J.S.Bach - 'Dorian' Toccata & Fugue (1 of 2) by Chorzempa

[Offshoreorganbuilder]

Sublime. Thanks.

[mrcmrc1000]

"Nicht Bach, sondern Meer sollte er heißen..."

[Not Bach (stream) but Meer (sea) should be his name...]

(Beethoven)

[Forgefire5]

Arrggghhh! The key sig does always describe the key of the piece! Who named it Dorian?!

[tutamor2000]

infinito nel tempo e nello spazio

[Nostrum84]

Aaahhh this is so lovely. Probably one of the best interpretations I have heard. Souds more "staccato" than other versions, I like it! Accentuates the parts in a beautiful way. What I don't quite like are the really short played chords at 0:46, 0:47 and how it unpausingly continues into the next part. This could have been a nice in-between peak and break in my opinion...

[VinnieSutra]

One my favorite pieces of Bach. Correct tempo just draws you into it. Wonderful.

[docmann2]

A beautifully controlled and articulated performance.

Certainly large German organs in Bach's day had a 32-foor reed, but as far as I am aware none of the organs that he regularly played had one. However he played widely and would definitely have used the full resources of any instrument. The use of a light 16-foot pedal reed adds definition to the pedal.

Bach had many children and a horde of choristers; he had no lack of any to sit beside him to change registration during performance.

[1963mathetes]

This, along with Karl Richter's "romantic" approach, is my favorite interpretation of this piece. Bravo!

[1963mathetes]

This, along with Karl Richter's "romantic" approach, is my favorite interpretation of this piece. Bravo!

[NicolasB42]

Thank you very much for posting this video!

I love Chorzempa's way of playing Bach, and this is the best recording of the Dorian toccata that I know.

Could you please provide me with the references of this recording?

[doctortabby]

Ah, I like this tempo so much better. So often this piece is simply played too fast and so much is lost! Thank you for posting.

[MusicPredominates]

@doctortabby : good comment

[Kneenibble]

The wisdom of this music goes deep into my soul.

Thanks for posting.

[uprooy]

Perfect discipline!

Wonderful interpretation

Thank you for posting.

[ropeyarn]

thank you your performance of the Dorian was an inspiration .

[caddyorganist]

This is great! I played this piece on my undergrad senior recital. Love the registration.

[LemonheadFr]

i love....

[requiemaeturnum]

Very powerful...

[robertgift]

Great tempo!

Why reed in the pedal but not in manuals?

It's unbalanced.

Hope they steady the wind supply on this organ.

Love how he keeps the trill going at 1:42 !

Many end the trill to use fingers for left hand.

Also like the contrast between the Hauptwerke and Oberwerke.

Nice to see the close-up photos.

Thank you, marmin.

[secamaro1]

in baroque organ music, the reeds in the manuals are used mostly for solo use

[Casavantorgan]

@secamaro1 Johann Gotfried Walther in his musical lexicon describes a Bach recital where he used the 16 faggot as part of the ensemble, not solo work. I often do this when I want a heavier sound. Large pedal reeds of the time were not equipped with the pneumatic starters of modern practice and many would have resopnded too slowly for Bach. Also these pipes could also linger a little while after the pedal had been released.

[christianvs1]

robertgift: In responce to the 'balance' question: This is rather well balanced, because Chorzempa may have in mind an orchestral heirachy in mind. That is to say, the Basson (16' reed) in the pedal as in that of the Baroque orchestra. No trumpet in the upper work because of the strings and blockfloten would have the upper parts in the orchestra. Think of the sound distribution of a baroque ensemble...

[robertgift]

Thank you for your analogy.

I do not equate the organ with Baroque orchestra.

You are correct - this is well balanced.

But could be a little better if no reed in the pedal.

Love how he plays the full trill at 1:42.

Thought I was the only one to do that.

It is disappointing when that dramatic trill is ended early.

Wonderful performance.

Love that he connects the pedal notes which so many now play broken.

Perfect tempo.

[christianvs1]

Indeed!! fabulous performance. Incidentally, the sound pyramid of the baroque organ (historically speaking) was indeed patterned on the orchestra. Cf The Cambridge Companion to the Organ pt. III; 17

[robertgift]

Yes.

