@dalecarr6361

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Dale Carr | Fantasia in a BWV904 by J.S. Bach, performed by Dale Carr on the Schnitger organ in Norden in 1998 @dalecarr6361 | Uploaded July 2024 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
Fantasia & Fugue in a BWV904 by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Dale Carr on the Schnitger organ in the Ludgerikirche in Norden on 10 June, 1998

{This is a performance of only the fantasy. The fugue can be heard @. youtu.be/rJhxhImTGuQ}

I don't know why this fantasy and the fugue, together known as BWV904, got paired; they are not preserved together in any source from Bach's lifetime. But I can think of several reasons that may have appealed to the editors of the BachGesellschaftEdition:
- the melodic movement e-f-e is important in both the fantasy & the fugue;
- the upward leap of a 4th, ditto;
- neither requires pedals, whether intuitively or by decree, nor does either seem to benefit from a 16' bass sound {if that is even a consideration in Bach's organ works};
- they are of comparable length.

Whether such considerations would have been important to Bach when pairing a fantasy or prelude with a fugue - or to his contemporaries - may well be doubted. But they nevertheless contribute to a satisfying musical coupling, for modern ears at least. However, concerning the 3rd reason above: 1 MS of the fugue specifies "manualiter", i.e. manuals only, which specification is usually interpreted as indicating performance on an organ, since harpsichords did not usually have pedals. On the other hand, 1 MS of the fantasy says "pro Cembalo". There is no autograph copy preserved for either movement.

But the performer is not required to worry overmuch about such considerations; more important is whether the work fits the instrument which is to be played, and in this case I believe that the organ in Norden is able to make good sense of the fantasy.

The fantasy has a very clear structure, with a main subject or ritornello which appears 4 times, separated by episodes using other musical material to modulate to the key of the next occurrence of the ritornello. One might strain to change manuals for the episodes, but this would rather distract from than contribute to the perception of the piece.

Registration: Rückpositiv: 8' Principal, 4' Octav, 2' Octav.

Fantasia in a BWV904 by J.S. Bach, performed by Dale Carr on the Schnitger organ in Norden in 1998

