Have you ever tried to play two voices with your feet at the same time? This is a double pedal technique which was used in the music of North German composers, such as in the works of Samuel Scheidt.
Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) went to study with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck in Amsterdam who was called "the Maker of German Organists" because of his many German students. Scheidt became one of his most influential students because of his ambitious collection "Tabulatura Nova".
The Tabulatura Nova is written in 3 parts and contains settings of Magnificat, psalms, choral variations, other liturgical compositions, fantasias, ricercars, a toccata, variations on popular dance tunes and songs, canons and two preludes in six parts with double pedal.
One of the pieces in six parts is called Modus Pleno Organo Pedaliter Benedicamus (The Mode of Playing the Organ with Pedals Benedicamus). Like other works in this collection, Scheidt notated this composition on separate staves - in this case on six staves with different clefs. The texture of this work is extremely thick, with frequent imitations of the thematic material in various voices. Therefore, the character of this piece is solemn and festive.
How would it feel to be able to play the Benedicamus by Scheidt with correct early fingering? In fact, early keyboard fingering of Renaissance and Baroque periods is completely different from the legato style of fingering used in the Romantic music because it helps to achieve the correct articulation naturally.
How would it feel to be able to choose the best and the most efficient pedaling? The one which is the most appropriate for this style of writing? This pedaling alone will create an ideal articulation for the pedal parts.
How would it feel to be able know how to use the right articulation? Using the precise articulation is incredibly important for playing Baroque pieces. It helps your playing to sound in style.
Most importantly, how would it feel to know the exact steps in mastering this fantastic piece? Not knowing how to practice the composition is the single biggest obstacle for many people to achieve success in organ playing.
Wouldn't it be great to be able to play two voices in the right hand, two - in the left hand, and two - in the pedal simultaneously? If the task of playing a composition with six parts seems daunting to you, don't worry - with my step-by-step approach the entire learning process becomes super easy and simple.
Because I want to see your success in organ playing so much, I am releasing my brand new practice score of Benedicamus by Samuel Schedt which will help you to master this piece in 12 days or less while working only 30 minutes a day. If you are an intermediate level organist, this composition will be perfect for you.
Get the practice score of Benedicamus by Scheidt
Instead of original 6-stave-notation with many different clefs, I transcribed it to the usual organ notation on 3 staves with treble and bass cleff only. The music reading will be easy and simple for you, so go ahead and get this practice score now - your pedal technique will become a lot better after mastering this work.
If you are not sure whether this work is right for you, don't worry, like all my scores, the Benedicamus comes with a 30-days-money-back-guarantee!
Get the practice score of Benedicamus by Scheidt
To your success in organ playing,
Vidas Pinkevicius
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.
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.
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.
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. An excellent resource for daily piano exercises including scales in double thirds and sixths is Virtuoso Pianist by Charles-Louis Hanon.
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 the Dover edition of this Toccata which is very reliable and inexpensive.
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.
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.
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