This conversation continues from previous podcast episode: AVA232 where David asked how often we improvise in a church service.
Listen to AVA233 here. Vidas: So yeah, we imagine that those masters were superhumans, superheroes, and in a sense, they were! Right? But, we all have that inner power to do something outside of our comfort zone, because the first step for Bach, probably, was also to surpass his own current level. He never did something twice, probably. Once he managed to do something that is working, he always tried to create something new. And this is quite scary, you know? Because, if it’s working, why change it? You could do like some of his students did, like writing all over the same type of compositions. But, if you do that, our advancements will not be as great, and a contribution to humanity. Ausra: So, that’s coming back to the original question… how much? How many times do you need to improvise? I think it’s up to you actually to decide. V: As many times as you can comfortably say that you are not sacrificing, perhaps, your site reading, also practice. Because site reading is also important. A: And the quality of the service, and as long as the congregation is not complaining about your improvisations. V: Yes. For example, when I go to Saint John’s church, when they invite me, which is very rare nowadays because they prefer guitar music and synthesizers, and just once in a while when those guitarists are not able to show up, they ask me. And when I’m able and I’m in town, then I go and play everything on the organ. Almost nothing from the score, because it’s so rare, I want to show the organ side of the service. And everyone knows that, that this is me who is playing, and this is me who is specializing in improvisations, you know? But for everyone it is different, right? Maybe David, at first, would be brave enough to improvise just once a month if he plays four Sundays. Or maybe twice a month, you know? It’s not that big a deal. You could even improvise once a week, just for one setting—for communion, you know? Or part of the communion. If communion is five minutes long or more sometimes, you could do a two minute improvisation. And then the rest of it could be hymns or service music. What do you think Ausra? A: Yes, that’s right, I think. That’s a very good suggestion. V: You don’t have to go all in, in that, for improvisations. You can just dip your toes in the water and see if it’s something you can pursue in the future—if it’s something you can envision perfecting later on in years to come—maybe in decades to come. What do you think Ausra. A: Yes, I think that’s very nice. Although don’t improvise so much that you forget to play a repertoire as well. V: That’s what I’m saying. A: You always need to find the right balance. V: Because improvisation feels your repertoire playing. You’re starting to recognize patterns in written down compositions. You’re starting to look at how the piece is put together so that you could also learn from the piece, and maybe steal some ideas and use them in your own playing. And, vice versa, when you improvise, it also helps you to play the repertoire. A: That’s right, I think it goes both ways. V: For example, remember, Ausra, when I played Passacaglia by Bach the last time for Bach’s birthday recital, A: Yes, I remember! V: and I had this faintest idea at the last minute, basically, just before the recital, I never practiced this type of playing, but I thought of playing a cadenza after the fermata towards the end of the fugue in Passacaglia where the Neapolitan chord is held, and maybe I have heard somebody do that maybe decades ago, could be. Or maybe I heard that done in other pieces. But, I’d never done this before in Passacaglia. What was your reaction, Ausra, without complimenting me too much. A: Well, I was surprised, I was shocked a little bit! I liked it. It was so dramatic that it almost made me smile. V: And, of course, since I’d never done this before on that piece, I had to come out of this cadenza somehow skillfully, and I didn’t! You know? Anyone who heard the recording might have felt, maybe, that I was searching for the right arpeggio or the right final note to finish the flourish. But I didn’t panic, I found that note, it wasn’t how I would do in the future, and actually, I did practice for a couple of weeks later on, this Passacaglia, for another performance, and I played this cadenza every time something different. And I don’t know which version was better! So you could add to existing organ compositions, too, if you learn this style and skill. A: Yes, because sometimes cadenzas are risky, because if they will be completely out of style you might ruin the entire piece. V: Remember we heard in our philharmonic hall... A: Yes, that’s what I thought about.. V: written down cadenza for what? For Mozart’s piano concerto. A: Yes. But it was a professional composer who did it, and actually he’s quite famous in Lithuania, and he wrote a cadenza in his style, completely out of Mozart’s style, and I think it was quite disgusting, at least for my taste. What do you think? V: Yes and no. You know, it’s so surprising, it actually was shocking but… A: I felt like you are eating soup and you suddenly find a worm in your soup, or a fly. V: What if you like worms? A: Well, I don’t! V: Then this is like a delicacy, right? A: Ooy!!!! Yuck!!! V: Yuck! Nice! So guys, be fearless, basically. Whatever you do, you will not be as good at the beginning as later on. If you have played organ repertoire for years, and now want to dip your toes in improvisation, you will inevitably play worse than repertoire. And you will feel “Oh, I’m not good, I shouldn’t even try.” Right? That’s what I thought at the beginning. And, in fact, somebody wrote about my improvisations, that… how’d they say? A: “Essentially very ugly...in places” V: “Essentially very ugly in places” after one competition. You see? So after this comment, somebody with poor self esteem might have stopped playing altogether. A: Yes, but now that man is dead who commented on you like this, but you are still alive and still improvising. V: Exactly. So, continue practicing everyday, even as little as 15 minutes, and in one year, you will probably see a miracle happen, right? It’s a nice ending of our conversation, because remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 232 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by David. He writes: So...I keep hearing you and Ausra saying to improvise for service music during communion etc. How often do you improvise for a service? Every week? Once a month? That certainly seems much more doable than learning 27 pieces a month in the beginning... Though once the hymns are all learned, it would reduce to 11 per month to not repeat for 1 year. V: That’s a very interesting question, right Ausra? A: Yes, and actually who could answer it, how much do you need to improvise. V: I think it depends on person's preferences and motivation to improve improvisation skills, right? A: True. V: Because when you improvise in public like for church service setting you are basically practicing failing in public. This is something that everyone should internalize right now because you’re improvising not everything is perfect like printed out score, right? If you had a chance to go back and transcribe what you have improvised you would certainly change many things. And I found that during one hour of my non-stop improvisations I usually improvise enough quality material to be worth to put down on paper for about five minutes. A: True. V: When you practice for an hour you imagination comes up with enough quality music for three, maybe five minutes. Not every not you play is a masterpiece. A: True and it probably shouldn’t be. V: No. Of course. It’s a practice so even though we are not perfect when we play in public it doesn’t mean we should only play those five minutes because we don’t know which five minutes will be good. A: And you know I think why I suggest you to improvise during the communion especially because you never know how long communion will take. For sure. Especially if you are in the Catholic Church you never know how many people will show up, how many of them will go to take communion. V: But in the Protestant Church just as well. A: Well yes, but I think it is probably easier to get communion in the Protestant Church so basically everybody in church goes to communion. Not the same case with the Catholics. You have to confess to receive communion. So, not everybody likes to do it so not everybody goes to communion. And because of that you never know how long it will take. I found myself quite a few times when I picked up a piece and I finished playing it and I still saw that the church is full and a hundred people are waiting for communion. So, then what to do? Repeat that piece again, sightread the next one or do whatever. V: It’s good if you have really great sightreading skills but it takes years to develop it at this level, right? A: True. V: How many years have you been playing keyboard? Since... A: Since the age of five. V: Five. Right? And your first church position you received was when? A: Well, second year of Academy of Music. V: So you were like twenty years old maybe. A: Well no, nineteen. V: Nineteen. Nineteen minus 5. Fourteen years of practicing keyboard. At that level, yes, you could sightread a lot of things. So the thing we suggest sometimes is to improvise, not necessarily even based on the hymn, it’s a very nice practice and we found out that it works and people who would do it like it, to improvise based on just four notes. Right? A: True. V: We are holding every Monday, Secrets of Organ Playing Improvisation Contest and people submit entries based on the theme and so far we did come up with four note themes like tetrachords maybe. Not necessarily in that order. Could be any other order with sharps, with flats, and people are free to use those notes in any order, in any rhythm, meter, registration, octave, with pedals or without pedals, basically to make it interesting and to play non-stop for maybe two to ten minutes. After a while it might get boring so with four notes you don’t really play a long piece, right? But you have to switch something to make it still interesting. A: Yes, and I am amazed and surprised that actually it works and it sounds quite nice. V: Yes, people who do it, who