Have you tried to make an organ arrangement of a popular aria or a choral work? If not, it is worth giving it a try because not only you will have a lot of fun in the process, will be able to create a new organ piece that you will love to play but also you will learn a lot about the composition itself. In this article, I will describe how to make a 4 part arrangement of the famous Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach for organ in 6 easy steps.
1. Take a music staff paper and write the treble clef for the right hand, the bass clef for the left hand, and the bass clef for the pedals. Connect the 3 staves into a system. 2. Add a key signature (F sharp) and a meter signature (3/4). 3. Write the Violin I part in the right hand with the stems up in triplets. 4. Write the Violin II part in the right hand with the stems down. Be aware, that according to the usual practice in Bach's time, in the original score this part is notated using dotted eight notes and sixteenths which should be played together with the last note of each group of three notes in the top voice. When you transcribe it in the right hand part, you can use groups of quarter and eighth notes in triplets. 5. Write the Soprano part in the left hand one octave lower. This way the chorale tune will sound in a tenor range. The chorale tune will sound well on a solo registration, such as a soft reed. 6. Write the Cello part in the pedals which will be played using soft 16' and 8' stops. The Violin II part will fit nicely to the right hand part. Although there are some voice crossings between the two violins, in general, the right hand can play these two voices very easily. You can play this part using flutes 8' and 4'. Because in this arrangement you have to play 2 voices in the right hand, for some people who have little proper organ training experience it might not be as easy as it may seem. If you are at the beginning stages of organ playing, I recommend the 3 part version which will also sound very well. Just omit the step 4. If you want to learn this piece in 10 days while working only 30 minutes a day, you can download my fully edited instructional 3-part arrangement of this composition from here. It comes with complete fingering, pedaling, articulation, tempo and registration suggestions and detailed step-by-step practice plan. After the process of arranging this fantastic piece for the organ you will know how the piece is put together on a much deeper level than before which will also help you to advance in the field of music theory. You can play your arrangement from the written down version on paper or you can use your favorite music notation software to transcribe it. Choose whatever is more comfortable for you but do not forget to treat your arrangement as a genuine organ composition while you play and practice it. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.
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One of the most popular movements from the cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach is the famous "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". This work was originally composed as a choral part from the Cantata No. 147 sung at the end of parts I and II of this cantata. Many organists love to play this work for weddings and other joyful occasions. Because of the popularity of this work, there are so many organ versions available which are not necessarily perfect for you. In this article, I will show you how to make an organ arrangement of this composition for organ in 3 voices which will sound very well and will be comfortable to play.
Before we can make an organ arrangement, we have to become familiar with the orchestral instrumentation. If we take a look at the original scoring, we will discover that this work is notated in 9 staves. The harmonized chorale tune is performed by the 4 part SATB choir which in Bach's time might have been sung by the 4 soloists, too. The top soprano voice is also reinforced by the Trumpet in C. The bass line is performed by at least 5 people: vocal bass, cellist, harpsichordist (or organist), the double bass, and perhaps the bassoonist as well. The vocal bass joins in choral phrases. We can imagine Bach himself playing the harpsichord or the organ and conducting at the same time. He would have been playing the bass line in the left hand and adding chords or another fully worked out solo voice from the basso continuo notation with the right hand. The double bass player would be playing the cello part one octave lower (at 16' pitch level). The 3 instrumental parts are meant for two violins, viola, and also 2 oboes doubling the violin I part. The viola player would have to play from the alto clef. Note that the meter of the violin I part is 9/8 while other voices are notated in 3/4 meter. This is probably done to avoid triplets in the violin I part. As you can see, it must have been quite an ensemble of at least 14 people. In order to make an organ version of this piece, we have to decide which parts are most important because naturally we can't play every part on the organ at the same time. Obviously, there are 3 most important lines in this composition - the chorale tune, the violin I part playing orchestral ritornellos, and the cello part giving the harmonic foundation. By playing these parts on three separate divisions, we could make a very nice and satisfactory organ version in a trio texture. The violin I part could be played using 8' and 4' flute combinations in the right hand. The chorale tune would sound best, if played in the tenor range (one octave lower) in the left hand on the solo registration, perhaps using a soft reed stop, such as an oboe. We can take the cello line in the pedals using 16' and 8' soft stops. The 3 part version of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring will sound very well on the organ and it will not be too difficult to learn. Just make sure you treat this arrangement like a real organ composition, and practice slowly with correct fingering, pedaling, articulation, and phrasing. It is best to practice repeatedly one small fragment at a time. If you want to learn this piece in 10 days while working only 30 minutes a day, you can download my fully edited instructional 3-part arrangement of this composition from here. It comes with complete fingering, pedaling, articulation, tempo and registration suggestions and detailed step-by-step practice plan. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. What Are the Top 5 Most Suitable and Playable Collections for Organ From the Baroque Period?4/4/2012 Every organist who has modest technical abilities has to face a question of what to play and practice. Many famous compositions are technically out of reach for them and some that are easy and short might be musically uninteresting. If you are looking for a list of manageable quality Baroque organ compositions, you have come to the right place. In this article, I will provide 5 organ collections which you can choose from for your practice.
