This little Kyrie from the Clavier Übung III took me 4.5 hours to get halfway decently recorded, even though I already knew it. And still I did not have an error free track There's an ugly flub in the middle but otherwise not too bad I hope. Just in case you think I just sit down and record stuff a prima vista. Rats, could have done at least half a dozen Mazurkas in that time

Bach - Clavier Übung III - Chorale Prelude BWV 669 - Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit

An amazing and ingenious chorale, in that the hands play a melody in canon, and the pedal chimes in with a third canon voice two bars later. At set times, the RH must migrate to the 2nd clavier to play the cantus firmus (the Sexquialter voice) while the LH temporary takes over its duties. Quite a setback when teacher pointed this out to me, as I was until then playing it on one clavier and thought it was simple...

Wonderful played and in my opinion, also a technical very good recording. Perfect tempo and it feels very relaxed and comfortable. How do you keep the focus for 4,5 hours? I can sit at longest in 1 hour for a recording, then I give up.


I can imagine that!

It surprised me too... I seem to have developed a great patience since I play the organ, especially when I have set my mind to record something particular on that day. It's difficult though not to get frustrated when finallly you get past the difficult part unscathed, get near the end thinking you've made it, only to stumble for no good reason in the final bars. Ah sell... just say shit and start over again. The amazing thing is that this music does not get boring even then. Bach to the rescue !

I'll want to re-record this though, it's a bit ugly in the middle.

I am glad about your decision.

And thank you too for your explanation regarding that choral structure. No easy food I think, but it is a clever approach to understand the upper long notes in the parts with 4 voices as cantus firmus on a separate manual, although it is not directly seen from the score (I have seen only an internet score).

Also thank you for showing how a Sesquialtera register sounds (was it alone, or some additional registers on the cantus firmus?). This register liked Bach that much that he requested to have it on every manual on his Arnstadt organ (but he did not get it). I think I need to couple a quint and terz register to hopefully come a bit close to that sound on "my" little organ

Ok, there was a slip, but also the trills could come better. I think if you would decice to spent some hours more on that (even for the danger that the next mazurkas come some days later), it would come out more fluent. I know that it is no easy playing, to take with left hand the notes from two different note lines (just don't know the english term), and the contrapunctus stuff with pedal is no easy food either. I admire how fast you get the notes together. Multiply the practising time you need by 10 or so, then this is what I need...

I had no clue about that cantus firmus when I started playing it. Even when my teacher pointed it out I could not make out where it starts and stops, so he marked that for me on the score. All of a sudden this went from something relatively simple to the most difficult piece I'd done yet except the bwv686. And still I stubbornly refuse to practise hands and/or feet apart - though I keep promising my teacher I'll do it, just to shut him up As usual, instead of properly practising it for next lesson, I sit down and record it

I use the Sesquialtera in combination with the 8-ft base registers, Salicional and Bourdon. It remains a strange sound especially if you ears pick up on the overtones and start listening to that.
The Hauptwerk (main clavier) has the 'default' 8-8-4 combination that I most always use, and the pedal has 8ft Prestant and 16ft Subbase (all that it's got) with the main clavier coupled in to give it some more body.

Thank you for explaining which registers you used! Yes, those sharp registers like Sesquialtera seem to work only in "attenuation" with some other registers.

The only explanation I have that you don't need to practise that stuff hands separated and in that short time is that you have extraordinary score reading skills and mental power that is enough for some other people like me. I mean it most sincerely.

Don't try to explain it - it's a miracle

I'm not even going to try to sound intelligent. All those big words above, I have never heard of, so can only say, "this sounds fine". Sorry





That made me laugh. I have the same mentality.