$Tombeau sur la morte de Blancheroche; by Johann Jakob Froberger {FbWV 632}, performed by Dale Carr Tombeau fait à Paris sur la morte de Monsieur Blancheroche; lequel se joue fort lentement à la discretion sans observer aucune mesure; by Johann Jakob Froberger {FbWV 632}; performed by Dale Carr on a harpsichord made in 1975 by Hendrik Broekman, based on an instrument by Michel Richard, 1688 ; chinoiserie and soundboard painting by Sheridan Germann. The MS of this piece is overloaded with words: a long title, to begin with, and a long marginal note describing the death of Monsieur Blancheroche {aka Blancrocher aka Fleuris}. But whats most important for most listeners is the sound, the music, and later perhaps the sources of inspiration or other apologiæ. In the case of this piece, the words tacitly raise many complicated questions which the player may attempt, or not, to answer in the performance. A tombeau is a musical in memoriam; most tombeaux are slow, many are in minor keys, often with unusual or unexpected harmonic or melodic movements. Several tombeaux seem to refer to the tolling of funeral bells. They offer plenty to exercise the imagination - not only the musical or aural imagination. Any listener contemporary with Froberger who had his check-list at hand would have given Froberger check-marks for tempo, for mode, for surprises, and for bells. But following a piece of music is more than exercise in filling in a form. The composers 1st direction lequel se joue fort lentement {to be played very slowly} leaves little room for doubt, and indeed, the 1st harmony lasts almost 15 with only the simplest filling-in by arpeggios and scale movements. The 2nd harmony is complete only after ~30, and is the nearest possible chord to the 1st, a simple dominant in 1st inversion, involving only the simplest melodic steps from the 1st chord. The expectation of a slow tempo is, at least in the beginning, written into the notes. Frobergers next instruction, à la discretion, is much less clear because we dont know whether he meant discreetness aka modesty, or preference of the player, who might be quite immodest; nor do we know what Froberger might have desired in a modest performance. He used the term elsewhere, e.g. in the gigue of his Suite XX in D, at https://youtu.be/pLuMy8GSC4Q?t=86 . I think that even the interpretation of the term is left to the discretion of the player. Frobergers last instruction, sans observer aucune mesure {without observing any measure}, is the most difficult to construe: was he referring to bar-lines, or to beats, or to note-values? And if he meant any of these, why did he then write clear bar-lines and detailed note-values {from 32nd-notes to whole notes, precisely indicated}? I have no answer. I have heard many performances of this piece in which the length of the 16th-notes, for example, is halved {more or less} in the 2nd part of the piece. This is not likely, I think, to be what the composer was referring to with this instruction, but the change of tempo makes musical sense to me. The description in the MS of Blancheroches last hours could lead a performer to attempt to interpret the piece as if it directly reflected the details of this description. Some commentators have said, for example, that the closing downward scale represents his fatal fall down the stairs. But before this fall we have already heard the tolling of funeral bells, so this interpretation seems to me unlikely. There are many possibilities for speculation about what this or that passage may represent; those who are so inclined will exercise their imaginations as they wish. A very different tombeau for Blancheroche, by Louis Couperin, can be heard @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_bAn9Yh 0$ $Het Juweel van Doctor Bull, quod fecit anno 1621 21 December, performed by Dale Carr in Zeerijp Het Juweel van Doctor Bull, quod fecit anno 1621 21 December {My Jewel}, performed by Dale Carr on the organ in Zeerijp {prov. Groningen} on 12 Sept., 1980 Bull composed 2 versions of this piece: one is a rump-ti-dump version, which is preserved in several variants including that in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book; the present version, however, is more polyphonic, more developed, and requires, I think, a more thoughtful approach. It is preserved in a single MS giving the title & date as above. This setting, mostly in 3 clear voices, has a tune of 3 lines, each with a varied repetition, though the last line brings a surprise instead of a simple varied repetition. The 1st line has the tune g-c-d-e-g-c..., which gives rise to 2 important motives used later: c-d-e-c & e-g-c. But even before those motives are put to work, the tune itself is introduced in imitation {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=15} in the 1st 2 measures. Measure 3 brings an unexpected new harmony {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=26}, a B𝄬-major chord, above which the next part of the tune, e-g-f-B𝄬, is presented and then imitated in diminution in the following measure. Measure 5 {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=35} returns to the chord of C supporting the next part of the tune, e-g-d , c-e-b in a dotted rhythm, which is also imitated in the other voices. This line ends {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=45} with e-d-c-e-d-c, which should be construed as the 1st of the motives mentioned above {c-d-e-c} linked with its inversion. Theres a lot going on here underneath a rather unserious, even whimsical tune. The repetition of this 1st section begins {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=54} by applying the 1st motive {c-d-e-c} directly to the tune that gave birth to it, again treated in imitation. To this mix is added a new motive {d-f-d} in the next measure {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=65}, foreshadowing an important element of the 2nd section. In measure 13 {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=74} the 2nd motive, e-g-c, reappears in the imitative fabric below the melody. The 2nd line of the tune begins in G {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=93} with a melody b-d-d-d-(e-)d..., underneath which we hear the motive g-b-g in various forms {as mentioned above}. This motive is heard both on the beat & off the beat {per arsin & thesin}. The 1st 2 measures in G are followed by d-minor moving again to B𝄬. The repetition of this line {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=131} takes the repeated tone d to make a new motive in 8th notes, b-c-d-d-e-d-d-e-d, which is used in parallel 3rds & 6ths. The 3rd line of the tune begins in F {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=170} accompanied by the 1st motive, again linked with its inversion {a-f-g-a-f, & variants}. The figuration under the final chord of G includes g-e-f#-g-a-b-g-b-a-g, linking 3 forms of this motive with each other. The repetition of the 3rd line begins normally {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=209} w/ another variant of the repeated-note motive, continuing normally for 4 bars. The 2nd ½ of this 3rd line {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=227} is however not varied, but replaced by the tune known as Wolseys wild or The woods so wild. Any of Bulls listeners would have recognized this deviation instantly, since this tune was widely known at the time - far better known than the tune of Bulls Juweel. A 4th section is added in a completely different character {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=246} : the tune of Wolseys wild is heard in the top voice, while the left hand provides a running bass in 𝅘𝅥𝅯. All of those meticulously developed motives from the 1st 3 sections are here forgotten. Registration: Rugwerk, 8 Quintadena, 2 Gemshoorn ; repeats on the Hoofdwerk, 8 Holpijpe, 2 Octave; Last section {https://youtu.be/bh48KGFdgiE?t=246} {Wolseys wild}: right hand on Rugwerk, as above; left hand on Hoofdwerk, 8 Holpijpe, 3 Quinte Fluite, 2 Octave. Will Yow Walke the Woods soe Wylde {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Yow_Walke_the_Woods_soe_Wylde} The recording heard here was previously uploaded without the score and with a shorter commentary {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLttnwf4St0 published 211121}$