send those entries to Steemit, to dSound platform it’s an amazing practice. And they get rewarded for that too. So, anybody can do that at church. Even a beginner, right? Who cannot really play four part harmony with hymns. A: Yes, because it’s really not such a hard thing to control four notes. V: Four notes, yeah. It does not have to be fast, can be slow, could be two voice texture with maybe one long pedal note once in a while. A: Yes. V: So that’s how beginners could start making up improvisation in the church service setting during communion, during prelude, if you are more maybe advanced you could play postlude too, playing louder and a little bit faster, maybe more energetic. Not necessarily very fast but energetic. So maybe louder registration with principal chorus, mixtures, maybe reeds to cover people’s talking. A: Yes, that’s right. V: So Ausra what do you think stops people from improvising, lack of knowledge or lack of bravery? A: I would say probably the second thing is more common. What do you think? V: I would say both because a lot of times people say I don’t know how to improvise and even after hearing this conversation they probably won’t believe it that it’s possible to create a quality interesting piece on the spot based on the four pitches alone. A: I think we would need to hear those improvisations that we hear on the Steemit platform. V: And we are sharing every Monday the winners. A: I think it would inspire them to try. V: Definitely. And it also brings out something which is missing in our lives, this creativity, you know. If we only play music that was composed hundreds of years ago or maybe not so long ago, but by the masters, by semi-gods let's say, just Bach you know who probably didn’t eat at all, he didn’t sleep. Imagine that he wrote his music with pen. A: Remember when he went to Halle to compete for a church position and he wrote that cantata in his hotel room. Remember that receipt that he received for all the food that he ate and all the drink that he drank. It was a long list. V: And he created a cantata in that week plus probably some other music too. [Our discussion continues in the next podcast episode] Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 231 of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Robert. He writes: Hi Vidas, ... It's hard to get Bach’s In dulci jubilo, BWV 608 from Orgelbuchlein up to speed .... 3 sharps and some significant contrary motion. Pedal no issue but the left, right hand ... some serious reading there. 😊 Also wondering what concert tempo should be on the beat,.... the half notes. ....... Maybe it helps to figure out the chords progressions in this key. Anyway I would classify this piece ' intermediate to advanced level ..... for me anyway! By the way it really helps as in one of your last videos .... when you play it 1/2 tempo and have the camera covering from the top .... sort of a bird's eye view. As well you can sort of see the pedal motion too. ...... Keep up the great work to both of you. Greeting and blessings from Vancouver/Canada! Robert V: So, Robert is our frequent reader of our blog and he writes these questions frequently, right Ausra? A: True. V: Do you remember this video, when I play in a slow motion and then, people from our team can transcribe the fingering. A: True. Yes, I remember it. V: It’s helpful not only for them to see in a slow motion, but also for other people. So, they are now publicly available, and as Robert says, it helps to see my fingering choices, but also how I articulate. Sometimes even the feet motion are visible. A: True. I think it’s very helpful, especially for beginners to observe more advanced organists playing this, to see how the organist’s body is moving. I think even that can help a lot. V: Yeah. Remember you played Variations In D Major by Mendelssohn. A: Yes, I remember that, yes. V: Before the concert at Saint John’s Church. A: Well, I do not recall that particular moment, but…. V: And I had you play this piece in a rather slow tempo. Not half speed, but slower than usual. And I held the camera above your head, sort of, so that also your hands would be visible. Did you like this, at the time? A: Well, I actually don’t remember it now. V: You don’t? A: Are you sure you told me that you were… V: No, I didn’t. A: So that’s why I cannot remember it. V: And when the time came to turn the page, I held the camera with one hand, and with another I turned the page, and sort of was in your way of playing. But you didn’t know that I was recording. So, you were not particularly happy about that. A: True! V: Yes!. But people who will be able to look at your fingering, and maybe our team can transcribe it and write down fingering and pedaling from that video, of course, will find this video very helpful. A: Well, I hope so! V: So, that’s the same with Robert. At first, of course, he struggles to get Bach’s “In Dulci Jubilo” up to speed. Yes, three sharps make considerable difficulties for beginners. I’m not considering him a beginner, since he’s practicing this piece, but for basic level organists, let’s say. A: Yes, and, you know, he says that those three sharps are making him some trouble, and he asks about progression—if knowing chord progressions would help. It would, if you sort of know theory quite well. If you are a beginner at theory level, then I don’t think it would help so much. V: What I would recommend, probably, for him and other people who are sort of struggling in getting up to speed, is to take a look at my basic chord workshop. It’s not a harmony course, where I play with two hands, but with one hand, let’s say C major chord in C major key would be a tonic chord, and I would play three pitches only: C, E, and G. And that would be a tonic root position chord. And I teach those things from the easiest concept to the most difficult to, let’s say, five note chords. Little by little, they can understand, play themselves, internalize this material, and also, which is very interesting, later discover the same chords in their own pieces that they play. A: True! That’s the point of learning theory. Not only knowing chords, but applying them to real pieces. V: So, maybe before analyzing his piece, Robert could take a look at my basic chord workshop and go from there. A: True. V: And… A: I think this might help for him to get better at his piece, “In Dulci Jubilo”. V: And not only “In Dulci Jubilo.” A: In all the other pieces as well. Because he asks if you learn chords once in your life, you can apply them to any other piece that you are working on. V: It’s like riding a bicycle, right? A: Sure. V: After decades of not doing it, the skill comes back after a couple weeks. A: True. V: One more thing for him to get up to speed is, of course, to play and stop every beat. And then stop every two beats. And then every measure. Every two measures. Every line. Every two lines, right? Every page, always doubling the amount of musical material he has to play in the concert tempo. A: True. V: What do you think about it? A: Yes, I think that’s a very good method. And also, I’ve thought that since the contrary motion gives him the trouble, I think maybe he’s not leaning well enough on the strong beats. Because that’s what helps me, for example, when I have to do some contrary motion. You lean down on the strong beat more, and then you just know very well where you are going to. V: There is one more problem here. If contrary motion is a problem for him, it means that he cannot hear, let’s say, two separate lines at the same time. They are different melodically and rhythmically sometimes. They’re two different parts. I think he has to play solo voices more, and then combinations of two parts. A: Yes, definitely working in combinations always helps. And since he says that pedal is not a problem, I still don’t believe it, because if you are working in combinations you need to do right and pedal, left and pedal, then maybe just right and left, and then all things together. Because when you are playing, it might seem for you that left hand, for example, is giving you trouble, but maybe pedals are giving trouble as well, too. V: What he could do is to record himself on a phone, and listen later to an audio, and see if he is playing in time, rhythmically correct, melodically correct. Is he leaning on the downbeat? Is he articulating correctly? Sort of listening from the perspective like that as an outsider, as a listener will actually help him grow. A: True. And don’t try to push to the right tempo right away. Because, if you are still struggling with contrary motion or some other stuff, it means that you are not ready to play in a concert tempo yet. So don’t do it too early. V: Yesterday, I had a lesson with my piano student at school, and in one spot, he had to play an accompaniment called, I think, “Sarabande,” and then he struggled to play in a fast tempo the chords and the octaves in the left hand. He always played more than an octave in the left hand. He has a wide range. So I said, “Ok, slow down 50%,” and he slowed down 25% only. Just a quarter of what I was asking. “It’s not 50%,” I said, and he slowed down maybe 27%. Which means that a person really cannot judge himself or herself on which level they are playing. A: So that’s why recording yourself is always a good idea. To listen to yourself from outside. V: Yes. And, with time, maybe in a few weeks, he will see some serious improvement in “In Dulci Jubilo.” Thank you guys, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow as an organist. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 230, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Ronald. He writes: Dear Vidas, The programme that I have thought of studying for the diploma is the following: 1. Buxtehude Prelude and Fugue in D, BuxWV 139 (c. 6 mins) 2. Franck Prelude, Fugue and Variation in B minor , Op.18: no 3 from '6 Pieces' (c.11 mins) 3. Stanford Postlude in D minor: no 6 from '6 Short Preludes and Postludes, 2nd Set, Op 105 (c.5 mins 30 secs) 4. Bach Chorale Prelude "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", BWV 645 (c 4mins) 5. Jongen Petit Prelude (c. 3 mins) 6. Vierne Symphonie No 1 in D minor, Op.14; 6th movement, Finale (c 6 mins 30 secs) The total programme duration is around 36 mins. I am not young. I am 52, work as a self-employed accountant and also hold a Masters in Environmental Planning and Management which I use in my role as a member of the Maltese Catholic Church Environment Commission. Some 13 years ago I had obtained a Diploma in Music Studies from the University of Malta focusing on organ performance and composition. I still do some composition every now and then. Currently I am finalising a Christmas Carol for SATB and children's choir accompanied by harp and organ. I had studied for the ABRSM grades in piano and organ and obtained distinction in Grades 6-8 in both instruments. I am the organist of a choir in Malta called Jubilate Deo directed by Christopher Muscat. I therefore have frequent occasions to play in church. My challenge now is to stick to a timetable and practice programme in order to sit for the organ diploma. The Total Organist courses are excellent for me because I can brush up all the things that I have already studied since I was young and learn new ones. There are ALWAYS gaps in knowledge which can be excellently filled by the online courses that you provide. Thanks a lot for your interest. V: So, Ausra, Ronald is preparing for the ABRSM diploma, exam, right? A: Yes, true. V: And he has to prepare about 36 minutes of organ program for that. From the pieces that I have mentioned before, in your opinion, what is the most difficult, or some of them. What are the most difficult. A: I would say probably the Vierne Finale from 1st Symphony. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Then of course there might be like couple not so comfortable spots in Bach’s Chorale "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", BWV 645. Overall it’s not a hard chorale, but those spots where the third voice comes in are harder. V: Mmm-hmm. So it seems that those six pieces are arranged in the order that could be performed as a recital, short recital. A: True. True. Very nice program, I would say. V: Mmm-mmm. You start with Baroque piece, then Romantic piece, and so on. I see the alternation between loud and soft dynamic colors. And fast and slow movements too; that’s a nice variety. A: Yes, I think so, yes. I think that’s a very nice program. V: So, his challenge is of course to stick to a time table, and being able to practice the program, you know, in a timely fashion, that he can prepare for the diploma on time. Of course this is a challenge when you have a short recital program like that. But, do you think that having a goal like this helps? A: Sure. Because it always pushes you forward. V: It’s even better probably than having a goal of playing a recital because it’s an examination. It’s even more, it’s like a competition. A: What about you? Were you worrying more and preparing more than you were preparing a degree recital, or just a regular recital? V: Probably, to me at that time it was a routine work because so many recitals came out, one after another. And we both spent, you know, we were immersed in this study all year round. And yes, it motivated me to not procrastinate and to play every day. What about you, Ausra? Do you like deadlines and due dates. A: No, I hate those. I don’t know, somehow, sometimes it motivates me but sometimes it just kills me. Demotivates. But you know, while preparing for degree recital was always fun and was a lot of pleasure because for a degree recital you would always learn new pieces of music. You would never repeat your old music. V: Of course if you can choose those pieces yourself, then its even more fun, right. They’re yours. A: True. V: So hope that Ronald chose those pieces himself, at least some of them. And he’s eager to learn them. A: True. V: It’s not like a burden to him but he would probably learn them anyway, without even preparing for the diploma. A: True, because it’s classical pieces for any organist. V: And it’s good to have in your repertoire, anyway. A: Sure. Because as you told earlier, some are shorter, some are longer, some are loud, some are soft. Some are virtuosic some are lyric in character. V: And he mentions that he frequently plays in church, so he can play one or two pieces all the time, alternate those and in immerse himself in public performance. A: Yes because you know some would work nicely as preludes or postludes. For example Buxtehude or Vierne. And some would work very nicely as, I don’t know, elevation pieces, or communion pieces. For example, you know, he could play Franck’s Preludes, Fugue and Variation, like in three different methods for, let’s say communion. Do preludes in one mass and then fugue in another mass and variation in another mass. Because he has such a soft, nice, I would say sad character. It’s used I think in communion main very well, although it’s a three piece. V: Ronald writes that he’s a self-employed accountant. So being self-employed of course might add you flexibility in your day. You can work whenever you want, basically. But it also adds you pressure, right? Because you have to find the work yourself. Risk. A: True. V: More risk. A: So, more freedom but more pressure, probably. V: Mmm-hmm. With freedom of course, it’s a good thing because he can then prioritize his time and say that, let’s say, this diploma preparation on the organ, is important for him. A: True. V: And do it first thing in the morning, let’s say. I don’t know if he has an access to a keyboard at the home. Because probably he is not at church all day long. A: Yes. V: It could be. It’s better to have an instrument at hand, even without pedals. Right Ausra? A: Yes! That’s true. It’s always nice to have an access to an instrument, at any time. V: You wake up early in the morning, and you do the thing that’s the most important to you first, creatively, let’s say. A: Yes, and your neighbors are so happy about that, yes? If you live, for example in an apartment building. V: In this case, sometimes people have electronic keyboards, with headphones, right Ausra? A: True. V: Do you like electronic keyboards? A: No, and you know that. So what are you asking me? V: Because other people don't know. A: I think they who listen carefully to all our podcasts, they know my opinion about real things. V: I see. That’s why we bought a mechanical action pipe organ which only has two stops, at home. A: Yes. V: But’s it real, instead of, you know, electronic version with three or five manuals. A: True. But it’s still costs much more to have mechanical instrument. V: And it lasts longer. A: True. V: With decent, probably, care and maintenance. Anyway, so, the challenge is of course to Ronald is to get motivated every single day, to sit on the organ bench. But since he has a goal, it’s already built-in. Motivation is built-in. A: I think, thinking about the diploma that he will receive after he accomplishes this program. I think he (it) should be well motivation for him. V: Yeah. Maybe this diploma will help him find a decent church position. A: Yes. I think that’s what he is looking forward for. V: Or maybe his current church position will elevate him to a higher level of income, maybe. If the church officials recognize this diploma. A: True. V: In Malta. A: True. V: Okay. What would you suggest for Ronald in terms of scheduling and being able to know if he is on track with his program? You know, step by step? A: Well, of course, I would start learning from harder pieces. Such as Vierne, Bach, probably Buxtehude, Franck, and you know to learn text first and then to progress further things. Musical things. V: I would probably also suggest calculating lines of organ music that he has to learn, and the days that he has to be ready. And he has to prepare probably two months before the date. Don’t you think? A: No, at least a month before, at the very least. V: A month is very risky, for non-professionals. Risky! But two months would give him plenty of time to improve his current level. So, for him would be good to calculate the lines and divide those lines in days. And then he will know how many lines he has to learn per day. A: True. But you know, but just counting the lines wouldn’t do the same, because some lines can be very easy but some can be really hard. V: It’s an average, I think. It’s, at the end it will average out, and, as you say, some things are easy, some things difficult. So on average, it will be okay. Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. This is really fun to help you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen! Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 229 of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. We’re continuing our discussion from the previous podcast conversation about our recent concert of Vilnius University Unda Maris studio. You can check it out in podcast Episode 228. So the next piece that was performed in the program was by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis. This was prelude in F Major, A lovely piece for manuals only and it was played by Ruta, our allergology professor. A: Yes, and she’s also a member of our studio. I believe this is her sixth season as a member of our studio. V: It’s always lovely to see her in the studio. A: I know because she shows up so rarely. But she always amazes me because she appears before recital sometimes quite a short time before recital and she always will be quite well so she’s very talented woman. V: I sometimes I forget how she looks and I always tend to take her photo at the organ so that she will also appreciate how she plays and how she looks on the organ bench. And last rehearsal I took the photo and after the concert sent this photo to her and she was very smiling at that photo and she wrote me back that she looks quite old you know and I said as long as you’re smiling you’ll never get old. And she wrote back that I’m probably right. A: True. V: Prelude in F Major by Ciurlionis is a lovely piece. She played it with the Principal stop, maybe together with the Flute and Salicional on the first manual and it went much smoother than any other concerts that she performed I think. A: Yes. V: Even though she comes to the studio very rarely she does seem to progress. A: That’s right. V: Maybe Ausra she practices on the piano at home. A: Could be and I think she has a great potential if you know she would practice regularly. V: Exactly because if she does that without any hard work imagine what she could do with hard work and practice. A: I know because she has that rare quality you know no so often happen with Lithuanian folks that she has self confidence in