Musical Notes
For the beginning organist-
“Silence Is Golden”
The first step in learning to play the organ is usually to already have some familiarity with another keyboard instrument, usually the piano. Most organ instruction books start with the tricks of legato (smooth connected transitions from note to note) playing such as finger substitutions, finger crossing, and thumb rocking from one key to another. These skills take a fair amount of time and practice to master. Somewhere in the beginning lessons is also the ability to change pedal tones smoothly. Like almost everything, too much of a single good thing is bad. Several years ago, I visited a fairly large church where the young organist was practicing next Sunday’s hymns on a two rank pipe organ built by a member of the congregation She was eager to “show off” their pipe organ, and was proud of her legato performance of “Beautiful Savior” (Schonster Herr Jesu). Directly from the hymnal with the standard 4 parts, she played several verses without a single break, pause, or interruption in any of the parts. It was monotonous and uninspiring. I couldn’t help thinking that the congregation would either be blue in their faces or have given up singing before the end of the first verse. (Non-singing was revealed to be a problem in their Sunday Services.)
Back in the “good old days” composers were not afraid of breaks in the flow of sound. For example, the earliest version of “A Mighty Fortress” (Ein Feste Berg) as shown in Klug’s Wittenberg Hymnal of 1533 (This is the syncopated original version rather than the 4/4 march version more common in hymnals today.) has a quarter note rest in the middle of the 6th phrase that emphasizes important words or ideas of the verse. Just think, actual silence! Here is a break in the singing and instrumental sounds for a full pulse of the rhythm. Of course, this idea was sometimes overdone. In the hymn ‘In the Midst of Life We Are” (Mitten wyr im leban sind) as published in Walter’s Wittenberg hymnal of 1524 there are 9 such quarter rests shown per verse. This makes for a choppy sounding sung lesson.
There are two easy ways of “articulating” the phrases of a typical hymn. One is to release the last note of a phrase a little early. The other is to shorten the first note of a phrase, so that if a phrase begins with a series of quarter notes, make the first note an eighth note. Whichever you choose, the basic pulse or beat of the music should not be altered. The easiest and most tasteful way to decide what to do is to sing (both words and melody) the hymn before you start to practice with both hands and feet. Your breathing and voice will indicate where you should release or depress the keys. The idea is to make the organ “sing” the hymn. In some older music, the end of each musical phrase is indicated with a “fermata ” (an eye above the staff) symbol. This is not to actually be played as holding the note to interrupt the rhythm but indicates the end of a musical phrase. Another symbol used to indicate the end of a musical phrase in some hymnals and in the Karl Matthaei edited works of Johann Pachelbel is a short, thin, vertical line placed in with the notes to be played. Again, it is best not to interrupt the rhythm. I actually have a recording where a pause in the rhythm is placed at each vertical symbol. It sounds as though the unfortunate organist has a severe case of hiccoughs.
Another place for “articulation” is to identify groups of notes. In music where such groups are identified by the composer or publisher, a slur symbol encloses the group. Again, the group is played with a small silence (key release) between the last note of the group and the following notes.
Another place within a hymn for articulation is special words or commands within the text. For example, in “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (Mendelssohn), it is a useful interpretation to make the Hark a little shorter followed by a brief silence in the soprano line. Again, singing helps identify such places. If the phrase is played legato, it often comes out as “Haarcchth Herald Angels.” Then it is reminiscent of bringing up a gob of phlegm from the back of the throat.
Sometimes, especially in large spaces where reverberation time (echoe) is long, it is necessary to place a small break between each successive note. I once attended a concert at the Washington Cathedral where a guest organist chose to play a Bach fugue. Unfortunately, only the first two notes of the work could be heard. The entire rest of the piece was one loud blur of noise. It was impossible to recognize that music was being presented. In this case, the organist should have chosen a much slower tempo or/and articulated each note so that it could be clearly heard.
A very good way to appreciate and develop a taste for articulation is to listen to well known organists play while you look at the music score. This is especially easy with Bach works because there are so many recordings of the same piece by different artists. The Pachelbel chorals and partitas give articulation ideas for well-known hymns. It is interesting to note that each recording and concert sounds different, strongly influenced by the articulation. It is also a wonderful example of different interpretations by different organists.