Bach

[NEB]

As I was playing the closing voluntary this morning a thought struck me about Bach. Yet again I was playing something of his music.

I added up all the Bach I'd done this week, and it turns out that nearly 1/3 of the music I've played is by Bach. As I thought more, It seems that roughly 1/4 of all the services include something written by Bach.

Now that is a huge proportion when you consider the universe of music available.

So I'm wondering. What about you other organists? What proportion (roughly) do you use Bach?

[Krummhorn]

Hi NEB,
Small world ... my prelude today was Bach as was the meditation at communion for the 2nd service (contemporary worship) which we do with piano.

On the average though, I would say I use Bach about 15% of the time ... I have an extensive personal library that I have accumulated over the past 47 years (which is still growing) and I like to include as many different composers as possible. Whenever I get into a pinch situation though, Bach is the first composer that comes to mind.

[musicalis]

hello !
I am a Bach lover. When I was an organist, I played about 25% Bach, 25% other composers and 50% improvisation.
I sincerely think that 25% may be a good average for the other organists also.

J-Paul

[NEB]

well guys that's interesting. Bach composed much less than 15% of all organ music and yet he's getting played as much as that by Krummhorn, and used to be more like 1/4 by J-P.

Doesn't it just make you think about how influential that man's work was and still is? certainly does me...

[Krummhorn]

Could be - the first book of study in my first year of organ lessons were the Eight Little Preludes & Fugues (now thought in some circles as not being written by Bach, but for my nickel, they still are JS Bach). I was exposed to Bach straight away, but also directed towards Vierne, Schumann, and Mendelssohn.

Guess my partiality for Bach comes from Liepzig, and the Lutheran church. Pachelbel and Buxtehude run equally after good ol' JS.

[NEB]

Goodness - Pachelbel and Buxtehude are my next fav's as well. I wonder if we're representative of the majority of organists in that. Be nice to hear from other busy players and find out...?

(incidentally - I do run into the french romantics etc as well, but I've not so often had instruments that can handle those works as I've moved around in my previous free-lance role)

[Contratrombone64]

Bach's music is played in every third service at my church, this is an educated guess.

[NEB]

Interesting, I was in at the Cathedral in Sheffield recently for a service for St John Ambulance, and the organist there played one of the preludes and fugues at the end. It's everywhere isn't it...

[Thomas Dressler]

It sure is! I know I lean heavily on Bach's music in church, though I make a conscious effort not to play it all the time. I do have a large number of people who ask for his music. I had a parishioner tell me last summer that she didn't care what I played so long as it was by Bach! And I always get the largest number of people staying for the postlude when it's Bach. On the other hand, I know a very nice lady there who says she just doesn't like Bach. So I will often go as much as a month without playing much by Bach (but it's difficult to avoid EVERYTHING, such as hymn harmonizations. . .) But last Sunday two of the hymns were harmonized by Bach, the anthem after Communion was "O Little One Sweet" (a wonderful chorale!), the psalm setting I did was harmonized in Bach style harmony, the organ piece at Communion was from the Clavieruebung and the postlude was the F major double fugue! So they got LOTS of Bach, and they seemed to really like it. I don't do that too often, but a few Sundays a year I do. I always come back to Bach's music. Romantic music sometimes gives me emotional overload, Classical music gets tiring to me if I play it all the time, modern music (including my own) just gets on my nerves sometimes, but Bach always centers me and reminds me why I liked music in the first place.

[NEB]

Bach always centers me and reminds me why I liked music in the first place.

Thank you Thomas - I've had such a tough time working out why I have this love affair with Bach's music all my life. You may well have just explained it. There's something for every possible moment in his music isn't there.

Now I know why I play it so much and why I keep coming back to it even when I don't need to...

Thanks for the insight.

[Corno Dolce]

Wow!

A great posting by our Tannenberg organ specialist Thomas Dressler. It is filled with wisdom and understanding. Thank you sir Thomas for your insight as it is most profound.

Respectfully,

Corno Dolce

[Contratrombone64]

I begged our organist to play BWV 565 as he hasn't for ages, he rolled his eyes and said "oh, alright, i guess even that monster needs an outing once in a while".

[Corno Dolce]

*Outing the monster named BWV 565* - That and realizing that the sound of a harpsichord is like two skeletons copulating on a hot tin roof.

[NEB]

You are so funny Mr Corno Dolce. That cracks me up!

Oh And Mr CT64 I happen to agree that 565 is pretty much done to death and I never play it unless absolutely necessary.

[Corno Dolce]

Hi NEB,

Confession time - I coopted the funny phrase from none other than the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham.

Humbly yours,

Corno Dolce