her. V: Right, she’s not embarrassed. A: I know and Vidas asks her “Are you sure you can do it?” Oh yes, yes, I will do it. Sure. And it amazes me every time. V: Yeah. We can learn this quality from her. Excellent. So then Mindaugas who is our actually graduating member from the studio from Chemistry Department he will be leaving us next year. A: That’s very sad because we are so well connected with him and he is so dear to us. V: Mindaugas performed March Gavotte in F Major by George Frideric Handel which was transcribed for the organ by Dubois. The registration was like a French Grand Choeur style. A: Yes, that dialog of reeds between different manuals. V: Nineteenth century registration style which suited the texture well although the harmony is eighteenth century. That’s how maybe Dubois would have performed it in Paris of nineteenth century. A: I think so, yes. V: And so Mindaugas will be leaving us to start his fourth position in another town in Klaipeda probably. It’s quite sad. A: Yes, it is. V: We got used to him being with us every week, he participated in our Secrets of Organ Playing Improvisation Contents and also he gave an interview for the Secrets of Organ Playing podcast earlier. It was really nice. A: He was a great help you know with tuning the organ when I for example couldn’t go to church he helped us tune the organ and he would help us during recitals and with page turning and was real kind to us so we will miss him greatly. V: March Gavotte in F Major by Handel was probably the most advanced piece that he ever played. A: Yes, he progressed with each year. He did better and better in each recital. V: So just like John from Australia who came to play at our church in April, Mindaugas also has potential to play full hour recital because we told him that he can recycle his old pieces and put together a nice maybe 30 minute recital first, and then later 60 minute recital. A: Sure. V: Excellent. We’ll try to arrange for him the possibility to practice in one of the local churches in Kaunas the next year. A: Definitely. V: Excellent. Then it was a nice surprise in our program because guitar music sounded on the organ. A: Not on the organ but together with the organ. V: Exactly. I played the organ and Andrius played the guitar part. Andrius is quite a colorful personality, right? A: He is. V: He started playing with us as a Mathematics student. He wanted to play the organ, especially improvisations. A: Because he didn’t want to play from a musical score. V: Yeah. And we thought that he cannot read music, but he now is going to transfer to Lithuanian Music Academy and he will study professionally guitar. And it appears that he reads music quite well. He participates in guitar festivals and competitions. So this time he played a piece by Bach, Prelude in D Major, BWV 998, originally composed for Lute and I supplied the organ accompaniment on the spot like improvised organ part. A: Sounded lovely. V: We had a problem because guitar sound is quite soft and we thought if we needed to amplify it with a microphone. A: So that’s what we did. V: And I used only one flute sound on the organ to accompany it. Excellent. So you see guys we have pretty interesting colorful program so far. And the next piece was quite dramatic taken from the first half of the nineteenth century by the second generation student of Bach, Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, the famous Postlude in D Minor which was performed by Giedre. Giedre also studies at the Mathematics department and is together with us for how much? A: Second year. V: Second year and she has a well advanced piano technique. A: And as you know she is nice plays for Lithuanian musical schools like other schools that are located in Vilnius because she comes from not a large town in southern part of Lithuania and she just attended regular musical school. And, oh my, her technique is so advanced. She is extremely well. That’s what I think about her. V: And she’s an example of what people can accomplish after graduating those music schools for kids. Seven year long studies. A: Yes, and because you know she studies Math and it’s probably not as fun as music. I think it’s nice way for her to relax and to spent some time with an art coming to the studio to perform. V: So this Postlude in D Minor by Rinck sounded quite dramatic. A: Yes, and it sounds actually like played by a professional. V: She could be one of the candidates to perform at a competition for young organists I would think. A: Yes, if she would wish. V: And then we finished our program with interesting organ transcription by Beethoven. First part Allegro con brio from Symphony No. 5 which needs no introduction of course. A: Sure. It was an organ transcription for organ duet. It was played by Giedre and Arnoldas. And Giedre the same girl who played before and Arnoldas played the second part. V: And Arnoldas is now a medical student but in another university. A: Yes, actually he started as a Chemistry Major at Vilnius University but when he realized that his passion was actually medical studies and he wanted to become a medical doctor so he actually had to take some additional exams and he transferred to another university. But he came back to play with Giedre to do the duet. Because last year actually we played that wonderful Sonata in D Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. V: Which Ausra and I also have been playing as an organ duet. A: Yes, because we liked it so much now we played it and we wanted to do it ourselves. And actually we even taking this piece to London, yes? V: That’s right. A: If I remember correctly. V: To Saint Paul's Cathedral. A: Would you like to play Beethoven as well? V: Well, it’s possible though. I had this idea to play either Beethoven’s symphony or Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. A: I like Mozart better. I think it’s more suited to the organ. Because this motif of repeated three notes. It’s hard to perform well especially when you are playing with four hands. It’s very hard to play together. V: True. A: And we did a great job knowing that you know how little we practiced together. V: Because Arnoldas lives now in Kaunas and they only practiced here in Vilnius. A: For a couple times I think before recital. V: So it went quite well considering the circumstances and I wish next year they could also perform something in duet and/or solo too. I hope Arnoldas will find a church in Kaunas to practice in. A: Because you know Giedre, Arnoldas is you know equally capable to play well because he comes from another part of Lithuania but he also graduated from musical school and he has also very advanced piano technique. V: Before leaving Vilnius University he also took part in Vilnius University Chamber Orchestra where he played harpsichord, continuo part. A: Sure, also quite advanced pieces. He did very well. V: So this was our recital on May 26, performed at Vilnius University at St. John’s Church by the members of Vilnius University Organ Studio Unda Maris. The end of the seventh season. It was very nice and after the recital we told everyone to think about what they would like to play next. So hopefully they will come up with nice pieces to perform. A: Yes, I’m sure they will. Especially some of them I’m sure. V: Wonderful. And they have been progressing and it’s nice to see them grow and to be able to help them grow, right Ausra? We hope also that your schedule next year permits and you can join me in leading the studio as you did last year. A: But I think you did quite a good job on your own this year. V: As well as could be expected right? A: Yes. V: Because when you showed up it’s very well organized and less talking you know. A: Yes because I just wanted them to have the possibility to play. I think this is the most important and you can talk later on. V: But actually this year I talked much less. I let them practice. A: Well I could hear it from being we did quite well. V: I’m learning. A: Good. V: Thank you guys for listening, for sticking with us with the last two podcasts and please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow and it’s really fun to answer your questions about the challenges you are facing, or problems that you are having, or dreams that you are dreaming about the organ playing. So looking forward to that. 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 228 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. Today we’d like to discuss the concert of Vilnius University’s Unda Maris studio that was held at St. John’s Church on May 26. It was the culmination of our year-long season, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: It’s hard to believe, but it was the ending of the seventh season already. A: Already, yes. Time flies. V: Remember the day when we decided to create this studio? A: Yes, I remember it. V: We were in our summer cottage that day; and after communication with our boss at the Cultural Center at Vilnius University, we decided to create this studio, and even gave it a name: Unda Maris. A: Yes. And I was the godmother, actually. V: You came up with this name? A: Yes. V: It’s a nice name. A: Yes, and especially because the organ at St. John’s Church has this beautiful Unda Maris stop. V: Right. So, the studio is open to all members of the Vilnius University community. Students… A: Staff. V: ...Faculty, alumni… A: That’s right. V: ...Who love organ music. A: True. V: Ausra, do they have to be able to play piano, or not? A: Well, it’s not necessary, because some just started from scratch; but some are actually quite advanced keyboardists. V: Mhm. And in this concert, we also saw some quite advanced players, even though they were performing for the first time with our studio. For example, what did you think about the opening piece, Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 553, which was performed by Totile. A: Well, I thought she did quite well, knowing that it’s her first recital at all with the organ, and that she’s just a freshman in organ. V: Exactly. And during the concert, I introduced the performers and pieces, and during those intermissions, Ausra helped them to change the stops. A: Yes. V: And that saved a lot of time, and made it smoother. A: I know. It was sort of fun for me to watch them, how each of them behaved; because, I mean, you could not see such things in a professional concert! V: Mhm. People