1) Orgelbuchlein, BWV 599-644 by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is a wonderful collection by many respects. It is not easy, because most of the 46 chorale preludes have 4 independent voices, including a pedal line. However, the technical challenges are compensated by the very short length of each piece - most of them are only 1 page long in the autograph. They are perfect as a preparation for longer chorale preludes. 2) 44 organ chorales by Johann Christoph Bach. This is very practical and playable collection of the composer from the Bach family. The chorales are written in the fughetta form with points of imitation. Most of the pieces contain very easy pedal part. which also could be played on the manual. Highly recommended for organists with modest technical abilities. 3) Chorale preludes by Johann Pachelbel. Excellent works by the significant south German Baroque composer. Compositions are written using variety of compositional techniques, most notably vorimitation and cantus firmus with long note values in the soprano voice. Most of the works employ 4 voices and many of these pieces can also be played on manuals only. 4) Chorales from the Clavierubung by Johann Ludwig Krebs. This is a superb collection by one of the most famous student of J.S.Bach and contains 13 chorales each written in the following system: a prelude (praeambulum), manualiter chorale with chorale melody in one of the voices and chorale harmonization with the soprano and bass part in continuo notation. The last part could be played with or without pedals. 5) Chorale partitas by Johann Pachelbel. These are wonderful sets of manualiter variations in 2, 3, and 4 voices. Each variation employs one melodic and rhythmic figuration throughout. They are highly practical and playable by organists with modest technical abilities. In addition, they are perfect for demonstration of variety of organ stops and their combinations. Note that this list is not written in a graded order. Although these pieces don't require an advanced organ technique, they might not be sight-readable. Some organists will have to put in some practice time in order to master them but they are artistically very pleasing and well worth the effort. They will be perfect works for service playing and recitals. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
Toccata for organ from the 5th symphony by Charles-Marie Widor is one of the most popular organ works, second only to Bach's D minor toccata. Rapid tempo, perpetual toccata figuration and splendid harmonies make it a perfect piece for recital, postlude, or wedding recessional. It is a dream for many organists to be able to play this piece. In this article, I will give you tips on playing Widor's toccata on the organ. Practice on the piano. Since this toccata requires a fairly well-developed piano technique, I suggest you practice this piece on the piano. If you play it on the piano, you will soon notice any uneven notes. Try to work on making all notes sound even and precise. The more you practice this piece on the piano, the more comfortable it will be to play it on the organ. Do not rush. Practice this piece in a slow tempo because it is easy to play it too fast. If you play it in a fast tempo, chances are that the notes will sound sloppy and your playing will lack precision and clarity. Even after you master this toccata and perform it in public, take a rather moderate tempo. By playing too fast, it is a high risk of missing important structural and harmonic elements. In fact, Widor himself criticized organists, who play this piece too fast. Observe precise staccato articulation. When playing the sixteenth-note figuration, try to achieve the precise staccato. Many organists miss this important point and slur the notes which in a rapid tempo and vast acoustical space will lack clarity. The eighth notes in the other hand should also be played staccato. The best way to perform staccato in a French tradition is by shortening the notes by a half, e.g. by playing sixteenth notes and making sixteenth note rests. Option: play one octave lower. If you perform this piece on the organ which has screamy and high-pitched mixtures and very few 8' foundation stops in the manuals, you can play it one octave lower without the 16' stops. Playing this way will give your organ more gravity and the mixture sound will not be as screamy. This toccata is especially suited for such a trick because the left hand never goes below tenor C. Play scales in double thirds and sixths on the piano. As you probably are aware, this toccata requires to have a fairly advanced piano technique. This means, that your fingers must have the necessary dexterity, evenness, and independence. One of the best ways to achieve such a skill is by regularly practicing scales in double thirds and sixths on the piano. In order to successfully master such scales in all major and minor keys, you will have to use finger substitution technique to achieve a perfect legato. If you follow my suggestions and practice this toccata in a slow tempo, observing a precise staccato on the piano, and develop your technique by playing scales in double thirds and sixths, you can successfully master this wonderful composition. Just be patient, have your goal in mind, stick to your plan and your performance level of this toccata will become much higher. You can use my practice score of Widor's Toccata with complete fingering and pedaling for efficient practice. For a long time many of my students have been asking me if I could record a video teaching them how to play Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach on the organ. It took me some time and effort but it was worth doing it. I love this piece and play it very often. People love to hear it especially for weddings, communion and some other quiet occasions. Anyhow, I hope you will find these instructions useful: If you want to learn this piece in 10 days while working only 30 minutes a day, you can download my fully edited instructional 3-part arrangement of this composition from here. It comes with complete fingering, pedaling, articulation, tempo and registration suggestions and detailed step-by-step practice plan.
