Today I played chorale prelude for two manuals and pedals "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier", BWV 731 by Bach at the super slow practice tempo. You will see my hands and keyboards from up close, so if you want to play this piece, you will find the score here.
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Have you been in a situation when your chosen registration doesn't have a good balance between the parts when you play on different manuals?
This morning I and Ausra went to practice on the organ at the M.K. Ciurlionis National School of Art where we will participate in a concert of musician families next Friday. We will be performing Adagio by Beethoven for organ with four hands. Ausra took the Secondo Part (the bass) and I played the Primo Part (the treble). This organ has 10 stops on two manuals and pedals with Flute 8', Octave 4', and Mixture on the 1st manual, and Flutes 8' and 4', Principal 2', Fifth 1 1/3', and Krummhorn 8' on the 2nd manual and Flutes 16' and 8' on the pedals. Adagio by Beethoven is a sweet, gentle, and slow piece. Here's what we tried: 1. We started with both manuals coupled and used Flutes 8' and 4' on the 2nd manual (Secondo) and Flute 8' on the 1st manual (Primo). This proved to be not enough gravity for Secondo. But in general it might work, if we couldn't find any other solutions which would be more convincing. 2. Then we switched manuals but now the Primo was too weak. 3. Then we added the Octave 4' on the 1st manual (Primo on the 1st and Secondo on the 2nd). Now the Primo was too loud. 4. Then we removed the manual coupler. Still the Primo was too loud. 5. Then I played the left hand of the Primo part on the second manual and everything else on the 1st manual. It was a little better. 6. Then we tried this registration: Primo: Flute 4' and Principal 2' played one octave lower on the 2nd manual. Secondo: Flute 8' and Octave 4' on the 1st manual. Manuals were uncoupled. This version was quite convincing. 7. Finally, we decided to add Flute 8' to the mix on the 2nd manual and still play one octave lower the Secondo part. Keeping in mind that the concert hall will probably be full of listeners on the concert day, this additional boost in gravity will be the best choice. In church acoustics we usually would play this piece with some kind of combination of 8' stops on two manuals. But here in a very dry space we wanted a fuller sound. So if you are in a situation like we were this morning, you can try quite a few options (some of them not so obvious right away) in order to find the right balance for your piece. As you can see, sometimes it takes a little more time to make the best of the otherwise not-so colorful organ. Karen asks about the concert tempo in Wir glauben all' an einen Gott, BWV 680 from the Clavierubung III by J.S. Bach. She has listened to various recordings and studied the information she has about this piece, but the question about the concert tempo remains unclear to her. She writes that Hermann Keller recommends eighth note at 138, but recordings she has listened to seem to have anything from eighth note at 100 to quarter note at 120.
This is a great and very important question because in many compositions of the Baroque period composers didn't leave any precise tempo indications. When you don't have a tempo suggestion written in (like Adagio, Moderato, Allegro etc.) nor metronome markings, how are you supposed to figure out the concert tempo at which to perform in public? In order to answer this question about many pieces from the Baroque period (like this chorale prelude), we have to take into consideration these 7 things: meter, acoustics, mechanics of the organ, your technique, hearing, singing style, and breathing. 1. Meter of the piece. Generally speaking (but not always), the smaller the beat value in the composition, the faster the tempo should be. For example, 3/8 is faster than 3/4. Count the beats and pay attention to the alternation of the strong and weak beats. This will be helpful in slow pieces. 2. Acoustics of the room. The space that you are playing in will be one of the major factors in determining the speed of this piece. If you play in your practice room or at home, you can perform much faster than in a cathedral or church with huge reverberation. 3. Mechanics of the organ. The type of organ action also determines the tempo of this piece. In general, if you are performing on the tracker or mechanical action instrument, try to play a bit slower because of the action. On the other hand, if you are playing on the electro-pneumatic or electronic organ you can play much faster. 4. Your technique. If your technique is not developed enough, naturally you will not be able to play very fast. In this case, choose a tempo on the slower side of the spectrum which you would be comfortable with. 5. Your hearing. Try to listen attentively to each harmonic turn and dissonance. This is particularly challenging to organists who have great technique and want to show off their virtuosity. Remember that in the Baroque music, we are showing off the music and the musical story and not ourselves. 6. Singing style. Try to retain the cantabile style in the performance of the piece. Even the fast pieces should have this character. 7. Your breathing. Try to sing with full voice the phrases with one breath. This will help you choose the tempo which would not be too slow for the musical flow. Keep in mind the above 7 tips when you try to decide what kind of concert tempo is best suitable for you and your piece. Since we all are different and play in different spaces with different organs, the tempo may fluctuate quite a bit. One of my readers, Anton, asked me to explain the process of composing the development section in sonata. He likes writing various pieces for organ but sometimes gets stuck in the intricacies of some of the more advanced genres, such as sonata. If you, like Anton are writing or would like to write a sonata for organ, here are the 16 things to be aware of:
