Because obviously there are lots of organ repertoire that could be easily included into the service music. Let’s say partitas, Pachelbel’s partitas or Bach’s partitas. They work just well and these segmented pieces, so you wouldn’t need to worry about making up the cadences. V: And in general, I think you have to gather more and more repertoire, so that when the time comes for you to play in public, let’s say a recital, then you don’t have to learn everything from scratch, but as Ausra says, learn just one or two pieces from scratch, and repeat everything else this time. And next time, you can learn two more pieces and repeat everything else, you see. And you gradually will supplant your repertoire, refresh your repertoire this way, but won’t overextend yourself. A: That’s right. V: Yeah. That’s our suggestions for this question, and they should be helpful for people, right, Ausra? A: Yes, I hope so. V: So please, guys, send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen! SOPP575: I like that Total Organist is keeping me focused on my practicing, and how to practice3/27/2020
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 575 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jeremy, who is transcribing our scores and adding fingering and pedaling, and is our member of the Total Organist Community. He writes: “I like that Total Organist is keeping me focused on my practicing, and how to practice.” V: Ausra, what does he mean? A: I think that’s what he means, what he says, that it helps him to stay focused on his practice and because it shows how to practice it means that it improves his practice, too! V: What is the opposite of focus in this case for Jeremy? A: Well, the loss of concentration, I guess. V: Distractions? A: Distractions, yes. V: Have you been distracted in your life from your organ practice by any other exciting things, let’s say? A: Of course, but not so much because of exciting things, but probably because of very serious and unpleasant things. V: Can you name one of them? A: No, I can’t. V: Just one? A: Because it’s just very personal. V: Ah. I thought maybe that ha something to do with school, you know? A: Oh! Do you mean overworking all the time? V: Mhm A: Yes, that’s one of them, but… I didn’t mean that when I said it. V: So, if Total Organist is keeping Jeremy focused on his practicing, this is a good thing. Right? But I’m thinking, “How is this program keeping him focused?” By which means? Do you have any idea? A: I think it’s because it consists of so many things that everybody can find something useful and something to work on. V: And this could be a distraction at the same time, right? A: I don’t think you would find any of the Total Organists that would do everything in this program. I guess you just find what your weakness is and what you want to learn the most, and then you work on that. V: But there are hundreds of scores and programs and trainings. You can get lost, right? A: Maybe you need to write a smooth guide through your Total Organist program. V: Step by step! A: Yes! V: But for everybody, as you say, it’s very personal, and the goals are personal. And I know Jeremy is participating in our weekly contest—Secrets of Organ Playing Contest—week after week, and it’s been great to see him work through Bach’s “Orgelbuchlein” Chrorale Preludes regularly. It’s amazing to see him progress and to actually read his reports, what he has been doing over each day, and I think when a person writes about his day, what he has been working on, then it makes him think about his day, about his activities. And sometimes, if you don’t think, you don’t notice things that you do, and you don’t know if you are productive or not—if creative or not. And when you are reporting like this for everyone else to see in this group, I think it really helps him to stay focused, as he says, for tomorrow also—for tomorrow’s goals. Don’t you think? A: Yes, I think so. I think you are absolutely right. V: That’s why I take your activity reports and also publish them on Basecamp so other people could also know what you are doing. A: Do you think they are useful? V: Nobody said that they’re not. A: Well… if you think that they are useful, you may put them there. V: Yeah, I think they are useful, because they help people feel that you are human, you know, not hiding behind a screen, but a real person. A: Okay. I am a real person, “Hi!” Well, anyway, I think if I would have had such a program let’s say 25 years back, I think I would have benefited from it very much. V: You think that 25 years ago you would have benefited from this program a lot? A: Yes! When I had just started to play the organ. V: Hmmm. There was no opportunity for anyone to create this. Right? No Internet, capabilities of streaming, and uploading…. A: I know, and I just think it would have saved me a lot of time and a lot of trouble. V: We started organ playing back in 1994, I think, A: Yes, that’s right! V: And that was before even blogs were created! Blogs were created, I think, just before 