J.S. Bach - BWV 645 - Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

[vielendankegrandmoon]

So peaceful~~~

[johnnieanon]

The modulation to C minor is always surprising no matter how many times I hear it.

[trosdejos]

Es de las mejores interpretaciones que he escuchado, tanto por la calidad del organista como del sonido del mismo órgano. me gusta ese sonido. Y añadir las partituras ha sido genial para poder seguir la obra.

Buen trabajo.

Congratulations!!

[fossosejore]

finally i heard a very good "legato" pedal!

[webparafia]

Świetny utwór, szkoda że taki mało znany i jakże mało doceniony.

[1997goblue]

it's going to take a while for me to learn this song

[TheFigaro64]

i must play this piece on diamonic piano: should it be possible?

[FleshTorturer]

Now THIS is the way it should sound. Great post.

[NPorganist]

This tempo is just fine! Why hurry a fine feast? This piece is an all-time classic. The counter melody is surely one of the greatest tunes written. The way the various strands fit together is incredible. Awe inspiring indeed. The hairs on my neck rise when I hear this work. Oh to lay a wreath on the Master's grave . . .

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Oh, I so agree with you... in every word... And to think I just posted a video of me playing this at the piano - apart from mistakes due to lack of practice, the tempo is way too fast... Sorry!... This piece is one of the most sublime works of art ever created by man. Miraculous.

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Thanks for your comments! I tended to play this piece too quickly when younger but the passing years have slowed me down! I found using a metronome good for disciplining me. I still marvel at how Bach took Philipp Nicolai's fine tune and turned it into a masterpiece. The other five Schubler chorales are marvellous, too! Best wishes!

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Yes, they are all quite wonderful, as well as the ones known as the 'Leipzig Chorales', in which BWV 659, one of my favourites, is included. Yes, Bach indeed turned Nicolai's tune into one of the greatest masterpieces ever. And he did the same to so many other melodic lines and even complete compositions... Thank you for your comments. Kindest regards!

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist By the way, have you ever heard a recording of BWV 645 by Christopher Herrick? The man is in such a hurry... ....

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hi!

No, I haven't heard Christopher Herrick's playing of this piece. Searched Youtube but couldn't find it. Some performers seem to think that the faster they play Bach the cleverer they are. Seem to recall hearing Virgil Fox playing one major Bach work at breakneck speed. Awful! I think that to err on the slow side is the lesser of the evils. My hero for playing Bach at the correct tempo was the late Anton Heiller. Try to hear his recordings if you can.

Best wishes.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist You make really smart comments! I'll look Anton Heiller over! Best wishes!

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist I've checked out the famous BWV 565 performed by Anton Heiller... Truely sublime. One of the comments read something like this: "a counterpart for our modern racing organists..." True. I still prefer Karl Richter's recording of this Toccata and Fugue, perhaps because I remember it so well from my childhood. And he, like Heiller, is definetely not in a hurry! Thank you for your tips!

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo again!

Karl Richter!! Yes, when I was a boy thinking about learning the organ I heard a recording of him playing the Prelude and Fugue in D Major (starts with ascending pedal scale). The organ wasn't particularly big but the sound was superb! That made up my mind and I didn't rest until I had mastered that piece. Still love playing it! The fugue is so full of wit, if you know what I mean. Also love the Concerto In G Major (after Prince Johann Ernst)

Warm regards.

.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Yes!!! Karl Richter's playing changes one's life! I was never the same after listening to recordings of him playing, though I never had the opportunity to study the organ. Piano lessons were all I could get as a child... I used to play not too badly then. Please tell me the D Major Prelude and Fugue's BWV number so I can see if I already know it - don't hink I do, but will soon. I definitely know what you mean by wit when it comes to Bach!

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, Daniel!

BWV 532 is the piece in question. Just found a very good version on Youtube by Franz Hauk. Sounds like a Schnitger organ. Super acoustics. Slightly faster reading than I did but still exciting. Fugue certainly sparkles! What memories of my youth this piece evokes. I have a pile of old LP records. Must listen to them sometime. Going away for two weeks' holiday to the Isle of Lewis off West coast of Scotland tomorrow. See you when I return!!

Best wishes,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist I've been working so hard these days that I haven't listened to music at all! When I don't listen to music, that means I'm really exhausted. And I'm working tomorrow too. So Sunday will be the day for me to listen to Franz Hauk's rendition of BWV 532 and my Organ Concertos LP! Are you back yet? I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you from the US or the UK? It's been really nice chatting with you over Bach... I will tell you all my impressions of BWV 532!

Best wishes,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, Daniel!

Nice to chat with you, too! Still on holiday. This is my second day away but we have an internet connection at the holiday house and I'm using my daughter's laptop. I live in the UK (Scotland). How about you? If you get the chance search on Youtube for "Enrico Viccardi" and listen to his playing of the Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major. Use earphones if possible to get the full bass effect. Tell me what you think. I find it TREMENDOUS!!!

