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I have found this interesting MMS organ music blog which I hope my readers will enjoy.
This blog is updated regularly and contains thoughts and comments on organs and organ music and links to interesting articles on this topic from newspapers and journals from around the world. If you follow this blog, you will stay up-to-date with various organ events and issues. This blog can give the organ enthusiast a feeling on what is current in the organ world. The author is Michael Johnston from Michael's Music Service. The categories include posts on church music, concert music, educational information, recordings, theatre organs and more.
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One of all time best known organ chorale preludes by J.S.Bach is “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”, BWV 639. It is included in the Little Organ Book or “Orgelbüchlein”. It is unique among other compositions in this collection because it is written in a trio texture with a chorale tune in the soprano voice. Although it employs three highly independent parts, relative slow tempo and gently pulsating pedal part make it accessible for organists with modest abilities. In fact, it might be a perfect hand and feet coordination exercise. In this article, I will give you 4 tips for playing “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” on the organ. Fingering The main rule for choosing the best left hand fingering is to apply arpeggio or broken chord fingerings. Arpeggios of chords in the root position are played using 5 3 2 1 fingers. If the third is major between the two lower notes as in A flat C, play 5 3. If the third is minor as in F A flat, play 5 4. The chords of the first inversion are played using 5 4 2 1 fingerings and 5 3 2 1 are best suited for the second inversion chords. Try to avoid placing the thumb on the sharp keys in the right hand part. However, it will not be always possible since the key of this chorale prelude has four flats. Play the ornaments using 4 3 fingers of the right hand. Pedaling As in most Baroque compositions, apply toes-only pedaling in this piece. Since the bass line is pulsating it will not always be possible to use alternate toe technique. However, in measures 4, 8, and 14 alternating right and left pedaling works well. You can treat the descending passage with repeated notes in measures 11 and 12 as a scale-like passage and play with alternate toes. Play with the same foot notes that are repeated and notes with change of direction. Articulation Although the traditional way of articulating Baroque music is with articulated legato, you can see the slurs every four notes in the left hand part. This legato articulation is original and you should try to play all four notes legato. Make sure there are delicate breaks between the note groups. Play all notes with a gentle articulation in the right hand part and in the pedals except in measure 3, where the appoggiatura in the soprano should be slurred. Ornaments Ornaments in this chorale prelude should be played from the upper note. Because it is a very gentle and expressive piece, do not rush your ornaments and do not allow them to sound virtuosic. Try to maintain the elegant intimate character even in playing the faster notes. Do not play the ornaments automatically in the precise rhythm. They will sound more natural if you hold the first note of the trill or the mordent longer and play the remaining notes a little faster. If you want more information about playing ornaments in the Baroque music, an invaluable resource is "Performing Baroque Music" by Mary Cyr which I highly recommend. Although the practice keeping in mind the above points about fingering, pedaling, articulation, and ornamentation requires significant amount of patience and attention to detail, the results achieved by such a practice will be great because you will be able to perform “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” with precision, clarity, and confidence. 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 chorale prelude “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”, BWV 639 by Bach is among the best loved chorale preludes of this composer. The gentle character, beautiful harmonies, delicate ornaments, and sensible text make it a perfect piece for a quiet occasion for your service playing or a wonderful meditative piece for your recital. Although it is written in a trio texture with pedal part, the slow tempo makes it accessible for organists who have limited technical abilities. In this article, I will show you how to learn and play this intimate composition on the organ. Learning Process Since this chorale prelude can be conveniently divided into 7 fragments according to chorale lines, it is best to practice it by playing one fragment at a time. The length of each fragment is determined by the fermata sign. As you practice each fragment, in the beginning play each of the three parts separately carefully observing that your fingering, pedaling, and articulation are correct. I have written an article previously about these points which you may read here. The left hand part will require more practice because it is written in a constantly moving broken chord texture. After you can play each of the parts with precision and accuracy at least three times in a row, practice combinations of two voices. Only after you master these combinations, play the entire fragment with all three parts. Try to resist the temptation to go to the next fragment before you master the previous one. Tempo Practice at a tempo which allows you to play without mistakes. It could be very slow. However, as your performance gradually becomes better and better, try to play at the concert tempo which also should not be fast. The most important thing to remember about choosing the right tempo is this: pick such a tempo in which you can comfortably count all four beats in a measure and feel the