Piece DOrgue - Promenade2239

Thank you so much! I am happy you enjoyed the performance and this special and somehow unusual kind of recording!

There is a youtube channell containing educational videos presenting scrolling scores and I see this piece was posted there. I hope it will be interesting for you. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukx-u-Q6Hes (and my video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL3qR9CEP9g ). I hope it will help to explain some details of the form of the entire piece. The outer sections are somehow 'melismatic' in a sense and of course it is a 'homophonic' or 'chordal' sort of writing. It is simply an arpeggiation of typical chord progressions from a baroque period.
The central part is a highly sophisticated polyphonic writing in vocal style for 5-voices. This is really a 'stilo antico' section Bach wrote which can also be given to a consort of violes for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUp6tbiuGqU so you can say it is an 'absolute' music-writing. The 'expression' of the organ sound possiiblities seem to be very limited if we compare it with the naturally expressive sound of Fretwork recording. Here I have to lead 5 voices in a linear manner not just hitting 'chords'. Playing and singing each voice separately helps a lot. This is a really a masterpiece in contrapunctal writing and you can find this kind of mastery in each piece from Johann Sebastin Bach. This is really why he is the greatest.
Fretwork recorded only the middle section and they ended it with a perfect candence (D7 - G). In original organ version the cadence is broken (resolution into a diminished chord). The tonal effect is incredible. Then the composition continue with a progression of a sequence of diminished and seventh chords and finally with so called 'pedal point' beforethe last perfect cadence.

Yes, I see there is much to think in details regarding this performance too but I am happy with this anyway and the quality will be much better as I perform more hopefully. Bach rarely gives any instructions of which organ sounds to use so the final result is always a licence of a performer:)

Thank you Domenico!
It is great to hear from you! I am glad you had a time to listen to my recording. Actually it is quite hard to record the organ during the concert properly. From the other side the 'live' performance situation component brings much of a true nature to what the music really is and what it eventuallly can become.

It is nice to know you're a fan of organ music. At the moment I do not work as a regular organist but will be playing and accompaning and improvising during Christmas servises also maybe this is why I am running currently a project of writing piano arrangements of polish carols - here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBlTpyMIAHc

Best to you, Alex

Thank you Dave! You're perfectly right with the instrument and 'bringing it to the life' but you know it takes so much time and energy (and relaxation time needed) to make it sound near the imaginary picture! At least it is my case. I had a particular occasion to be able to perform this kind of music in a comfortable space with a sufficient amount of energy. I do not think I carry on any strict tradition performing this music as I incorporate different things in playing: all I can say here is that the instrument was modern one but playing is stilistically more 'historically oriented' which means not 'egal' 'even' but in a sense 'affected' with a proper portion of 'swing'. So you can label it as a modern performance style in a sense.

I think I should ressurect some projects soon that will make a base for our musical collaboration, if you're still interested. Then I will contact you. Also I am really looking forward to hear your new music.

Best to you, Alex

Thank you for kind words! I am glad you enjoyed the sound of the recording and the quality of the performance. Yes, it is a kind of a sacred space of the church that enhances the raw characteristics of the organ instrument making the actual sound more interesting so I tried to stay in tune with that reverberating space of the room of the church while playing the concert as much as I can. 'Fantasia in G Major' is some kind of a trenary form with highly elaborated middle part which is a sophisticated compositional model for 5-part contrapunctal writing on a given gregorian melody though the theme here is not a strict one. The Sonata I played is a secular form of baroque music, not a religious music. I also performed 2 choral preludes based on protestant chorale melodies during the concert - those were organ transcriptions from Bachs cantatas which are strictly religious works.

Hello Joe!

Thank you so much for finding this one and listening. So briefly: this year I do different musical things (from my usual 'looperman music' I mean) but also it's a territory of what I was really trained for to be a musician. The concert situation of playing written music was quite challenging at this particular time (as it always is), the repertoire wasn't easy too. I say this after having some longer break from performing music in a regular manner. This is excellent inspiration for planning more future concerts - maybe playing organ solo music near Christmas so I can be more into the actual 'performing' next summer. I practise new repertiore as well.
Concert was late in the evening so I was quite relaxed, the reaction of the public was very positive. I am also glad I could record in best quality than before.

Happy to see you on here too! Thank you once again for your very kind words. Till next time.

and here is a video from the concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL3qR9CEP9g
Best, Alex

Thank you Centrist for such a positive comment. Somehow I think the listening prefferences of this site might be quite different indeed. I am really glad you liked this special kind of musical production and the performance itself. You can also see the 'Fantasia' in the concert (same recording): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL3qR9CEP9g

Best to you,
Alex