2000, the first blogs, but they became mainstream around 2002 picked up by big media, and I also remember that I noticed the word “blog” mentioned also on the Internet and on TV around that time, but I hadn’t done anything with it. I only dreamed about it, and started writing blog posts only in 2007 in Lithuanian, and in English in 2011. A: Yes, and now it’s just so nice to have access to all that information and organ playing technique, because I remember my first lesson with George Ritchie at Lincoln, when he asked by which method book I was taught to play the organ, and I said, “By none!” And I remember how he looked at me. V: You didn’t use any textbooks. A: Yes, I know. And I just felt like I came from the middle of the jungle somewhere, basically learning how to play organ from monkeys! V: Well yes. Nowadays, you cannot say that it’s lack of information that’s stopping people from mastering the organ or practicing the organ. Not anymore, right? A: Yes, but I don’t think that much has changed in Lithuania, because I guess with their kind of music, they still don’t use any kind of method books, so… V: Good thing we have a global audience and are not limited to a Lithuanian audience. A: Yes, that’s right. At least we can share our experience. V: Thank you guys! We hope this was useful to you, so you see how the Total Organist community is being inspired by one another, and keeping on track with their organ practice, and reporting back at the end of the day about their daily practice activities, and about their weekly goals, challenges, and this helps them move forward much much faster than they would be doing on their own. Right Ausra? A: True. V: Okay, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 573 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. We just recorded the previous episode with the question sent by Rebecca about the articulation of “D Minor Toccata and Fugue” by Bach , and Rebecca’s question sort of continues in this episode. Okay, so she writes she has problems with: “Sticking with a schedule of practicing. Time management.” And also: “Pieces to play for an organ recital? Suggestions as to what would make a good program? I feel somewhat limited in what I can play. (I played piano during my early years, and I am semi retired at this point. However, I LOVE to play and I want to challenge myself to do a recital. I am thinking of the Bach piece, which has not been done in our recital programs in the last year and the ‘Westminster Carillon.’ Thank you for any input.” V: So basically, Ausra, let’s talk a little bit about scheduling—schedule of practice and time management. By the way, these are courses in our Total Organist program, so if she’s interested in joining Total Organist at least for some time, she could really take advantage of our programs. So we talk about practicing, but in general, schedule of practice is… it depends on each person, right Ausra? A: Sure! For me, it seems that in Rebecca’s case, she needs to set up a date for a recital if she really wants to do it, and that way, she will feel the pressure of it coming up and then she will manage her time much better. V: You think so? A: Or in the other case, she will have to cancel it! V: You think so? I have heard people play badly in recital, even though they scheduled the date in advance, and they knew that the due date is coming up, but they don’t understand their true situation wisely enough, and they still don’t take it seriously. You know whom I’m talking about. A: Well, of course there are people like this, but that’s what I would do, because otherwise, look, they cannot work on her schedule and to do it hour by hour, because we don’t know what she does in life, how long she sleeps, and what kind of other responsibilities she has. Does she have to take care of children, grandchildren… you know, we don’t know that. V: So basically, when you schedule a recital, a good solution is to play a run-through of the recital two months before the date. Yes? A: Well, if you are a professional, I think one month is enough, but it depends. V: If you are a professional, I think a run-through could be even sometimes omitted if it’s a solid program and you know it. But it depends. So in Rebecca’s case, I really recommend two months prior to recital a run-through. And, thinking about that, she has to plan her practices so that she would learn the right amount of repertoire on each day so that she would master it on time—two months before the recital. A: Sure, and about the program, she’s working on the “D Minor Toccata” and on “Westminster Carillon,” I would say that the one would be a perfect opening piece for her recital, and “Westminster Carillon” would be perfect for finishing it! V: And we could talk a little bit about general principles of selecting the repertoire, right? What do you think about playing everything either very fast or very loud? A: I think it’s very disrespectful to the audience in general, and to the organ itself. V: You haven’t been to our last recital at church. A: And