Just a performance of a Bach fugue from WTC I

Did this on the little organ at the Swedish Church for Maundy Thursday service. Registration was a Rorhflot 8'+ 1 1/2 nasard.

Select Fugue in B minor to hear

SoundClick artist: comporgan - page with MP3 music downloads

Apart from a few slips which personally I don't find them important, I found it quite good, but it sounded kind of hesitant. Are you currently studying it or did you just sight-read it? Also, personally I would prefer a registration with a bit fuller/heavier "texture".

Alex - good point about the the hesitant sound and thanks for your patience with the slips - as you know it isn't an easy piece. For the service I practiced it a few times for specific articulations and interpretative decisions as they requested an extended piece for meditation. I learned this fugue on my own a long times ago - I think when I was in my teens. As I got better teachers I just would come back to this piece to look it over with my improved technique and musical understanding but not too much - maybe a few times a year!

Now as for the hesitant feeling - it may be an interpretative risk that didn't work out as well as I thought. For the rising semitones I would play with the length I'd hold them to communicate the "affect" - also would do that with some of the sixteenths - maybe too much. For registration choice I thought for Maundy Thursday and the meditative part of the service a very vulnerable sound would be best - I think if you have a subwoofer it will sound fuller the recording (it worked when I increased the volume on mine).

As for study - I am studying organ primarily. The Bach's G major prelude and Fugue

BWV 541, Mendelssohn's Third Organ Sonata and smaller works by Dupre. Plus hymnody. I may start the Franck Pastorale soon but it depends. It is tough to balance composition and organ study. The Mendelssohn and Bach I have been studying for well over 6 months. So far the Bach Prelude is getting close to performance level and portions of the first movement of the Mendelssohn are getting a little closer to performance level.

I believe that the semitone motif was performed well. It was with some of the sixteenth note figures where I got that feeling of hesitating. Overall it was good however.

I am currently studying the Bb major Prelude and Fugue from the first Band and I am thinking of posting my interpretation here for feedback.

Alex -

Thanks for specifying. yeah I agree about the sixteenths - I think my approach to them worked some of the time and at other times not as well as I expected.

Yeah you definitely should post your performance! Much to learn from each other.