TimSmith

To be completely honest, I don't think that Bach himself would of cared too much about the way his music was interpreted. I'm learning BWV 527 and can't seem to find a common thread between the performances of the the sonata that I've heard, so I settle for what my teacher advised.

Bossa is a very specific style of music, and I would say performance as well. I dont know much, but other than the movement starting in my homeland, understanding the portuguese lyrics raw, other than translations might help.

interesting piece. Sounds nice. Just to warn you though, chords on the organ can be overpowering depending on how the piece is registered. The fantasia does sound nice as Organo Pleno. Do you have the score? It would be interesting to play this on my local organ.

Eu venho de Brasil, mas nasci em Portugal. (I come from from brasil, but was born in Portugal) ;-) the piece has some really catchy bits and phrasing, its great music to listen to.

eu gostei desse pe

thank you. I'm not much for Brass as well...

I see what you mean. My friend plays the Euphonium (grade 7 or something like that). It could work, just depends on the solo line. I'll ask my friend to give me an 'ultimate' forte (fffffff or something of the sort, but really one f more or less doesnt make a diference :p) and see what happens.

I still cant maneage the dimished triplets from BWV565; though I'm trying a trio sonata

your very welcome. Common stops can be a hastle because there is an infinitely large combination of stops on any organ. What i would suggest then is on the final version of the sheet music put: "Swell 8' and 4' open; Choir 4' contrasting stopped" for example and tell the organist to 'mix and match' so to say as indicating very specific stops is very confining from a performance point of view. (right now I'm wanting to say 'go find a copy of an organ textbook by David Sanger', as it has really good bits on registration and how the book itself suggests registrations. What I'll do is go get it by the organ here and 'show' you how he does it). I'll be interested to hear the fugue, because I personally havent heard one between organ and another instrument. (I'm getting board of 'bread and butter' Bach). Hope thats more help, Tim PS. Here are some examples how Sanger suggests registrations: "Gt. Diapasion at 8' and 4', or 8' 4' 2' or 8' 4' 2' 2 2/3' and 2' " "Sw. Oboe 8'; lh Ch flutes 8' and 4' or Gt flute 8'; Ped soft 16' and 8' " "Gt 8' 8' 4' 2' Ped 16' 8' 8' 4' to balance" The possibilities are endless. This system allows alot of flexibility and adds diversity to the music as no two performances on different organs will sound alike (well almost). Tim

1) It depends on the stop list on the organ. If I were using the organ that I play, I would use the 8' Stopped Diapason and 4' Wald Flute on the great (though these are not solo stops). Solo stops are generally soft, and the flues described as liquid and you will get a nice sound. If I were using the Swell, which is probably your best decision, I would go for 8' Gedakt, 8' Gamba and 8' Voix Celeste; and for a more 'twinkly' sound: 8' Gedakt, 4' Stopped Flute and 1 1/3' Larigot, but dont use the bass too much as the sound can separate. 2) It can be: It just depends on the solo piece, and your preferences. It is possible to couple the Swell manual and Pedals togeather with the 'Swell to Pedal' Coupler. In the baroque period, the pedal registration would mimik the Manual regestration but an octave lower (for the swell registrations I gave: 16' Sub Bass [or Soubasse] and 8' Flute; and for the second: 16' Bourdon and 8' Flute). However you can go for something really contrasting and use it only where it suits, even a reed. And dont forget, the pedal division is unexpressive; it stays loud. Let get my Audsley too look up some nice ranks: Dulciana could be nice, and maybe Clarabella (if the organ isnt very well maintained, dont use it). Gemshorn, but that is generally on the choir. Do you have a stop list for an organ near you? That would really help me in assisting your stop selection so I know what to work with. If not, do you know what style of organ it is because that affects the stop selection severly, and if possible what temperment (style of tuning)? Hope I have been some more use, Tim

I'm writing one as well, but this one does remind me slightly of Mozart's requiem in D. I liked it, sent [good] shivers down my back. I cant quite get my to work, though the choristers like the first 10 bars. It would be nice to see some lyrics.

hmm, the organ drones... pritty good.

Without access to a real organ your task becomes even harder. As an organist, I wouldnt recommend using the great with a solo instrument as it is possibly loud enough to 'over blow' the solo. I would recommend using the swell or choir depending on the solo line (positif or schwellerwerk on a German organ, or the Recit on a French organ), both are also expressive so you can get crescendoa and diminuendo effects. These manuals provide softer flues, strings and reeds. Using the Diapson chorus on the great isnt ideal. To get an idea of what induvidual stops sound like, here is a link: Encyclopedia of Organ Stops but you will need to have some idea of what you want first. If you do use a cello, (or a viole de gambe, which is also an organ stop), I would try 8' Gedakt and 4' Stopped Flute on the Swell, but try to avoid gap registrations (eg: 8' and 1 1/3') as they begin to separate at about tenor c. Another idea would be a 4' principal on the choir and a gemshorn, but it is all down to preference. You should also try experimenting with string stops. And remember: never mix types of stops. (unless it is a baroque peice which requires a reed, then you also want an 8' flue on the same division).

Learning something on your own can be a daunting task, especially if it is something as technical as the piano. After giving up the piano, I played every now and then because we had one at home. I have learnt really bad technique, but can get away with it mainly on baroque pieces because of their "walking finger" scales, etc. The best thing to is to get a teacher as this will speed up the process, but if you desire not to have one, one way I found that works for me is to pick a simple tune, be it one you like or listened to on the radio and try to figure it out and work up from there. In response to Hieran Del's post about memorisation being an issue, simply get rid of the sheet music. The conductor of my school orchestra tried this in an attempt to improve our timing. It turned out that it improved more than just the timing. Another method is just keep playing the piece until it has been engrained into muscle memory, though this takes time unless you "feel" the music.

As a flautist and piccolo player, flutter tounging is possible (just imagine your toungue as a dead fish, flapping about), but by physically stopping and starting exhailing on rapid notes is just going to give you a headache. If you want a phrase to be played leggato, use ligature marks; if not, the notes will be toungued to give them a difinitive beginning and end. TimSmith Flute, Piccolo and Organ