By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. _As we all know, Bach's Aria from Orchestral Suite No. 3 is one of top 10 most popular Bach's pieces of all times. It is also commonly called Air on the G String. Arrangments of this immortal composition range from piano to guitar quartet, from flute choir to glass harmonica. Would you like to learn to play this piece on the organ? If so, watch this video, I teach it all step by step here: By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.
The Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 is one of the best known fugues by Bach. Although usually called “Little” we should not underestimate its artistic quality. Because of its length, medium tempo, clear texture, and fairly easy pedal part, this piece might be accessible to organists with modest organ playing skills. It is written early in composer’s career, most likely while he was an organist in Arnstadt around 1707. In this article, I will show you how to master this wonderful composition.
The first thing you should do before practicing it is to analyze the structure and tonal plan of this fugue. Since it is a fugue, it has rather strict requirements which Baroque composers usually followed. The fugue is a piece of imitative polyphony in which the composer reveals the possibilities a theme has to offer. You may be wandering why this fugue is in the key of G minor but only has one flat next to the clef. You see, this is a remnant of the old modal system that Bach still occasionally used. The mode which is built around note of G and has one flat is called “Dorian”. This means we can say this fugue has features of the Dorian mode. Now look at the theme or subject at the beginning of the fugue. It is 5 measures long. Now try to count the other appearances of the theme in the fugue and label them on your score with a pencil. Look at each voice. Remember that the theme can be not only in the home key of G minor, but in other related keys as well. Write down the names of the keys on the score. This will be the tonal plan of this fugue. In addition, look especially at the melodic line which appears in the soprano voice after the theme enters in the alto. This is a countersubject. Sometimes composers used different countersubjects with every appearance of the theme. This is not the case with this fugue. Interestingly, this countersubject is constant and Bach uses it with every subject (sometimes a little bit altered). So the subject and countersubject are the two main building materials of this fugue. Look what happens between subject entrances. These places without a subject are called episodes. The material for them is taken from the theme or the countersubject. Episodes are meant to help modulate from one key to another. One of the easiest ways to achieve that is through sequences. A sequence is melodic or harmonic idea that is repeated in ascending or descending manner and either stays in the same key or modulates to another key. For example, in measures 22-23 we see a descending sequence. Try to count other sequences in this fugue. Now that you know the basic formal and tonal structure of this composition, you could start practicing it on the organ. I have written earlier about my method I use that will help you to master any organ piece. You could take the same steps while playing this fugue, too. Subdivide the piece into smaller fragments. These could be of the same length as that of the theme or you could subdivide it according to lines. Always start and finish playing the fragment on the down beat. That way the fragments will be connected with each other. Write in fingering and pedaling in Fragment 1. Make sure you avoid finger substitutions, placing a thumb on a sharp key (except where there is no other option) and use toes only pedaling. This type of fingering and pedaling helps to achieve the desired articulation for any piece of the Baroque period – the articulate legato or as the contemporary sources called it - the ordinary touch. This type of articulation means that there should be small breaks between each note. However, the notes should not be too detached. It should be executed in a singing (cantabile) manner. Additionally, feel the alternation of the strong and week beats in each measure. Articulate a little bit more before beats 1 and 3 in each measure. Because each voice is very independent, it is best to practice each voice of that fragment separately, then in two-voice combinations, later in three-voice combinations, and finally, all four voices together. Practice slowly and use pedal preparation. Repeat each combination several times until you can play it precisely and without mistakes at least three times in a row. Then take another combination and do the same thing. When you master fragment 1, take fragment 2 and start over. When you master all separate fragments, start combining them and play in longer episodes. This type of practicing takes some willpower but in the end you will progress much faster. Note that there are various instances of ornamentation in this fugue. All trills and mordents here should be played from the upper note. In measures 19 and 43 you will see a trill sign over a long note. These trills should be long and played over the entire length of that note, starting from the upper note. The registration of this piece could be anything from a single 8’ principal up to a full 16’ based principal chorus with pedal reads. Always include a stop of 16’ in the pedals. Upon learning this fugue, you may find it so beautiful that it would be worthwhile even to memorize it. Refer to my earlier post about memorization. I recommend the New Bach Edition for playing this piece which is solid and quite reliable. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. When beginners first decide to start playing the organ, they inevitably have a question: where to begin? Having an answer to this question is crucial to the advancement of an organist.