Toccata VI da sonarsi alla Levatione by Froberger performed by Dale Carr in Zeerijp on 7 June, 1986

Fantasia in c BWV537 by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Dale Carr on 10 June, 1998

$Fuga sopra il Magnificat, by Bach, played by Dale Carr in Örgryte nya Kyrkan, Göteborg, in Dec. 2000 Fuga sopra il Magnificat, pro Organo pleno con Pedale, BWV733, by Johann Sebastian Bach Recorded by Dale Carr in Örgryte nya Kyrkan, Göteborg, on 13 December, 2000 The melody of the chant, which consists of only two lines, is combined with 2 other motives, one in mostly stepwise 8th-notes {also used in inversion} and the other in zig-zag quarters, and also with itself in canon at the 5th below. The pedals are used only at the end, presenting the c.f. in augmentation. I have indicated appearances of the subject in the score accompanying the performance. The harmony is rich and clear without straying far from the tonal center of d minor; in fact, the piece sounds excellent in meantone tuning. The organ in Örgryte nya Kyrkan was built as part of a research project at GOArt, University of Gothenburg, and was dedicated on August 12, 2000. The goal of the project was to recreate the construction techniques and design philosophies of the 17th-century German organ builder Arp Schnitger. Though the instrument was built in the style of this single builder, it was not modeled after a single instrument. No single model could be used since no large Schnitger organ has been preserved in its original condition. The construction of the organ was carried out by an international team of organ builders. Henk van Eeken was responsible for the design and the technical drawings, Munetaka Yokota for the pipework, and Mats Arvidsson oversaw the building process. The instrument contains almost 4000 pipes and is the largest existing organ tuned in quarter-comma meantone temperament. {info from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_German_baroque_organ_in_%C3%96rgryte_Nya_Kyrka} registration: - HW 16 Trommet, 8 Octav, 4 Octav, 2 Super Octav, Mixtur 6-8r; - PED 16 Posaunen, 8 Trommet, 4 Trommet, 2 Cornet Other performances of this piece on other organs: - at Noordbroek, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMuN0XlLxUA - at Norden, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDuEdj8QyLc$

Toccata ottava in F by Girolamo Frescobaldi, performed by Dale Carr in the church in Nieuw Scheemda

Allemande in d by Louis Couperin, performed by Dale Carr on a harpsichord by Hendrik Broekman

Felix namque, anon., ~1530, for organ, performed by Dale Carr

Voluntary in e for organ by Matthew Locke performed by Dale Carr in Noordbroek on 7 May, 1996

$Kyrie Gott Heiliger Geist à 5, Canto fermo in Basso, Cum Organo pleno ; performed by Dale Carr Kyrie Gott Heiliger Geist {BWV 671} à 5, Canto fermo in Basso, Cum Organo pleno ; performed by Dale Carr on the Schnitger/Wenthin organ {1710/1782} in the G eorgskirche in Weener {Ostfriesland} on November 4, 1990 The setting of Kyrie Gott Heiliger Geist is the 3rd movement of a trilogy* {Kyrie/Christe/Kyrie} composed for an organ with 2 manuals and independent pedal and published in 1739 in the 3rd volume of Bachs Clavierübung {keyboard practice}. This particular piece doesnt require 2 manuals, or even an independent pedal division. It does require a plenum {full organ, organo pleno} that allows the listener to hear the 5 voices clearly, and this requirement is excellently satisfied by the Schnitger organ in Weener. This home-made recording cannot do full justice to the majesty and the clarity of the sound of this organ in the church itself. The basic material of the piece is derived by linking the 1st 2 lines of the chorale and playing this melody in overlapping and syncopated imitation by inversion. To state this in less technical terms: the imitating voice interrupts the 1st voice, and when the 1st voice goes up the 2nd voice goes down {and vice versa}. This contrapuntal unit is also used with the first voice inverted & the 2nd right-side-up. The voices become intensely chromatic above the last line of the chorale, together with increasing use of augmented and diminished intervals and harmonies; but the integrity of the individual voices is wonderfully preserved. The basic contrapuntal unit mentioned above is abandoned and replaced by motives unrelated to the chorale; but these are deployed, as was the main theme, in overlapping statements and by inversion. *The 1st movement is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDaIA3OEQzw . *The 2nd movement is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDfX_W6tPS4$

Hinno Aue maris stella by Frescobaldi, performed by Dale Carr in the DerAa-Kerk on 9 September, 1991

Fantasia in a BWV904 by J.S. Bach, performed by Dale Carr on the Schnitger organ in Norden in 1998 @dalecarr6361