alternation of strong and weak beats. Make larger breaks before the stronger beats which will allow you to emphasize the meter. Registration Although for practicing purposes this piece can easily be played using one manual, to perform it in public you will need two manuals with different sound colors. A gentle solo reed, such as the oboe (with or without the flute 8’) works well for the right hand part. Another option would be to play it on a cornet, or some other flute combination with mutations. Even a principal with a vocal quality may sound very good. A gentle tremulant might add to the expressive power of this composition. Play the accompanying parts using flutes with 16’ in the pedals. If you want more information on registering your organ pieces, a great resource for organ registration practice in the Baroque period is "the Registration of Baroque Organ Music" by Barbara Owen, which I highly recommend. If you practice “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” according to my suggestion, you will gradually achieve the level when you can perform it with precision and clarity. For best results, make sure you play each chorale phrase at least three times correctly in a row. After each individual fragment can be played correctly, you can combine a couple of phrases at a time and make your fragments longer. Similarly to practicing other compositions by Bach, you must have the patience and inner motivation which leads to success. However, if you succeed in mastering this chorale prelude, it will be a perfect piece for your service playing or recital and your audience will love you for it. Therefore, it is well worth the effort. You can get my practice guide on mastering "Ich ruf zu Dir" by Bach here. It comes with complete fingering, pedaling, articulation, registration, tempo suggestion, and detailed step-by-step practice plan which makes it perfect for study without an instructor. 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. How to Play Four-Part Harmonization of the Chorale "Ach bleib bei uns" by J.S.Bach On the Organ?2/23/2012 J.S.Bach’s four-part harmonizations of the chorales from his cantatas serve like a textbook on harmony. Every music student analyzes their tonal language in theory classes. For the organists, however, these little gems are also perfect exercises in developing hand and feet coordination. Because most of Bach’s chorale preludes for the organ are too complicated for the beginner, these four-part harmonizations of the chorale tunes might serve like introduction into Bach’s organ style. Therefore, they might be accessible to most aspiring organists with modest technical skills. In this video, I will provide the steps on playing the four-part harmonization of the chorale „Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ“ by J.S.Bach on the organ. If you want to study more chorale harmonizations by Bach, I recommend his 371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass.
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. Sinfonia in D minor from the 15 three-part Sinfonias by J.S.Bach was written for the musical instruction of his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann. Like all the pieces in this collection, it is perfectly playable on any keyboard instrument. Technically and musically it is quite challenging because it has three entirely independent voices. From the performer this piece requires certain level of finger independence and hand coordination since one hand has two manage two parts most of the time. In this video, I will give you the exact steps in practicing and mastering the Sinfonia in D minor by J.S.Bach. If you want to study this and other sinfonias by Bach I recommend G. Henle Verlag Urtext Edition of Inventions and Sinfonias BWV 772-801.
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. Bach’s Invention in C major from 15 two-part inventions is one of the best known pieces in this collection. Although technically much more challenging than the easier minuets from the Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach, this invention is still quite accessible to keyboard players of modest ability. The composer wrote this and other pieces from this collection for the instruction of his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann. Just like many of his keyboard works, the invention in C major sounds beautiful on the organ because of its imitative polyphonic style. In this video, I will teach you how to play, practice, and master this exceptional composition. If you want to study this and other inventions by Bach I recommend G. Henle Verlag Urtext Edition of Inventions and Sinfonias BWV 772-801.
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. Similarly to its sister Menuet in G Major from the Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach, the Menuet in G minor, BWV Anh. 115 always fascinates the keyboard players of all levels of ability. Equally accessible to beginners and the seasoned performers, this wonderful little gem is full of enormous artistic power, formal balance, and classical tonal plan. In this video, I would like to share with you the steps necessary to play, practice, and master the Menuet in G Minor on the organ. You can download my fully edited organ arrangement of this piece for instructional purposes with complete fingering, articulation, tempo, registration and detailed step-by-step practice plan here. It is perfect for practicing without an instructor.
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. Just like the correct articulation helps to achieve clarity and precision in the performance, the right phrasing can help emphasize structurally important points in the piece. It is precisely phrasing which can give much desired natural flow and life to the organ composition. Moreover, phrasing will help the listener to understand the form of the piece. In this article, I will give you the advice on how to choose the best phrasing in organ playing.