1. Unstable tonal plan. Usually the developments of the sonatas don't have one key which could function as the main. 2. Avoid the tonic key. If you use the tonic key extensively in this section, there will be no drama and no conflict. It's best to use other keys. 3. Use mostly the keys of subdominant area. Since the Exposition of the sonata modulates very quickly to the dominant area and the Recapitulation returns to the home key, the Development is very much suited for the keys of the subdominant area (IV, VI, II etc.) 4. Shorten the theme into fragments. A very useful feature in many sonatas is that the theme is presented in smaller fragments - phrases and motives. 5. Invert the theme. To further complicate things, change the direction of the intervals in the theme - ascending intervals become descending and vice versa. 6. Change the intervals of the theme. When your theme has characteristic intervals, such as leaps, you can widen them or make the narrower depending on your choice. 7. Use augmentation. The rhythms of the theme can be doubled - instead of eighth notes write quarter notes, instead of quarter notes write half notes etc. 8. Use diminution. In some cases, you can even use rhythms in the theme that are twice as small. 9. Use sequences. Sequences are wonderful for modulating into foreign keys. Choose any interval for sequencing, such as major or minor seconds, major or minor thirds, perfect fourths or fifths. 10. Use imitations. Imitations are perfect for creating dialogues between the parts. Choose a motive from one theme and write it in various parts from various pitch levels. 11. Employ counterpoint. Don't forget to write independent melodies with the help of invertible two or three part counterpoint. When done correctly, this technique will work wonders on the development of your sonata. 12. Sonata has 3 sections. Introduction, the Main section and the Dominant pedal point. 13. Introduction. In this section you can show the main theme or the closing theme in secondary keys. 14. The Main Section. This section is the longest - here you can develop the motives of one or several themes in many ways. 15. Dominant Pedal Point. The drama of the development ends with strong emphasis on the dominant key area which serves as a preparation for the Recapitulation. 16. False Recapitulation. Sometimes the Recapitulation is postponed by the entry of the main theme in the secondary key, sort of "by accident" after which the theme in the main key immediately appears. If you want to compose or improvise a sonata, you may also find this article helpful to read. Can composing something on paper help you to be a better improviser? This question is like asking, can writing be helpful to public speaking?
Of course it can and it will. In fact writing, language, composition, and improvisation have more things in common than it might seem at first. If we agree that improvisation is the process of composing a piece of music at the moment of performance, than it really is very similar to the art of language in that writing extensively will help a person organize his or her ideas better and be better equipped for speaking in public. I'm not suggesting that by writing alone a person will become a great public speaker. No, there are 4 total skills that are involved here: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. But there is more to it: just like no person can become a great public speaker without much reading, listening, writing, and speaking, then the art of improvisation will encompass similar 4 activities: sight-reading and understanding the music of others, listening to and understanding the music of others, composing your own music in writing, and composing your own music at the moment of performance (improvising). So where to start? All starting points are equally valid. One of the easiest ones to understand is this: choose a key and a meter, and create a 4 measure melody (question) starting on one of the 3 notes of the tonic chord of that key (1st, 3rd, or 5th scale degrees) and ending on one of the 3 notes of the dominant chord (5th, 7th, or 2nd scale degrees (in minor - raised 7th scale degree). You can use the rhythms that are suitable for this meter. Start the answer like a question but end on the tonic note. You can also add a second voice by supplying the suitable notes that work on each beat with the melody and use the notes of the tonic, dominant, or subdominant (4th, 6th, and 1st scale degree) chords. Here's my example of this process and a video. [HT to John] This morning a 3rd year student from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, Deimantas, came to my church to try out the organ. He found me on the bench improvising on today’s Introit for the Feast of Epiphany. Before I let him to practice on this organ, I asked him if he ever tried to improvise. Since his answer was no, we both tried to come up for the common reasons why people don’t improvise on the organ. Here are the most common:
1. Lack of technique 2. Lack of skills in sight-reading 3. Lack of skills in music theory 4. They lack courage I empathized with him remembering the scariest experiences of improvising during my 1st year of studies at the aforementioned Academy. For some beginning students, improvisation was even more terrifying than to me because they were asked to improvise Passacaglias on their 1st year without having developed good hand and feet coordination. I pondered about these challenges while listening to Deimantas play. He was prepared to try out Buxtehude’s Passacaglia in D minor. As he played this beautiful piece, I thought he was underestimating his skills. His playing was slow and careful yet clear which demonstrated his skills to play several independent melodic lines at the same time. I also explained to him the structure of this Passacaglia (7 variations in D minor, 7 - in F major, 7 - in A minor, and 7 - in D minor). After this, his eyes sort of opened and he began to see composer’s intentions. In a way, he started to understand how it’s possible to communicate in this musical language and tell a musical story using Buxtehude’s style. What’s even more fascinating to me is that we both agreed that I didn't show him anything extraordinary that he with his current theoretical understanding wouldn't be able to find out himself. It turns out that the main thing which scared him from trying to improvise was his own lack of believe in his skills and the preconceived notion that the cost of making mistakes is too high. This may be true when we walk across the street and get hit by a car but in music making, every mistake can lead to even greater musical discoveries. Out of any of the organists I have met who don’t improvise yet, there was not a single one who said improvisation wouldn't enrich their lives. Everyone agreed that having such a skill at their disposal would be a cool idea. So all you need for starters is curiosity to try and understand that mistakes aren't going to kill you. Have you heard an organ improvisation which feature dialogues between various parts? Perhaps you have played like that yourself? This can be done by imitating the rhythms between the right hand and pedal, left hand and pedal, right hand and left hand. The melodic lines may or may not be similar.