who had more experience playing in public acted more or less naturally, right? A: I know. It was great fun. V: But others, who were doing this for the first time, or after some decades of not being on the… A: Stage. V: Stage--they were very scared! A: True. V: Okay. So, then, the next piece was Léon Böellmann--Prière à Notre-Dame, from the Suite Gothique, which was also played by Totile. It’s a lovely piece, right Ausra? A: Yes, very nice. V: But if you don’t have a good grasp of piano technique, it’s too hard to start with Romantic music. A: Yes, that’s right, that’s true; but it seems that she had quite good piano technique, so it wasn’t a problem for her. V: Mhm. Before the concert, I told her to imagine that either she prays, herself, or she dreams. It’s sort of like Romantic meditation--in both states, prayer and dreaming are similar, in a way. So while playing, she had to transfer this mood to the listeners, too. A: Yes. V: I also thought that her articulation with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Major was quite well-performed. A: Well, I thought that, you know, the… V: Too much… A: Subject, yes, of the Fugue sounded almost staccato--it was played almost staccato. And I noticed that before the recital, you told her to do the longer notes, instead of shortening them so much; but she did not do that during the recital! V: Yeah… A: I guess it was too much to expect from a beginner. V: Yeah. Maybe she can do this with her next piece, to adjust articulation a little bit. And Totile is an alumna of Vilnius University, and she is a translator, I believe, from English. A: True. V: Okay. The next performer was Vytautas, our faculty member in the physics department. And he played 2 pieces: one by Simon Mayr Prelude in d minor. This is an 18th century Austrian composer, I believe. A: True. V: Have you heard him before? A: Actually, no. This was my first time hearing him. V: Vytautas brought the music for me himself, and chose this piece--the entire collection. And the next piece, also, was unknown to me. So I felt quite pleased that he has some curiosity to dig up some unfamiliar and rarely-performed organ music. A: True, and actually, I think from all who performed in this recital, Vytautas is the oldest member of our studio. And so this was his 7th recital already, as an Unda Maris studio member. V: Uh-huh. A: And he always amazes me, how he’s interested in things; and even after this recital, he told me that next year he would like to learn more about the organ, and how all the things function. So basically, he’s a real physics major! V: And also he wants to learn music theory. A: True. V: To decipher musical compositions--to understand how they are put together. So, hopefully we can help him next year. Okay. And also, a few years ago, Vytautas brought with him his student--who is now also an alumnus of Vilnius University, graduated from the physics department of engineering: Vadim. A: And he actually came to the recital, and he told us that he might be joining the studio again next year. V: Yes. As his graduation work, for a diploma, he constructed a robotic hand, which can grab things, you know. A: Interesting! V: Excellent. So, the next piece or set of pieces was performed by Justas, who is a faculty member at the biochemistry lab. He deals with various...protons, I believe...and investigates them...I don’t even understand what he does. A: Hahaha! V: I think he does computer modeling of how they behave, you know. A: But you understand what he plays! V: Yeah. The first piece that he played was actually written by me: Offertorium from the Mass for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. This was the piece performed on the string stops on 2 manuals. And actually, I was surprised that he dealt with the texture where there are no barlines very well. And actually, I told him before the recital that he plays this piece better than me! A: Wow. Well, but you know, I had a problem with him; because since I had to change stops for him, for 2 pieces for your Offertorium and then for Prelude and Fugue in a minor, BWV 559... V: Mhm. A: He was always checking if I did everything right! And it just made me laugh! V: Well, maybe because he is not used to playing in public. It’s his first year. A: But he argues with me--he wanted to do pedal with 32’ stop... V: Mhm. A: And you know, I had many doubts about it; and finally, no--he agreed not to use it. But we had quite a fight before the recital! V: In order to use a 32’ stop in the pedals in a Baroque piece, the pedals should move quite slowly, right? A: I know, and I just didn’t think it suitable for this kind of prelude and fugue! V: Like, imagine maybe Chorale Fantasia by Bach--“Komm, heiliger Geist” from the Great 18 Chorales from the Leipzig collection, right? That would be... A: And my final argument was, “Are you so good at articulating the pedals? Because if not, your pedal will be behind all the time.” V: Mhm. A: The sound will be behind all the time, if you add 32’ stop. V: Or 32’ stop would work well for Pièce d’Orgue, middle movement. A: Yes. V: Because of the long note values. But you know, since Justas is just a beginner, he probably likes the 32’ stuff, and its gravity. A: Haha! Sure. V: But he doesn’t know what the effect is downstairs. A: True. V: He’ll learn, probably. Excellent. So, let’s continue our discussion in the next conversation. But you see, it’s so much to talk about, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: And it was a fun concert to observe. A: Yeah, it was. V: Thank you guys. Look forward to our next discussion in the next podcast. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 227 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by David, and before that, I asked him what challenges is he facing when preparing for a wedding. And he wrote: Fortunately, I have 5 years to practice for this. My biggest hurdle was actually covered in one of your recent podcasts where Jan was mentioning she might be practicing to quickly the speed of the piece. I have the same problem as I want to capture the artistic interpretation immediately, but am starting to realize it's more important to get the correct fingering and pedaling down first and perfect that and then focus on interpretation. V: So Ausra, practicing the piece too fast—is this a common problem for organists? A: Yes, it’s a very common problem, especially for beginners. V: And even not for beginners. I think a lot of people sort of want to get the general feeling of the piece too fast and too quickly. A: But you know what I mean when I’m telling that about beginners, because people who practice organ for more years, we know the trouble that causes that fast practice at the beginning. And simply, we don’t want to experience it again. Don’t you think so? V: It makes sense. What you mean, probably, is when you slow down considerably, you have to postpone the sense of gratification. A: That’s true. V: Because you have to be extremely patient. A: True, and you know, I think all experienced organists have had this thing when we learn a piece very fast and we learn something not correct. Maybe a fingering wasn’t right or something, or text wasn’t correct. V: What about you, Ausra, are you a patient person? A: Well, not really. V: So, do you practice your pieces too fast? A: Well, I think this is the only one case in life when I try to be patient and to learn in the slow tempo first, because the pain of undergoing, undertaking the piece and relearning it is much worse than practicing the piece in a slow tempo first. V: You know what I think is that I think you have experienced the moment of perfection when playing a nicely prepared piece without mistakes in front of the public, and you feel good about this feeling. So then you remember this feeling, how you felt in front of other people when playing at the high level. So, if you want to rush and play too fast right at the beginning, then you remind yourself, too, that if you do this now, you will not be able to prepare that piece at the high level. A: Yes, that’s one of the reasons. Another, if you play in the fast tempo right at the beginning, you will not notice many wonderful things in that piece. You will not notice compositional techniques, all those subtleties that the learned musician has to understand and to notice. V: It’s like if you play the piece too fast when practicing, then you’re constantly on the edge—your nerves are tensed, you’re stressed actually, right? A: Yes. V: You never know if you make a mistake or not. You’re basically shaking. It’s like driving a car at too fast a speed. A: That’s right. Because you know, it’s really a very good comparison with this, about the car. V: Thank you. A: Because you know, if you will drive a car too fast, maybe everything will be fine. Yes. If you are lucky. But, think about some unexpected things that might happen. Your tire might explode, you know, or somebody might run in the way right in front of your car, and then you will be toast. V: Like a hedgehog, right? A: Yes or a person, too, or a bicycle or something. V: A piglet. A: Yes. I doubt a pig would cross my road, but hedgehogs, yes! And in the evening we have those a lot. V: Plus, if you drive too fast, you will never experience the beauty of the scenery. A: True. And I think the same with learning a new piece of music. So, and then you will be able, you can play it fast, but not in the beginning. V: What would you say to people who are criticizing a little bit this kind of approach and say, “Ok, if I play too slow all the time, considerably slower than I just want, and practice at the tempo which I could control, how on earth could I play fast in the concert tempo later on?” A: Well, for me it was never a problem to play fast. The problem was to play slow, actually. Because, when you are learning a new piece, you know if you are doing everything step by step in sort of a correct way, or you know put your mind in what you are doing, too, not only your fingers, V: Mindfully! A: Mindfully, yes, that’s right, that’s a very good word. Mindfully. Then, you know, that speed will come up. You will not even notice that you finally will be playing at the concert tempo. V: Because you will be ready. A: Sure. But if you will play at too fast a tempo when you are not ready yet, you will constantly make mistakes and you will play sloppy, probably. V: I