I’m very glad about it from what I heard about it! V: But one of the guest organists played for an hour and twenty minutes with only, I think, one piece soft and slow, and maybe some variations of another piece a little bit softer, too. But other than that, it was loud and fast all the time. It was French twentieth century music, beautiful pieces by Tournemire, by… A: Duruflé… V: ...Duruflé, by Dupré, by Cochereau. They all are amazing pieces, but not together, you know? They have to have some contrast, and I have heard complaints from listeners downstairs that in general it was a nice recital, but too loud. A: So you need to respect your audience, basically, and think about them. So basically, you need to play various music. V: Various music! A: Loud and soft, fast and slow… V: Sad and… A: ...joyful, and keep a good balance among them. Because again, if you will play everything soft and slow, then the audience probably will either leave or fall asleep! V: Uh-huh. A: But if you will play loud and fast all the time for an hour and twenty minutes, everybody probably would just go mad. V: Exactly. Well, also think about your program like one continuous piece, one continuous musical story, like a movie! You have to have culmination in a movie. You have to have a strong beginning, right? Otherwise your listeners will be bored right away if you’re playing very meditative music at the beginning, unless there is a special reason for that, like in Lent, let’s say. Meditations in Lent or Advent time, some other things… A: You know, like now, the thought came to my mind, let’s say, about the “Third Symphony” by Louis Vierne. It consists of five movements. It has a fast and loud opening and finale, it has the third movement of this symphony is very a playful and joyful scherzo, virtuosic, and the second an the fourth movements are a sort of slow meditative style. V: Normally, those symphonic pieces are written with contrasts in mind, of course, and if that organist would have selected two symphonies, let’s say one symphony by Vierne and another by Dupré, let’s say, that would be fine! That would be fine, because each work has many contrasting sections and episodes so it would be built-in success. But he selected just the “pieces from the cake”--from each symphony or cycle. Just the Sortie, just the toccatas, you know! A: Yes, just the loud and fast stuff! Well, anyway, I think you also need to think about the timeline of composers on your program, because sometimes people start with early music and then they go to the modern stuff. That’s okay, too. You could do some baroque pieces and then some romantic pieces and finish with let’s say twentieth century or twenty-first century. V: And you know why it works? Because the musical language in those pieces will be gradually probably increasing in difficulty and the tolerance of dissonance in listeners’ ears will be also readjusted with each piece. If you start to play with a very dissonant piece right from the start, it might shock the listeners. Right? But on the other hand, if you play your entire program from modern music and each of them has contrasting sections and episodes, this commonality might unite your program, and actually that would not be as tragic. A: But, you know, you need to be careful about playing only modern music. V: When you say modern, it could mean a lot of different things. A: I know, but I mean sort of like a new Viennese style. Atonal. V: Or expressionist. Yeah. Twentieth century saw a lot of different movements, including minimalist music, minimal, which is very easy to listen to. It was like a reaction to Dodecaphonic music. A: I think for a general audience, you might add one of that kind of piece in your concert. If you will include all pieces like this, then again, you will lose your audience, because when we are talking about these specific twentieth century compositional techniques, I think it’s in general wise to introduce people to compositional techniques about what is done in the piece. Otherwise, they might not get the idea of what it was about. V: You’re right. It’s nice to talk between the pieces. A: Yes, or at least write it down in the piece’s program notes. V: Good! This is good enough for starting the discussion and thinking about it. For closing, I would like to point out that if there is an anniversary of the composer, you can play only the pieces of that composer. This is fine, I think. There is a reason to do that. Right? Or one stylistic period or one historical period of organ composition, one country if there is an instrument that fits this country very well. That’s fine. But it has to be explained for the audience as well. A: Yes. V: Why you chose this… exactly. Because variety in your program will be somewhat limited then, if you are unifying your program. Right? And then your listeners might need an explanation. Thanks guys, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen! |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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