It's just like in real life when two or more people meet - they talk to each other. Usually one is talking while others are listening. Then they switch places. Below you will find some pros and cons of this compositional technique. Pros: 1. Makes improvisations more interesting because the listener can pay attention to two different melodic lines at once. 2. Creates musical conversations - ideal in storytelling. 3. Practicing dialogues between the parts when one voice is moving and another is stationary will prove a perfect exercise to develop advanced hand and feet coordination. Cons: 1. Takes time to learn. It might sound and look easy, but don't be fooled - especially challenging might be imitations and dialogues between the left hand and the pedals (practice before attempting to play like this in public). 2. Might be too difficult for beginners to attempt because of hand and feet coordination issues. 3. Doesn't work in every case, for example, in episodes of fast toccatas when the theme is placed in the pedals and both hands play on the same manual. In my opinion, although sometimes not easily achievable (especially in the middle parts), dialogues and imitations are well worth the effort. They will make your playing more vivid, natural, and colorful. By the way, on January 1st I was invited to play for Mass at my church where I chose to improvise a Prelude and a Postlude. Today I took the time to transcribe this soft and gentle piece for you which is full of dialogues between the right hand and pedal parts, in case you want to play it. Watch the video and download the score here: Meditation in D, Op. 36. Today I would like to share with you my video about organ improvisation in which I will discuss these 7 questions:
1. How important is organ improvisation to the development of the personality of the artist? 2. How and where to start learning to improvise? 3. Should conservatories, universities, and other music schools teach organ improvisation? 4. What should happen in order for organ improvisation to flourish in your country? 5. What could be the future of organ improvisation in your country? 6. Do organ improvisation and philosophy have something in common? 7. What character traits should an improviser have in order to be successful at this art? Should you have any additional questions after listening to this video, please share them in the comments. I would love to answer them here. Currently I'm in the middle of composing my Fantasia, Op. 35 in which I'm doing my experiments with melodies, rhythms, harmonies, textures, and form. However, ever since starting the work on this Fantasia I felt stuck. Even before, actually.
A was facing two choices in my mind - the one which seemed like a revelation to me and I was very eager to experiment with it and the one which I was more reluctant to try because it felt like a lot of work. Choice No. 1 seemed so fast and quick and yet creative and innovative enough. But deep inside my musical instincts told me it won't work. Choice No. 2 might not work either but provided I added more effort into it, the end result would be far more artistically pleasing. It wont' be quick and easy, though. To be quite frank, I felt rather lost - one part of me wanted to try Option No. 1 because I sort of came up with its concept in a way that seemed totally fresh and creative. On the other side, because I haven't tried it before, I didn't know if it will work. Sometimes when I face a similar situation with 2 unclear paths I tend to freeze and do nothing until I figured out the best solution in my mind. I would torment myself for days without actually doing it - only thinking about it. As you can feel, only thinking about the problem won't solve it. You are not the problem. The problem is the problem. You have to do it. So this time, I chose action. Since I didn't know what's the best option is for me, I chose to do them both. I started working on choice No. 1 two weeks ago. For two weeks I did my melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, textural, and formal experiments without knowing if they would work. Sure, I would try them out on my home practice organ from time to time, although my main work was with paper and pencil. When I played the fragments of this Fantasia on my practice organ, I had a feeling that it's not the right choice - No. 2 would work better. However, I chose to continue my work on it until I would have a chance to play it on a larger instrument with reverberant acoustics. Yesterday, I was invited to play for the mass on New Year's Day at my church where I provided improvised prelude and postlude. After the mass, I tried my experiment with this Fantasia. I didn't like it. It didn't work. Although the idea seemed nice, but from the musical and listener's point of view it didn't work. My gut feeling was true and now I'm ready to try choice No. 2. It was not a mistake that I didn't choose No. 2 right away and started working on No. 1 which proved incorrect. It was not a failure. I just found one more way which wouldn't work. This too, kept me moving towards my goal. Who knows, maybe No. 2 won't work either. I won't know it, unless I try it out. One thing I know for sure - choices No. 3 and 4 and 5 will present themselves at the right time but only when I'm ready for them - when I've done my work. So when you, like me, feel stuck in front of 2 choices and you don't know which one is right for you, pick any one and do it, at least long enough to feel whether or not it's the correct choice. If during this process you will start to feel that it's better to switch to the other choice, do it right away. The worst thing you can do is to freeze in front of your choices and do nothing. Or worse, decide that it's not for you and move on to the next thing. The right choice is often the one you are most afraid of. |
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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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