Caroles unum : new piece for organ

[musicalis]

Hi friends.

Here is a new and small piece for organ I wrote in 2003.
http://musicalis.monespace.net/pages/48.html
I recorded it with a very small virtual organ.

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Hi Musicalis,

Great little piece. I've already printed it out and I can't wait to start playing it tomorrow.
The organ sounds quite good. I expect you put a lot of work into it.

Cheers, LlL

[Caddis]

Hi J.P.
A very nice piece of music indeed. I like the subtle variations,superb. Was the Toccata Negra played on a virtual organ or Cavaille Coll pipe organ?

[NEB]

OK. A pleasant trio but.....

You've marked the second part as Cromorne 8' and hautbois 8' and yet you have reproduced them in the audio file on 4' pitch. If this part is to be of a 4' pitch, it would be better written in treble clef at the sounding pitch rather than in alto clef and requiring a transposition due to the directions of 8' vs. sound of 4'.

You follow me?

[musicalis]

Hi Caddis !
Tocata negra has been played first by myself with Harmony Assistant. It is not a virtual organ but a music editor able to play General Midi and/or sampled sounds.
Later, Toccata negra has been recorded by Giwro on a virtual organ, using a Cavaillé-Coll sample set.

J-Paul

[musicalis]

Dear Neb !
Your remarks are very correct, I have to give you some explainations :

I wrote the piece 5 years ago for an organ with two manuals and pedal.
Both hands have to play 8'. I sugested cromhorn or oboe for left hand (cantus firmus), but registration is free and can be changed.

Today, I want to open a page about MyOrgan in my website Musicalis. I choose Caroles unum as un exemple for a page about Smecno. This page shows a free organ called Smecno MINI sample set for Hauptwerk 1 (http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/s...eenshots.0.asp). This organ is really very small and has only one stop for upper manual. this stop is Copol minor 4'. As this piece cannot be played with I and II coupled, I cannot do otherwise that using a 4 feet stop for left left hand. So, you do not have to transpose, you only have to play both hands with 8'.

I hope you have been able to follow me too.

Friendly.
Jean-Paul

[NEB]

Yep I follow you. Thanks for the reply.

Have you thought of reworking it as a flute trio?

[musicalis]

Hi !
here is the link to the MP3 of the formeer version, played with oboe 8'.
The mp3 is not very good, but you will have an idea of the song with oboe against bourdon. http://musicalis.monespace.net/pages/49.html

A flute trio ? Why not.

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Hi Musicalis,
I'm not sure it's ever a really good idea to use the alto clef in organ music. I think most organists would prefer ledger lines.
However, I do have a trick for reading the alto clef. I go over the middle line (the third) of each stave with a thin red pen. Then, when I play, the red line is middle C, anything above the red line is read the same as the treble clef, and anything below the red line is read the same as the bass clef.
I hope this is understandable. I'd like to hear what other organists think about playing music written in the alto clef.

LlL

[Krummhorn]

Jean-Paul,

A delightful piece, as all your compositions are. Guess I need to bone up on my alto clef before attempting this piece in church .

[musicalis]

Hi !
OK, I'' reprint the piece with F key for the left hand.
J-Paul

[NEB]

FnP - I'm not entirely sure you little trick will work since it you read the line second down that would be an E in alto clef and a D in treble clef sounding a 7th higher. (for example). forgive me If I've missed the point in your trick????

Incidentally I don't mind Alto clef at all, But I'd really rather not have to deal with the complication and Frankly, only Bach and Buxtehude tempt me to bother. For others composers works I pass and find something else to play instead of dealing with the extra hassle...

[Flute'n'Pedal]

Hi NEB,
What I mean is, the two lines above the red line (the middle one) are read as the two lowest lines of the treble clef, making them E and G. The two lines below the red line are read as the two uppermost lines of the bass clef, making them F and A.
But now that Musicalis is going to rewrite the left hand in the bass clef, we don't have to bother with any tricks at all, thankfully.

LlL

[Krummhorn]

. . . I'd like to hear what other organists think about playing music written in the alto clef. LlL

I'm lots like NEB ... when I encounter it in Bach for instance, I leave it and play something else. Oddly enough though, I was never taught nor learned alto clef in all my years of musical training ... .

[NEB]

I guess Krummhorn, it boils down to both of us having many demands on us already without needing any extra problems created by the music we're playing. Since we both have control over what we choose to play, it makes sense that we'll go for the more straightforward or familiar option unless there was a very good reason to tackle something that would demand excessive time and effort we could be devoting elsewhere...