Warm regards,

Neil

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Not only have I searched - and found - Enrico Viccardi playing my so beloved "Toccata, Adagio and Fugue" (oh, particularly the Adagio) but I have also listened to Franz Hauk playing your beloved Prelude and Fugue in D Major! I recognized the piece as soon as the ascending scales began.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Bach was certainly filled with his peculiar sense of wit when he conceived the long theme that opens the fugue! It feels like he was saying: 'Come on, play it! It's easy and it will be fun!' Ha ha! Unbelievably difficult! How long did it take you to master this?

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, Daniel.

This is one of the best subjects I've ever heard a fugue written on. It's actually not too difficult to play once you get into it. As I was still learning the organ when I tackled it, it took me about a month to master. The closing bars have a long pedal section which encompasses almost the entire range of the pedalboard. Great fun! A good lightly-voiced 16-ft. pedal reed is highly desirable in this fugue.

Best wishes,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist As for Enrico Viccardi's BWV 564, I can't begin to tell you how deeply moved I was to watch such a wonderful film... The music itself needs no comments. This piece is one of my favourites, ever. I found his rendition stupendous, perfect, brilliant! Oh, what glory to have the power to make such music echo through a marvellous church like that one! I did not use ear phones, but I have a good loudspeaker system connected to my PC.

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

I just knew you'd like this one! A good speaker system is a must with this kind of music. Couldn't believe this is only a two-manual organ. What a sound! Like the two extra pedal stops drawn for the final statement of the subject, Gives a very firm sonorous sound. Glorious acoustics, too. This is a rendition to which I frequently return..

Kind regards,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist What about the sequence that depicts the baroque supltures changing in synchronicity with the harmonic progression that closes the Adagio? If there could be anything in common between pain and delight, this undefined feeling is present here. Maybe it's awe. Brought tears to my eyes. I'm Brazilian and I've never lived abroad. You should know this, I'm not a musician. I'm a medical doctor, a pathologist to be more precise. I hope we can keep our internet communication!

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, again!

You describe the linking movement between the adagio and the fugue so well. To play this section (or listen) transports one into a different, almost mysterious world. I don't know anything else like it in Bach's organ music. The opening statement of the fugue soon brings one back down to earth! The adagio is a piece I've played on many occasions at church services and it never fails to impress. Like to play the melody on an 8 ft. flute plus larigot.

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist I couldn't agree more. Mysterious, super-human, celestial, cosmic, I don't know... One must be truely insensitive to listen to this adagio and not be touched. It's incredibly dense. And then, exactly! You're suddenly brought back down here by the fugue! I believe Bach's music has eternity within itself, if such a statement can be made... I'm not familiar with Arthur Sullivan's work. I'll take your advice and look into it. Do you enjoy Bach's vocal works too?

Kindest regards,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

I'm afraid I have not devoted much time to Bach's vocal works. So much time was given to learning his organ works. Then there are his harpsichord concertos and Brandenburg Concertos and not enough hours in the day! Try to listen to the good professional productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan works on Youtube, avoiding the rather trashy amateur performances that exist there. I'm sure they will grow on you!

Regards,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Yes, a lot of pretty bad things did show up! Would you suggest any particular aria? Being a professional organist really means a great level of commitment, and I know there are not enough hours in the day! I love all the Brandenburg Concertos, especially the 5th... Theres's a tenor aria from Cantata BWV 198 - Der Ewigkeit saphirnes Haus - I wish I could show you... Full of melismas and long notes in the words Ewigkeit (eternity, of course you know!) and umsponnen (surrounded)!

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist This creates such a magnificent music / text relationship! As if the wonderful tenor line and miraculous harmony weren't enough...

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, Daniel!

Search on youtube under "hms pinafore albert hall" and listen to it. There will be links for the next sections. Tell me what you think. I'll need to wait till I'm home to get a decent sound to listen to the piece you mention. Will reply to that in due course. Also, do you ever listen to Handel's organ concertos? These are goldmines with rich seams of pure delight. I used to play some of the movements arranged for organ. Marvellous!

Bye for now,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Ok! I'll tell you what I think! Of course I listen to Handel's organ concertos! I particularly like one of them in F major - there's a version for harpsichord and recorder as a sonata. And, also, the 'Cuckoo and the Nightingale'! And there's a small concerto for oboe and strings which I find so beautiful... I love Handel too! Have a nice trip back!

Bye for now,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@NPorganist

Hallo, Daniel. I think I know the F major work. Does it start with the parts in unison, then the organ part comes in with harmony? This is one cracker of a piece! The "Cuckoo and the Nightingale" is another total gem of a piece. I once heard a series of Handel's organ concertos with Karl Richter playing the organ parts and conducting from the console. Marvellous! Returning home on July 16. Using this laptop more difficult than playing the Wedge Prelude in E Minor!

Regards,

Neil

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist No, I believe the concerto you mention, a more famous one, is opus 4 number 4, HWV 292. I'm talking about opus 4 number 5, HWV 293. Quite a gem too! Take your time to enjoy your holiday and don't bother to tackle the laptop! We'll talk when you get back! I'll be off for my parents' place, but they've got 3 PCs: my mom's, my brother's and my nephew's! The connection is rather slow there, but it shouldn't be a problem.