Without a clear understanding of what are the strengths and weaknesses of any particular approach, it will be very difficult to succeed in developing one’s technique. In this article, I will give you my thoughts on this topic. First of all, let me say this: if you have a teacher or a mentor whom you can trust, do as they tell you. It is important that you accept and follow your teacher’s suggestions. Otherwise, he or she can’t take full responsibility for your development. When I first started to play the organ, my teacher asked me to choose a choral prelude from the Orgelbuchlein by J.S.Bach. Imagine that – playing from Orgelbuchlein right from the beginning... I have to admit, although I had a fairly well developed piano technique (I played the piano for 10 years before starting taking organ lessons), I had much trouble with this chorale. I did not know the reason why it was so difficult then, but now I can confidently say it was so because it had 4 independent voice parts (one in the pedal). Talking about Orgelbuchlein, it would have been better to start with the trio texture with 3 independent voices (chorale prelude “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”), because it does not require to play two voices in one hand, which makes too difficult for a beginner to control the articulation. So going back to this topic you can see, that if the organist chooses a piece from the repertoire, it should be a wise choice. On the other hand, having a good organ method book , proceeding from the beginning and diligently following the instructions might save a lot of precious time. You see, the author who writes a particular method book gives you not only very specific exercises to develop your organ technique, but usually a good method book is structured in a very graded manner – from easy to difficult exercises and compositions. A traditional method book might start just with a single line and large note values and proceed a little bit further and involved with each set of exercises. This way the beginner might not feel overwhelmed by the subtleties of texture and technique. I understand that in many cases method books have long sections with dry unmusical exercises which are focused just on one particular element of organ technique, like pedal playing and the organist is supposed to complete them all. Organ pieces sometimes are only at the end of such method. For some people, this approach might be too boring. Isn’t the most beautiful organ music that they first heard was the most important reason for them to start playing this instrument in the first place? And here they are forced to play these exercises for many pages. Perhaps they could feel better about them if they had their goal , vision, or a dream in mind. For example, imagine that the organist wanted to play some piece that he or she always dreamed of, like the D Minor Toccata and Fugue by Bach or Toccata by Widor . But this organist would understand that they are too complicated for a beginner and start studying organ from the method book first with this goal in mind. In fact, it is possible to use a mixed approach. With this approach you would study exercises from the method book but integrate compositions from the repertoire of your level, too. Incidentally, the best method books available today integrate pieces within the exercises or construct the exercises out of the excerpts of the pieces. In addition, such a book also has extensive details on early organ technique, registration, ornamentation, service playing, organ construction, and even on the new late 20th century techniques. Another option would be to start playing the organ with very easy pieces from organ repertoire, such as the chorale prelude “In dulci jubilo” by Johann Michael Bach . However, be aware that you will need to figure out many details by yourself which otherwise would be included in the method book. These details include choice of fingering, pedaling, articulation, registration, ornamentation etc. So you still probably would need to consult your teacher or a method book. Otherwise, your solutions might not be the best and the road to mastering these pieces would be too long. Following the directions from your method book in a way is like studying with an experienced teacher but without the benefits of feedback, motivation, encouragement, and support. By the way, most of the teachers I know use method books in one way or another in their teaching. In the end, I would say that it is possible to start playing the organ with any approach described here. Of course, the choice is yours but my recommendation would be to choose and practice wisely. Treat the pieces like the exercises, find and isolate the difficulties, practice them diligently and you will have no trouble in mastering any organ piece . By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 – 1707) was a representative of North German Organ School and a famous composer of the Baroque period. Buxtehude composed music for various vocal and instrumental genres, and his works and personality had a strong influence on many composers, among them J.S.Bach.