Phrasing involves certain rhythmic fluctuation which takes place at structurally important elements of the piece. This fluctuation helps to emphasize the places which make up the form of the composition. While the usual playing and articulation help to achieve the hierarchy of the strong and weak beats in the measure, the phrasing is used to make subtle rhythmic inequalities. In other words, with the help of the phrasing the organist is able to achieve gentle riterdandos and accelerandos which are governed by certain compositional elements. Sometimes phrasing has much to do with articulation and taking a breath in a musical line. Cadences Cadence is a certain harmonic or melodic curve which helps to complete the musical idea. Whenever you see a cadence, you can gently slow down to make it more prominent. Gradually resume the normal speed afterwards. Rests Rests are important for the phrasing as well. Quite often the composer will put a rest in a place where one particular voice or part has to take a breath. This is the sign for the subtle phrasing technique. Caesuras Very often caesuras are placed at the end of the phrase in order to show the necessity of taking a breath. Although the organ can play without breathing, if you emphasize those musically important places and articulate them, your musical lines will become much clearer. Long Notes After the long note there is a tendency to take a breath in a vocal composition. The same applies in organ music as well. Make a short rest after long notes to show the contour of the melody. Repetition of Rhythmical Figures If you see some repeated rhythmical figures in your organ piece, feel free to make more pronounced articulation at the end of each figure. This will be a natural way to make phrasing. Beginnings and Endings of Melodic Line Very often it is appropriate to make gentle rhythmical inequalities at the beginning and the end of the melodic line. Start slowly, speed up a little and finish slower. This is especially useful in Romantic organ music. It is helpful to imagine analogy with driving a car here. Similarly to the shape and performance of the melodic line, the car will start to move slowly, speed up and slow down at the stop. If you apply subtle rhythmical phrasing and make articulation at structurally important points of the piece, your performance will become very natural. However, do not over do it, especially in the Baroque music. Although the Romantic compositions often require these rhythmical alterations, the early music must be played much more rhythmically and should emphasize meter, pulse, and alternation of strong and weak beats. If you want more information on phrasing and other aspects of performance practice, I recommend Making Music on the Organ by Peter Hurford. 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 beginning piano player enjoys practicing the Menuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114. Although it may appear deceptively simple, it has a classical binary form, high quality tonal plan and all the features of a good composition. While most of the time this menuet is performed on the piano, it works equally well on any keyboard instrument, including the organ. In this video, I will teach you how to play and master Menuet in G Major from the Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach on the Organ. You can download my fully edited organ arrangement of this piece for instructional purposes with complete fingering, articulation, tempo, and registration and detailed step-by-step practice plan here. Therefore, it is perfect for practicing without an instructor.
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. Although the legato articulation is the traditional touch for the romantic and modern organ music, there are several exceptions. It is important for the organist to know when the legato touch is not to be used because performed with the legato articulation in entirety such music might lack precision, clarity, and vitality. In addition, these several exceptions have the very precise manner of execution which contributes greatly to the performance level in general. In this article, I would like give you the advice on when the legato articulation should not be used and how such cases should be performed in romantic and modern organ pieces.
Repeated Notes The first exception to the rule of legato articulation concerns the repeated notes in organ composition. Whenever you see the repeated notes in the same voice they have to be performed in a very exact and precise manner. The repeated notes should be shortened by half of their value if the note could be divided in half (duple meter). For example, shorten the quarter notes by playing eight notes and have eight note rests. If the meter is triple, look at the music and decide what the shortest value is that you see most frequently in this composition. We will call this shortest value unit value. Shorten the repeated notes by unit value. For example, if the meter of the piece is 3/8 and the sixteenth notes are most commonly used, shorten the repeated notes by the sixteenth note. Staccato Sign The second important exception of the legato articulation is the staccato sign. The staccato literally means “short” and is indicated by the dots under the notes. The most precise way of performing the staccato notes in romantic and modern organ music is to shorten them by unit value. For example, if the staccato sign is given under the eighth notes, and the unit value of the piece is the sixteenth note, make these notes shorter by a sixteenth note rest. If the unit value is an eight note in such a piece, shorten the note by half. Notes Before Unison The third exception of the legato articulation is instance when one of the two voices is stationary and later these two voices form an interval of the unison. In other words, if there is a spot in your organ piece when one voice comes into unison with a stationary note, it is not possible to play the voice which was stationary legato. You should shorten this note by unit value. For example, imagine that the most frequent notes in the piece are the eighth notes. That is unit value. The top voice has two quarter notes D and D and a half note G. The lower voice has a two half notes G and G and the second G is in unison with the top voice. So the rule says that you should shorten the first G of the lower voice by unit value (an eighth note rest). Try to locate above exceptions in your organ music and practice shortening notes exactly by unit value. This will give your performance the necessary precision, clarity, and vitality. The above exeptions are discussed in great detail by Marcel Dupre in his 79 chorale preludes for organ which are fully edited, fingered, pedaled with complete registration and serve as a great introduction before playing Bach chorale preludes. If you are interested in performing Romantic organ music, you might enjoy reading "Playing the Organ Works of Cesar Franck" (The Complete Organ No. 1) by Rollin Smith which I highly recommend. 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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