Kindest regards,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, Daniel!

Hope you have a nice stay with your parents and other relatives. Using my other daughter's laptop and it's no easier. Give me a 58-note keyboard and 30-note pedalboard any time. Far easier!! I think the Concerto in F you originally mentioned might be the one I sometimes played on the organ. Lovely broad, restful introductory movement, then an allegro, a slow movement then a sparkling brisk fourth movement with some truly memorable passages.

Yours as ever,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Thank you very much! You described the concerto with such a precision! It is the one! I love it dearly. There could be no more appropriate adjectives than 'sparkling and brisk' for the last movement! As well as 'lovely and restful' for the first!

I hope you do not mind my suggesting this, but do you think you could give me an e-mail of yours? I do not know a way to do this without exposing it here...

It would be much easier to send you links.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist But if you would rather not, I think it is perfectly understandable and I hope you feel comfortable about simply saying 'I'd rather not'.

Have you ever listened to the sonata for harpsichord (basso continuo) and recorder of this concerto? It is just as lovely!

Yours as ever,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hi, Daniel. This laptop is driving me nuts! As soon as I move the cursor the textbox vanishes and I have to start all over again! Meant to also mention that the slow movement in the F major concerto is exquisitively beautiful. If life was bereft of all hope this one movment would restore it. It sounded super on the organ, too. I haven't heard the version you mentioned but I have heard one where the organ part is played on a harp. Very effective.

Warm regards,

Neil (resting!)

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Oh, I think I misunderstood you! Ha Ha! I'm sure the difficulty in using the laptop is getting your daughter to let you use it! How stupid of me!

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist I've just created and uploaded a 'video' with the aria I mentioned to you. I tried to paste the link here, unsuccessfully. Look it up on my channel on YouTube, moreira7daniel

Regards,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Hallo, again, Daniel.

Thanks for going to the trouble of sending me this clip. Totally stupenous music! When you consider all this so-called modern rubbish that is passed off as music and compare it with this . . . what can I say? The accompaniment almost defies description. Oh to have a tiny fraction of Bach's ability. And yet he was buried in a pauper's grave . . . These thoughts are constantly in my mind as I try to do justice to his matchless music.

Best wishes,

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist Neil, I simply have nothing to add to what you said about this piece and Bach... Truly matchless...

In a way time has done justice to him. Three centuries passed and he is loved all over the world for what he wrote. Well, all over the world by a small number of people. But I believe it is that small number that makes a difference.

Best wishes,

Daniel

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist It's been educational and I find it fortunate to have someone with whom I can share my love for Bach! Thank you!

Warm regards,

Daniel

[NPorganist]

@moreira7daniel

Thank-you for your kind comments. I have realised that the more I have studied Bach the more I realise there's still so much to learn. I must state that another enormous influence in my musical life was the discovery, aged about eight, of the music of Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame). Sullivan's wonderful gift of melody and his superb orchestrations have had a lifelong effect on me. To play the overture to HMS Pinafore or Ruddigore on the piano is joyful.

Neil.

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist HMS Pinafore & Ruddigore: Just took a look at the overtures on YouTube! Such a different style!!! They seemed to be the kind of 'fantasy' music to me... It could be used (and probably has been) very successfully in the cinema! I do not possess enough knowledge of musicology or orchestration to give a valid opinion on the music's quality... I could only talk about what it makes me feel... It's kind of dazzling! The operas must be great fun to watch!

Warm regards,

Daniel

[moreira7daniel]

@NPorganist I have an album - an actual album, those big black records - with all the organ concertos. I intend to listen to it carefully and passionately this weekend. Warm regards. Daniel

[Zaphenath4]

Wonderful :)

[12345qazx1]

For getting Awake i would prefer a bit higher tempo,but registration is nice.

[HerrWarja]

@12345qazx1 Yes I agree, but maybe Bach wanted to be kind to use in the morning and let us awake in our own tempo! xD

[IDidntComeUpWithName]

This is one of the Best Versions i have Heard ! Absolutely Perfect//Amazing//Sublime//Mag­nificent Music !!! The bad part is that after hearing this i have to return to the Normal Shit Depressing Life that i have and it feels worse.

[toxiconegro]

@IDidntComeUpWithName

Thanks for your kind comment.

You don't have to be desperate. Firstly you can watch this or any of my other vids every day and secondly, once "Bach" is in your head it will remain there every day ;-)

[IDidntComeUpWithName]

@toxiconegro Thanky very very Much for Posting All J.S.B :s works which i see here.

[JupiterIV]

@toxiconegro Just wondering:

What software do you use to make your vids? I'd like to try the same with some of my own compositions.

[toxiconegro]

@JupiterIV Oh there isn't a special software behind all that, it's actually a lot of work which has to be done manually. If you're interested in it, I will send you a brief description of what I used to do. Cheers

[primaryramus]

@IDidntComeUpWithName Nice allusion to Avatar syndrome.

[ax2mix1]

Back to morning musical delight:)

[Elaguine81]

Magnifique interprétation....