Today Buxtehude with Heinrich Schütz is considered as the most important German composer from the middle-Baroque period. In this article, I will give tips and advice on how to play and practice perhaps the most popular work by Buxtehude - Prelude in C Major, BuxWV 137. The prelude (Praeludium, Praeambulum) is a genre of keybord music with no pre-existing choral melody which was refined by Buxtehude. Praeludium C-dur, BuxWV 137, a perfect example of this type of organ composition in Stylus fantasticus, begins with a imposing virtuoso passagio for pedal solo and imitative episode with dotted rhythms which leads to a fugue. After the fugue folows the ciaccona, e.g. variations of basso ostinato (ground bass) type. This theme is placed in a pedal part upon which the hands play imitative variations. The Praeludium ends with final virtuoso passages. The choice of pedaling for the opening pedal solo is alternate toe technique. Using this technique we avoid heels and play with toes only with right and left feet in alternation. Because this passage consists of solo melody, it is very appropriate to play it quite freely, emphasizing the highest notes of the line. Allow enough time to listen to the echo during the rests and do not rush. On the contrary, a great way to play dramatically is to come in a little late after such rests. The next episode with dotted notes is supposed to be rhythmically strict and precise. One common mistake organists do while performing the opening episode and the fugue is that they lose track of the pulse and play it in different tempos. Since only one meter is given at the beginning (C), everything up until the ciaccone should be played in one tempo. Because this particular fugue is a polyphonic composition which has four highly independant parts, I recommend practicing in shorter fragments in a slow tempo. First, practice each voice separately, then combine two voices, later add three voices, and finally, play all four voices. When you will know shorter fragments, combine them into longer episodes. By the way, I highly recommend to memorize at least this fugue for a true mastery. Use the articulated manner of playing which means that there should be small distances between notes. Avoid using finger substitution, which is more appropriate for the legato technique. However, make sure that the notes would not sound too detached or choppy. The correct articulation could be achieved if you will feel the alternation of strong (1 and 3) and week beats (2 and 4) in a measure. Since Buxtehude was influenced by the Italian tradition, his ornaments usually start from the main note or from the note which is more dissonant. For instance, at the end of the theme of the fugue, you could add a mordent on the dotted G note starting from the main note. The mordent could have three (GAG) or five (GAGAG) notes. Make the first note of the mordent a little longer. Additionally, you could play a mordent in each instance where the dotted note appears at the end of each theme. Note the meter change (3/2) at the beginning of the Ciaccona. Here too, do not lose sense of pulse and play in the same tempo. The tempo relationship could be as follows: one quarter note of the fugue will be equal to one half note of the ciaccona. In the last 5 measures of the piece returns the opening meter and the beginning tempo relationship. If you use such ratio of the tempo, you will achieve a great unity in movement. The most common registration of this type of piece would be Organo Pleno, or Principal chorus with low reeds in the pedals. Feel free to use the Pleno sound on the secondary manual as well for the episode with the dotted notes or the fugue. I use the Breitkopf edition of Buxtehude's organ work s which is solid and quite reliable. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. Pièce d'Orgue in G, BWV 572, also known as Fantasia in three parts, is written in a French style. It originated rather early in Bach's career (before 1712). The first part is entitled as Tres vitement (very fast), the second - Gravement (heavy) and the final part - Lentement (slow).
