Organ music from 7 centuries No. 17

By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)​​​​​​

​This Saturday, January 21 at 6 pm Ausra and I will be inviting lovers of organ music to our joint concert "Maria Zart" which is No. 17 from the cycle of "7 Centuries of Organ Music".

The purpose of this concert is not only to demonstrate well-known works of the great masters but also rarely performed gems from the treasury of organ art on the largest pipe organ in Lithuania.

​Here's our program:

„Wir glauben all‘ an einen Gott“, BWV 680 by J.S. Bach (18th c.), Estampie from the Robertsbridge Codex (14th c.), „En avois“, „Wach auff mein hort“, „Mit ganczem Willen“ and „Paumgartner“ from Lochamer Liederbuch (15th c.), „Maria Zart“ by Arnoldt Schlick (16th c.), Praeludium No. 2 in G (Dorian) and Canzona by Franz Tunder (17th c.), Sortie in Eb Major by Louis James Alfred Lefebure-Wely (19th c.), „Miroir“ by Ad Wammes (20th c.), variations „O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee“ by me (21st c.) and Nona and Decima Intradas by Hans Leo Hassler (16th-17th c., organ intabulations for 4 hands).

Ausra says from this program she enjoys the most "Maria Zart" by the 16th century German composer A. Schlick:

​"The beauty of this composition stems from the clear 3-part texture where both hands and feet play different melodic lines. When I play this piece on the organ, I always get the impression that 3 people are singing it. That's understandable because the original was written for the vocal ensemble."

When Ausra practices, the most challenging work is Sortie in Eb major by the 19th century French virtuoso L.J.A. Lefebure-Wely:

"In the ​culmination of this delightful composition the tempo is getting faster and faster but at the same time we hear a lot of colorful modulations. I don't want to make a mess from all this. On the contrary, our listeners should be able to feel the changing keys and feelings."

In the next months Ausra would like to be able to play in public Prelude and Fugue in Eb Major, BWV 552 by J.S. Bach which she has learned during her doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska.

"In March Vidas and I hopefully will play a concert for the birthday of this great master. Eb Major prelude and fugue is a dream for every organist."

My personal favorite of my program is "Miroir" by the contemporary Dutch composer Ad Wammes which will sound in Lithuania for the first time.

I got to know Ad during our podcast conversation in which the composer shared his insights about his music with our community of organists from 89 countries.

The most challenging thing for me is to play my own composition - variation "O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee", Op. 36 which was commissioned by Judith Miller from Indiana, USA in 2015 (you can see the creation process in my Modern Variation Workshop).

After this recital I would like to learn one more opus by Ad Wammes - "Ride in a High-Speed Train".

​This piece was created after Ad traveled the Balkans with the high-speed train. I'm fascinated by his clever musical language and perpetual motion.

What's the most fascinating piece for you right now?