think it depends a lot on muscle memory, too. When you play very slowly, your muscles get developed better. Do you remember working out at the gym in our classes? They always do slow exercises, not fast moving exercises, because to move slower is much harder. A: That’s true, yes. V: Right? So if you do this with organ, you play it at the slow speed, and little by little your finger and your mind starts to think that this is the normal speed—it’s not too fast for you, so they will gradually pick up the tempo actually. You’ll want to play a little bit faster then, and still be in control and still can understand and appreciate the beauty of the details, right? In a few weeks you will speed up the tempo even a little bit more, when you’re ready. Right? A: True. V: And that’s how you pick up the tempo up to the concert speed. By practicing at your tempo which is under your control. A: That’s right. V: Very naturally. Ausra, are there any exceptions for this, where you have to do some extra work to get up to speed? A: Well, yes. There might be some spots where you have to exercise more, to practice more. V: And isolate those, right? A: Isolate those V: Isolate those spots and first play them extremely slowly! A: True. V: Maybe even not all voices together—in combinations and solo parts. What else? Maybe you could make it like an exercise. Transpose half steps or whole steps upwards and downwards through the entire range of the keyboard, right? And once you do that up and down, up and down, you will learn this fragment—this maybe measure or two. What do you think about it? A: Yes. Yes, I think this might be helpful. Although, I’m not sure about the fingering. Because you might not be able to apply the same fingering while surfing through differing keys. V: You’re right. But also, think about Hanon exercise; It’s written all in C major. But, in the preface, Charles-Louis Hanon writes that he recommends transposing, for example, to C# major, and playing it with the same fingering. A: Well, it makes some sense, because if you practice always only in C major, then you will become very good only in C major. And all the accidentals will definitely kill you. V: Yeah, but you will keep the same fingering in C# major as well. A: But that’s a very bizarre way, you know, I see his point, but it does not always work in real pieces. V: It’s like forcing your fingers to do what they are not meant to do. It’s very good for maybe very chromatic music and modern music to do this from time to time, just to see if it’s possible. A: Yes, but you know if you have a very thick texture, oh my gosh, what kind of bizarre things with your fingering you’d do! V: Mhm. I think people who cannot play up to speed are not ready for it, right? They’d have to choose easier pieces! A: Could be, and I think the Hanon exercises would be very beneficial for those performers to improve these skills, to strengthen their finger muscles. V: You’re right. And also, people who criticize slow speed practice I think have never mastered this piece in this way before. I think they think they would wish to try it, but they find some reason not to do it. And before they even try it, or before they mastered it, maybe the did it for a page or two, and it felt really hard, and then they complained… but if they persevere and do it from the beginning until the end for several weeks or even months, they will start noticing benefits. A: Yes. I’m positive about it. V: Excellent. Thank you guys for these wonderful questions. We love helping you grow and we need more of them, actually. Please send them today. And your questions can be about what you’re currently struggling with organ playing. Just think about what you are playing right now, and what would you like to achieve in three to six months with that piece or with organ playing in general, and what specifically stops you from achieving that—why are you not at this level yet? So write to us, and we will be glad to answer your questions on the podcast. A: Yes. We are waiting for it… looking forward to it. V: So, do it now, we are still waiting. Have you done it yet? Not yet? Maybe now! Ok...Thank you guys, 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 226, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. And this question was sent by Daniel. He writes: “Vidas: In your opinion, could Jesu Meine Freude, BWV 610, be setup with a big registration, which includes reeds and mixtures?” V: So, this is a narrow question, quite Ausra? A: Yes, it’s a very narrow question. V: But we could talk a little bit about what type of pieces requires reeds and mixtures, right? A: True. V: So, first of all, I don’t think Jesu Meine Freude would work well with a big registration, because, for several reasons: We have this score in front of us. Maybe the first reason is the slow tempo, Largo. A: True. V: What do you think about it? A: Yes. Of course some Largo could work with reeds and mixture, probably not this one. Because when I have the free works, then you know, I register them as the free works. But when I have the choral-based works, I always try to look at the text—what it means. And I don’t think the meaning of choral Jesu Meine Freude, or Jesus my Joy, you know, requires reeds and mixtures. V: I agree with you Ausra. And plus, if you look at the mode, it’s another thing. It’s written in basically in C minor although in the original notation, Bach didn’t use three flats. A: That’s because that’s C dorian, so it has the six scale degree. V: And only two flats are required. A: That’s right. V: So in any case, it’s a minor mode, rather somber character. And for that reason I think, more quiet registration would work well. What do you think about Principles 8 and 4, for example? A: Yes I think that I would not go louder than the principles. Even I think it’s possible to play this choral on the flutes too. It wouldn’t hurt, but definitely not a big registration, with mixtures and reeds. Not the Organo Pleno. V: Could it be, maybe a mixture of two stops? Maybe a Gedacht and a Quintadena. A: Yes, could be. V: If your organ has Quintadena. Very soft nasal sounding stop. A: Yes. And for example with like some smaller organs, they have Principal 8. You could Principal 4, but Flute 8. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Yes, and you know, experiment with the softer stops. V: And after I wrote down suggested registration for this piece, I took a look at the recording that George Ritchie made. A: So what did he use? V: Principles 8 and 4. A: Sure. V: Somehow we’re both intuitively agree with this concept. A: True. V: So in general, Ausra, if you want to use mixtures and reeds, what kind of piece would you choose for that? A: If we are talking about J. S. Bach, I would choose, you know, his Preludes and Fugues, or you know, Passacaglia, Fantasias and Fugues, or Toccata and Fugue. V: Free works. A: Yes, free works basically. V: But not trio sonatas! A: True. Not trio sonatas, and probably not all of the choral based works also would work with Organo Pleno. Some of them yes, maybe. But not as often as free works. V: The thing about Organo Pleno and mixture sounds that are included in Organ Pleno, is that Bach frequently indicates his choice, right? A: True. V: For example; in the first choral fantasia from 18 Great Choral Preludes or the Leipzig collection. It’s called Komm, Heiliger Geist. It is written for organ, Organo Pleno. A: Yes. V: For Organo Pleno. Which means, yes, you need full principle chorus, and probably 16’ reed in the pedals too, emphasize the Cantus Firmus in the bass. If you have a 32’ stop, it wouldn’t hurt there too. A: True. True. V: Because it moves in slower note motions. A: True. V: Excellent! So in other cases, let’s say you’re playing In Dir ist Freude, BWV 615 from Orgelbuchlein. Would that be nice with mixtures? A: Well, yes, I think it would suit the character of that particular choral. V: And it’s different, right, from Jesu Meine Freude. A: Yes, it’s very different in character. V: And mode is joyful, the rhythm is repetitive, and the tempo is quick. A: True. Or you know Herr Christ, der einge Gottes-Sohn, BWV 601 from Orgelbuchlein, I think it would also work nicely with the mixtures. It’s also has a joyful pattern, you know, of trust, fast tempo. V: Mmm. Yeah, so Orgelbuchlein collection there are a number of those pieces suitable for playing with Organo Pleno. A: Yes, but not so many longer chorals. Not so many, you know, light chorals, or other. V: Mmm-hmm. So the main idea basically is to look at the character, A: True. V: At the tempo, A: True. V: And the text. Right? A: That’s right. V: Excellent! What about the soft registrations? What are the type of things you have to look for? A: Well, you need to look if the choral or the piece is written or manual or pedals, or two different manuals and pedals, and that makes a big difference, you know, if you have a solo voice in one of your hands, then you need to register it on the separate manual. And sometimes you could use reeds for a solo voice or you know, other suitable stops would be, probably Cornier, or you could do you know, combination of various stops. Maybe Quintadena as you mentioned before, work nicely too, sometimes. V: We don’t have a Quintadena in our church, so I haven’t used it for quite a while. The last time I used Quintadena, was probably in Sweden, in Stockholm. A: True. V: St Gertrude’s church. A: True. V: On the Duben Organ, a modern-day replica of the organ from the 17th century. A: Yes. V: What is the last piece that you played with mixtures, Ausra? A: Well, good question. Probably E Flat Major, Prelude and Fugue, BWV 552 by J. S. Bach. V: Mmm-hmm. So it fits the idea very well. Free work and it’s even written I think for Organo Pleno. A: Yes. Although you do some softer stops in the prelude, that Bach indicates himself. But you also use the Pleno but on the other, you know, manual. V: Exactly. So maybe the second level of Pleno would be less thick without 16’ in the manual. Sometimes even without the mixture you could, if the mixture is too fierce and too harsh. My piece that I recently played with mixtures is probably, I think, one of the free works too. Mmm-hmm. That could be B minor Prelude and Fugue, BWV 544. A: Yes. It’s very sad piece I would say, tragic piece. Don’t you think so? V: It is tragic piece, exactly. A: It has all of dramatic descending lines all the time, you know, throughout the Prelude. And I think that the theme of that fugue, it has sort of like sign of cross. V: I think I first learned this piece at the Lithuanian Musical Academy. A: Had you played it? I don’t recall it. I played it, at the academy. V: With Gediminas Kviklys. A: So it was much later, yes. V: In our masters degree program. And only yesterday I understood why I played this piece. Because Gediminas Kviklys himself loved this piece and plays it all the time. A: True. V: Wonderful, guys. So please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And we hope that this question was useful to you. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember; when you practice… A: Miracles happen! Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: Let’s start Episode 225 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. This question was sent by Steven, and we are continuing our discussion about what makes a good free theme, let’s say for a prelude, because in a previous podcast we talked about the fugal theme. So let’s look at our example of BWV 541, Prelude and Fugue in G Major by Bach (and we discussed the fugue in the previous conversation). And the theme, of course, doesn’t start right from the beginning, right? It’s a flourish--it’s like a passagio, right Ausra? A: Yes, and you know, in terms of talking about preludes, it’s so distant from the fugue. V: Mhm. A: It’s completely different, because the main purpose of the prelude is to set up the key for the fugue. So it very often has a more improvisatory character. V: Mhm. A: Or, you know, more virtuoso character. It can be like a toccata. V: Mhm. A: And I don’t think you have to create a specific subject to the prelude, because it’s not a fugue. V: Maybe you could use several rhythmic elements to create certain episodes. Because with Bach--later in his life, when he matured and studied works of not only German composers like Buxtehude, but also Italian composers, like Vivaldi--he created what we call ritornello prelude. Remember, this recurring melodic idea which could be found throughout the prelude in various shapes: in the original key, in other related keys, in shortened or expanded version--it works as concert material for the entire prelude. A: Yes, but you are now talking about more sophisticated preludes, more complex preludes. V: Mhm! A: And I’m talking about simpler ones. V: Uh-huh. A: You know, I’m not talking about what you just meant, like Prelude in E♭ Major! V: With 3 episodes! A: Yes, with the 3 episodes. But in terms of when I’m thinking about preludes: just imagine that you come to a strange instrument, that you see for the first time--a strange organ; and you sit down on the organ bench, and you want to… V: Try it out. A: To try it out. V: Mhm. A: For me, that’s what a prelude is about. V: It’s an introduction to the fugue. A: True. V: In this case, then, what you need to think about is a tonal plan. A: Sure, sure. V: Maybe one--just one--melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic idea which you could use in various keys. Right? For example, let’s take the first prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier. The fugue is very complex-- A: Yes, it’s one of the most complex pieces. V: With 4 parts, and many canons; but the prelude is so simple that it starts like arpeggiated chordal action. A: It’s like basically a long cadence. V: With the cadence in G Major, which means in the dominant key? A: Yes. V: Then, I think it goes to d minor--to what, the second scale degree chord or key; it might touch, of course, the relative minor, which is a minor; and towards the end, it has what--dominant pedal point. A: True, and then it resolves to tonic. V: Tonic pedal point at the end, with an excursion to the subdominant key, and plagal cadence. A: But it has all the same figures over and over again, throughout the entire piece. V: Yes. That’s plenty for an entire prelude. It is, of course, a shorter prelude; for more sophisticated writing, this could be just the first episode, right? A: Could be, yes. V: Maybe a little bit long, but half of it could be for the first episode, and you could actually...actually, you could take 3 of Bach’s Preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier with the same meter and use the same figures in alternation to create something similar to E♭ Major Prelude by Bach, BWV 552/1. A: True, and of course, when you select your key for your prelude, you could also think about the message that that key brings to you or to the musical world V: Mhm. A: Because I’m thinking about the same C Major Prelude, and then the c minor Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I---how different they are. Remember the second, that c minor prelude, how dramatic it is? V: Well, yes; it’s like a toccata. A: Yes. It’s definitely like a toccata. Fast motion all the time, very virtuosic. V: But also no imitations, no fugal elements-- A: True, true. V: Just simply arpeggiating those chords between 2 hands. And the same is with d minor, probably. Some of the preludes I remember from Well-Tempered Clavier, like E♭ Major, it already has imitations, so it’s more advanced writing. And Bach loved to create imitation episodes within the prelude, too. A: True. V: Like in c minor Prelude and Fugue for the organ, BWV 546. A: Because that’s a good technique to develop your piece, to make it longer. V: And more interesting. A: True. V: Because when you write imitations, it’s like a dialogue between the 3 parts. A: Plus, all those imitations come with sequences, too. Sequential episodes. V: Yes. So, sequence is what? It’s a technique to connect various keys, basically. A: True. V: To bridge the gap between C Major and G Major, you add a sequence going downward and adding somewhere F sharp. A: That’s right. V: The new accidental of the new key. So things like that comprise a prelude, or basic prelude type of writing. It could be called sometimes Fantasia... A: Sometimes Toccata... V: Sometimes Toccata, if it’s a motoric piece...But mostly, it’s one and the same: free writing, not based on a fugal theme. If you have your fugal theme ready for you, and you created the fugue, you could simply select the key of the same fugue and maybe create a different meter: if your fugue was in 4/4 meter, maybe the prelude could have 3/4 meter, and vice versa. Or the same meter, could be. A: Yes, I think. V: But maybe different tempo. A: Sure. V: And then think, sometimes, how the tempo relates to the prelude and fugue. What is the relationship between the tempo--sometimes there is... A: Yes. V: And most of the time there is. A: And it’s the sort of subject that always makes so many discussions and arguments, because everybody has their own truth. V: Yes, yes. So for starters, avoid complex metrical relationships; maybe use the same meter for the beginning, right? For your first 10 fugues and preludes. A: Yes. V: Mhm. A: That’s what I would do. V: Excellent. And to make it more interesting, use excursions into related keys. In a major key, you could modulate to the second scale degree minor, third scale degree minor, fourth scale degree major, fifth scale degree major...What else? Sixth scale degree minor. A: True. V: That’s the most common type. What about a minor starting point? A: That’d be just the other way around. V: For example? A: You would have third scale degree major, and sixth scale degree major. Then, of course, fifth degree would be major, too, but the first scale degree would be minor. V: You said major fifth scale degree? A: Yes. V: Why? A: Because the fifth scale degree is mostly major in both minor and major keys. V: So if a starting point is a minor, the fifth scale degree would be…? A: E Major. V: E Major. Can you use e minor, then? A: Well, yes, you could. This wouldn’t be so common, but you could do it. Of course, it would have a different meaning. V: So the same as with first scale degree minor? A: Yes, because you know, if you use the minor dominant in a minor key, it means that you don’t have a dominant chord. It means that you have a subdominant. V: But I’m not talking about the chords. I’m talking about the episodes. A: But these are all related, too, with the harmony. Don’t you agree? V: What about… harmonic subdominant? Remember, a minor first scale degree chord--in a major key. Can it be used? A: Yes, I think... V: It is related. A: Yes, it is related. V: Just like a major dominant in a minor key... A: Yes. V: Then minor subdominant in a major key. A: Yes, because you know, what I’m thinking is: for example, in a minor key, if you would use the episode in E Major, then you could have the tonic straightaway after the dominant episode. V: Mhm. A: E Major episode. If you would use an e minor episode, then probably you wouldn’t go back to the tonic episode. You would probably have to use something from the subdominant material. V: Okay, guys. This was our discussion about creating a prelude; and as you see, the most important thing is to choose a fun rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic figure, and keep it throughout. And by the way, I teach this technique in my Prelude Improvisation Formula, which is based on the Klavierbüchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the preludes that Johann Sebastian Bach created for his eldest son. So people who want to learn to improvise like that, in a free style--they can train from this collection as well. Okay. And 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. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 224 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. This question was sent by Steven and he writes: It would be an extremely interesting subject some time for a podcast, if you and Ausra might consider discussing what the elements of a good free theme and a good fugue theme are, as regards development. All the best, Steven V: So Steven he frequently composes various organ compositions and he likes to create preludes and fugues out of free themes not based on a chorale melody and he wants basically to know if there are any themes that are unsuitable for musical development or are any themes suited better than others. So of course we could take examples of masterworks by various composers, right Ausra? A: True, yes there is so much music written. V: And when you play those pieces Ausra do you notice that those melodies have something in common. A: (Laughs) Of course all the musical melodies we have something in common and that’s the music notation and intervals, certain intervals. V: So which intervals basically are not very good for developing a theme in a prelude or a fugue. Perhaps intervals which are difficult to sing? A: Yes, I think big leaps maybe are not so suitable and not so common although you could encounter them as well. But in general when creating a subject or a theme for your piece you need to know how will it sound if you will invert it. Because especially in fugues the technique you use is called invertible counterpoint. V: Exactly. For example right now we are looking at Prelude and Fugue in G Major by Bach, BWV 541. And the fugue lends itself very well for the canon because it has intervals of ascending fourths and ascending sixths and when you do that at a certain interval you get a nice strata so every good fugue usually has a strata, but not always, but composers tend to seek out elements of their theme that would be suitable for that. A: Sure. Right now I’m thinking about the C Major fugue from Well Tempered Clavier, Part 1. It has a very nice steata at the end of it. V: And basically this is a scholastic fugue because in almost every measure you can find appearances of the theme and in various ways as you say, inverted, and in canon and composer created this fugue specifically out of this theme and every measure is based on the theme basically. So whatever you do in your fugue you should always think about the theme and of course countersubject. A: True. V: Is countersubject important Ausra? A: Well, it’s of course important but probably not as much as the theme because what you do with your theme that you actually need to have it throughout the piece. V: Um-hmm. A: And whatever changes you do we can not go very far from the theme. You could do it augmented or diminished. V: Um-hmm. A: In long note values or in the short note values but basically you still keep the same interval structure. But what you can do with the countersubject, actually in some fugues the countersubject is kept throughout the piece and actually that’s a very high level of polyphonic composition if you keep the countersubject the same throughout the piece. But in some pieces it changes all the time, slightly or even more. V: They say that’s it’s easier to compose a fugue with changing countersubject that with fixed countersubject. A: True. I believe it. V: And we could analyze a theme or a countersubject based on at least three elements, melody, harmony, and rhythm. And every melody, every subject, and countersubject should have those melody rhythmic elements and harmonic elements well fixed and well developed and encoded basically so that you could develop your piece entirely based on those three melodies. Let’s say we take a look at the theme of the G Major Fugue by Bach. And the melody it has nice intervals, right? And it has a nice range. It doesn’t exceed an octave. That’s usually. A: Yes, that’s usually the case even I would say that most of the fugues are, the theme are not exceed more that a sixth interval. V: Except in a minor mode they allow a diminished seventh. A: True. V: So then here in G Major Fugue we have a range from D to B, this is a major sixth, that’s about normal. A: Yes. V: If you have just a few notes of range like a minor third it’s a little too few notes, too few melodic intervals. A: True, then you will not have a chance to develop them. V: Maybe. If that’s the case your countersubject should be contrasting with wider leaps. A: True. V: So then of course melody should be singable. Basically you need to write those intervals and sing yourself. Can you sing that fugal theme yourself. That’s another reason we try to avoid augmented intervals. A: Yeah. V: And wide leaps above major sixth let’s say. What about the rhythm. What do you see here Ausra? A: Well most of fugue themes consist of eighth notes, quarter notes, some sixteenth notes. V: So whatever meter you decide to create you have to use the values that are suitable for that meter. A: True. V: Well some composers choose to use like triplets, special duplets, as they say, which is quite uncommon because then you mix duplets with triplets and in a fugal theme it’s not very often seen. A: True. I think it’s better to stick with common values such as eighth notes, quarter notes, sixteenth notes. V: Because with the countersubject if you do let’s say sixteenth notes or eighth notes and with the subject you do triplets you have a hard time of mixing them together as a performer. A: True. V: Um-hmm. Then it’s maybe better to change the meter altogether and write in a six, eight meter. What about the harmony? Of course a fugal theme is a melody for one voice. Of course we have sometimes double fugues where two voices enter subsequently one after another and then some harmony can be traced out of those two voices but it’s quite uncommon. If you are just starting writing fugues of course we recommend sticking to one theme. A: That’s right. But already I think you know that most of the Bach fugues could be analyzed in terms of harmonical chords. V: Definitely. Let’s say we have the stronger beats in 4-4 meter every two beats, we have a rather strong emphasis on the note and here we have to change the harmonies and let’s see how Bach does. The first measure has D and G so on D you could harmonize as the dominant chord of G Major, on G you could harmonize what? A: Tonic. V: Tonic. Then the second measure starts with the suspension basically F# is the main note. A: Yes, and you have the dominant again. That’s very common for opening stuff, any piece. Then you need to establish key and you use dominant, tonic. V: Dominant, tonic, dominant, tonic. And then the second chord is on the note D which is also a tonic obviously. A: Yes. There you also have some A note, this would be something of the dominant, yes. So basically this would be juxtaposition of dominant and tonic throughout the subject. V: Yes, and the second half of the third measure has noted G. We could harmonize it as the tonic also. And the fourth measure begins with the dominant function ending of the fugal theme. So in every measure we should have at least two chords. And sometimes sub-dominant too. Tonic, dominant, and subdominant they work well and remember we could have inversions, not only root position chords but inversions. So when you write a theme for yourself on a sheet of paper maybe write on two staffs on the higher staff you could write the theme and on the lower staff you could add the bass line. And this bass line might be the basis for your countersubject. A: True. V: Speaking of which, what is the difference between subject and countersubject right here in the second line. Are they similar or contrasting? A: I’m looking at it right now. I’m trying to decide. V: When the theme has eighth notes what does the countersubject have? A: Of course the countersubject has smaller note values. That’s very typical for countersubject. V: When the theme subject has smaller note values… A: Countersubject has the longer note values. V: Um-hmm. And vice-versa. Basically it’s a dialog between two voices. A: True. V: One is speaking and another is listening. A: Yes, because if everybody would try to speak at the same time you would have chaos. V: Um-hmm. And since we didn’t have any tied over notes or just one syncopation in the theme there are syncopations in the countersubject as well. More of them, right? To make an interesting rhythmic element. A: That’s right. V: But if we look at the melodic element of the countersubject it has this wide leap upwards an octave. Ausra, what does the subject do at that moment? It goes... A: down. V: Down. It’s an opposite direction. Always try to create a contrasting motion between two voices and that’s very good for making two voices independent. A: But you could also have parallel motion for example when the third voice will come in. And you will have the theme, the countersubject, and the third voice. V: Um-hmm. And by the way if you have three voices later on you could easily create a fugue with two countersubjects which are fixed and they are interchangeably connected and they could be inverted and used in various combinations and in various voices. This is called permutation fugue where soprano suddenly becomes the bass, alto becomes soprano, or the bass becomes alto or soprano. Any number of combinations. But then there is one caveat to avoid. What is the least used inversion of the tonic chord Ausra? A: 4-6 chord. V: Uh-huh. So we have to check that there is no such intervals as the fourth above the bass or the fifth above the bass because in inversion they would create fourths or fifths. Fifth in itself is good but fourth when you invert makes 6-4 chord so what do we use instead? A: 6th chord. V: And basically intervals of the thirds and sixths if you want to use this invertible counterpoint. A: And actually you know if you really want to compose fugues you have to study the fugues written by great composers and most famous collections probably would be Well Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach, then probably if you want to study more modern style you could study Paul Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis. V: And don’t forget Art of Fugue. A: Yes, Art of Fugue of course but that might be too complex maybe, don’t you think so? And another composer probably would be Dmitri Shostakovich, also his 24 Preludes and Fugues. V: In a modern style. A: Yes, in a modern style. I think he also got his inspiration from J. S. Bach. V: Um-hmm. That’s right. If I remember correctly Prelude and Fugue in C Major doesn’t have any accidentals at all. A: I think so, yes. V: White keys only. So that’s the start right? So not every melody is suited for fugal development. A: Maybe you know if it’s hard for you to create your own theme for a beginner you could pick some of these composers themes and try to create fugues. V: Um-hmm. What about prelude? Prelude of course it’s another story. Maybe we could leave it for another conversation in next podcast, right? Maybe we should start it with the prelude but since we started with the fugue now prelude comes later. OK guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: 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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