Because of fast runs and passages, the opening and closing parts remind of a toccata, and the central solemn episode is written in a 5 part polyphonic texture. In this article I will give tips and advice on how to play and practice this wonderful composition. The Italians would call the opening section the Passagio which was also a common feature in the North German Praeludia. However, it is questionable whether the Italian term is appropriate in the French style composition. Basically it is a virtuosic episode written in a monophonic texture where we can find both the elements of arpeggio and scale-based passages. At any rate, even at this early stage of Bach's career, the composer shows a unique angle of blending multi-cultural elements in one work. Although written in deceptively simple and clear one-voice texture, the opening section has various potential dangers for an organist. This includes note grouping and articulation. Note groupings have something to do with the meter signature which is 12/8. Such a meter has 4 relatively accented beats (on sixteenths 1, 7, 13, and 19, or if we count the eighth notes – 1, 4, 7, and 10). In a measure of such a meter, there are four groups of sixteenth notes. Each group has 6 notes. However many sixteenths are grouped not by the meter requirements, but according to which hand has to play them. For example, in measure 2, the sixteenths are grouped in threes for the right hand and left hand respectively. If we play and make accents according to such a grouping, then inevitably the listener will have the feeling of triplets which is not the correct way to play this passage. Instead, the organist should try to make very gentle accents on every other note and emphasize beats 1, 4, 7, and 10 of the measure. Concerning the articulation, articulate legato touch should be used which was the traditional way of playing any instrument in the Baroque period. Articulate legato means that there should be very small distances between each and every note. However, this does not mean, that the musical passage should be choppy and very detached. On the contrary, the organist should strive to have a Cantabile or singing manner of playing where the notes are connected into one line. However, playing with articulate legato touch in such a lively tempo is not exactly easy. Try to keep all your fingers in contact with the keys at all times. Practice in a slow tempo and with correct articulation. Rhythmically lean on the places where there are important changes of harmony (before measures 17, 21, and 27). Slow down before reaching the end of this section so that you could naturally connect it with the next central section. In the longest main central section, we can hear very imposing stepwise rising theme in long note values which is treated in a fugal manner in various voices. This is a typical French 5 part texture, because the French employed 5 stringed instruments in an ensemble (2 violins, 2 violas, and a violon). Therefore, many of the French classical type of compositions are written in this texture as well (especially the fugues). By the way, can you guess what kind of ominous chord sounds at the end of this section? This central section raises various performance difficulties for many organists. Notice that the meter signature is alla breve or cut-time. That means that there are really two beats per measure and the first is strong and the second is weak. The harmony also changes mostly twice per measure. We have to be aware of that and emphasize rhythmically various important harmonic changes, especially occurring in cadences. Apparently for Bach this central section was like a case study in suspensions. Just look at any measure you want and you will see tied notes over the bar lines. The suspension technique gives a constant feeling of tension and continuity. Most of the cadences in this section are deceptive. That means whenever Bach ends a fragment in one key, he does not use chords of the Dominant and Tonic but rather Dominant and the chord of 6th scale degree. Try to emphasize rhythmically these cadences. Such an approach will help you to clarify formal structure of this section. Because this section is written in 5 independent voices, there is an inherent danger that the organist will not be able to listen to each separate line, everything will just sound legato, and correct articulation will be lost. In other words, it is easy to understand that all the notes should be played with articulate legato touch but the suspensions over the bar line make it exceedingly difficult to control the releases. If you truly want to have a precise articulation, my suggestion would be to take a fragment of four measures and practice each of the 5 voices separately, then combinations of 2 voices, 3 voices, 4 voices, and only then practice playing the entire 5 part texture. Then take another fragment of 4 measures etc. Practicing this way will ensure that your articulation will be unbeatable and that you will hear each part separately which you have to strive for in every polyphonic composition. Pièce d'Orgue ends with a virtuosic but a little slower and heavier texture which has 5 voices encoded: 4 voices could be perceived in both hands and magnificent Dominant pedal point in the pedal line. Try not to play this final section too fast because it has a tempo marking Lentement. Like in the opening section, here too, the notes are grouped according to which hand plays which of the three note groups. When you play them, instead of emphasizing two groups of triplets, try to feel three groups in each sextuplet. Make a natural connection between the hand part and the magnificent long Dominant pedal point in the middle of the measure 200. Because this is the French style piece, the ornaments also should be performed in such a tradition. Always start the trills and mordents from the upper note. By the way, it is worthwhile looking at the heavily ornamented version of the middle section in the Neue Bach Ausgabe edition (Volume 7 of Bach Organ Works ). You can try to adapt many of the ornaments in your performance, too. The most trusted registration of this piece obviously would be Principal chorus or Organo Pleno (with or without 16’ in the manuals). Manuals could be coupled as well. The use of the deep pedal reeds, such as Posaune 16’ (or 32’ if there is one on your instrument) is most welcome. If you use a modern instrument with unnaturally sharp sound mixtures, sometimes it is a good idea to add some additional 8’ and 4’ flutes in the manuals for thickness. Feel free to play on the secondary manual in the opening section, if you wish. In this case, avoid using 16' in your opening registration. That way you will achieve the true gravity which Bach wished for his Pleno sound. I have created BWV 572 Video Training which will help you master Bach's Piece d'Orgue. Overall, this is a rather difficult composition to play. If you are new to the organ, I suggest you start with shorter free works, such as 8 Short Preludes and Fugues for organ earlier attributed to J.S.Bach and leave the Piece d’Orgue for the future. At any rate, even an experienced performer should have much perseverance and attention to detail while practicing this wonderful work. Memorizing the piece would give the organist a full mastery at a much deeper level. |
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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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