goodwill67
New member
Hello all.
Sometimes I just feel the need for the opinions of others. I am largely a pianist but I have studied organ as well. As a church organist I like to bring out the Widor from time to time as I did today. I sometimes find myself discouraged by the fact the the instrument I play, a 36 rank Kilgen with more unification than I would like and which has the Great and Choir enclosed together and the Swell enclosed separately, just does not permit me to do the things I would like and that I hear done on other larger and better instruments. This instrument simply will not allow a decent smooth crescendo. There is that middle section of the piece marked pianissimo and I would love to be able to get a gradual crescendo from that to the fortissimo the piece concludes with but realistically I know the instrument will only do what the instrument will do based on its capabilities. I seem to only be able to achieve the crescendo in "bumps" rather than smoothly. Even the crescendo pedal, which I try to avoid, is "bumpy" and not a smooth increase. This leads to the larger question I have been pondering lately of how acceptable it is to change the indications given by a composer who may have written for a certain type of instrument at a certain time to fit a lesser instrument whether it is in the Widor Toccata or anything else. It seems a shame to have throw such a piece out if it can still be presented in a musical way. I have significant formal study in piano and have supplemented quite a lot in organ but still not as much as many of you may have. Your advice and opinions are welcome. Thanks You.
Sometimes I just feel the need for the opinions of others. I am largely a pianist but I have studied organ as well. As a church organist I like to bring out the Widor from time to time as I did today. I sometimes find myself discouraged by the fact the the instrument I play, a 36 rank Kilgen with more unification than I would like and which has the Great and Choir enclosed together and the Swell enclosed separately, just does not permit me to do the things I would like and that I hear done on other larger and better instruments. This instrument simply will not allow a decent smooth crescendo. There is that middle section of the piece marked pianissimo and I would love to be able to get a gradual crescendo from that to the fortissimo the piece concludes with but realistically I know the instrument will only do what the instrument will do based on its capabilities. I seem to only be able to achieve the crescendo in "bumps" rather than smoothly. Even the crescendo pedal, which I try to avoid, is "bumpy" and not a smooth increase. This leads to the larger question I have been pondering lately of how acceptable it is to change the indications given by a composer who may have written for a certain type of instrument at a certain time to fit a lesser instrument whether it is in the Widor Toccata or anything else. It seems a shame to have throw such a piece out if it can still be presented in a musical way. I have significant formal study in piano and have supplemented quite a lot in organ but still not as much as many of you may have. Your advice and opinions are welcome. Thanks You.