But I don't agree withat philosophy.

I used to state thathe organ should be based upon the human voice.

The high and low pedal notes are more difficult to reach, as is the same with the human voice.

A reed in the pedal, without a corresponding reed in the manuals, emphasizes the pedal over the manual voices.

It is already emphasized enough being at 16' pitch.

[ccoraxfan]

@robertgift

Funny, a lot of organs in Bach's day had a 16' pedal reed but no reeds in the manuals. One I can think of is the Silbermann organ in Reinhardtsgrimma, examples of which can be found on YouTube. The pedal reed makes the pedal sound prompt and distinct, which matches the bright sound of the famous Silbermann diapason chorus. There's no lack of balance that I can tell. This performance is similar.

[robertgift]

@ccoraxfan Did not know thathey had pedal reed though some no manual reed. How unfortunate.

Wow. At 1:41 just noticed that he continues the trill for the fullength of the note! Wonderful. Thought I was the only one who does that..

Forgefire, the notes are in the Dorian mode, which can be in any key. Most simply played on white notes from D to d. We are acustomed to note number four being a half-step above number three and note number eight a half-step above number seven.

[ccoraxfan]

@robertgift I just downloaded the sheet music to this, specifically to see if I could play that part with the (in)famous trill at 1:41, continuing to the end of the note as you hear here. And indeed, I can. Perhaps one of these days I'll have to learn this piece.

[robertgift]

@ccoraxfan Bravo! It is worth theffort and difficulty of playing the 6ths withe left hand and continuing the trill withe right. 5:16 is also very difficult.

Th.is a wonderful piece to play. People like it better than the fugue. But I like the fugue better.

It has a one-measure-long trill in the pedal. Someven cheat and don't play it for full value. But it is wonderful if notrilled too fast and if ended perfectly.

[ccoraxfan]

@robertgift Indeed, I played the 6ths with my left hand. It is a bit difficult, but I've done similar things in other pieces I've learned. If you don't play it too fast and if you play detached notes, it's not that hard. Pedal trills are not hard either.

[robertgift]

@ccoraxfan Difficult for me because I do not detach them. I connecthem as though played with two hands.

I have difficulty ending the fugue's pedal trill correctly.

Helmut Walcha acomplishes it perfectly.

[Ntalikeris666]

Its not unbalanced.First of all it is not a loud reed, and also Many Bachs pieces require a reed or more in the pedals (but not the manuals) Lets say BVW 642, BWV 572, BWV 565 Toccata (some use 32 Reeds on the begining but nothing on the manuals.)

[robertgift]

No 32' reed belongs in any Bach composition, anywhere.

Just does not sound right.

32' Principle with 16' reed is wonderful.

32' reed is magnificent in Reger and French composers.

Must admithathe 16' pedal reed makes the pedal more audible, but it does not seem right to have reed in pedal without equal registration in the manuals.

[Ntalikeris666]

some just use the 32 reed in the low D in the begining of the Toccata.

[robertgift]

That is not "correct" either.

But it must be quite dramatic!

(I must try that someday.)

I also dislike, and do not do, the inappropriate practice of suddenly adding stops at or near the end of a work.

[Ntalikeris666]

its not. Basically you cant say its not correct. You can say its not baroque. Yea but indeed its quite nice for fun :P ( i have tried it )

Yea, changing registration all the time is considered bad.

Changing a coupler or something like that is fine.

[killedbyshadows]

As Goethe said, Bach makes one feel as if they were at the very creation of the world.

[MusicPredominates]

@killedbyshadows : One could, in a way, agree with such a sentiment. All the pieces that Bach wrote, individually, represent new genres. By way of example is this toccata. It is entirely different from the other organ preluides connected with a fugue. Thus Bach´s creativity is analogous (in human terms) with some bigger creativity.

[butronowlence]

Wg mnie jedna z najgenialniejszych fug, jakie kiedykolwiek powastały!

[31337B]

A wg mnie to jest toccata, fuga jest na drugim filmiku. Ale zgadzam sie, ten kawalek stawia mi siersc na plecach :)