Page 31 - Organ etudes book one

THE COMPLETE CHURCH ORGANIST: ORGAN ÉTUDES BOOK ONE AUS DER TIEFE (HEINLEIN)
The verses behind this setting are, “Sunbeams scorching all the day” and “Shall not we thy sufferings share?” as indicated in the score, the latter represented by the pale mirror of the outset from bar 20. It calls for clear playing which leads the listener through the imitative entries, so that the quotations of the melody are audible. The result should be clarity without conspicuous gaps. Aim for a bold style of playing, and choose your effects according to the building’s acoustic.
A technique studied here is “thumbing down”. This means playing notes on the manual below the one you are using, by means of thumb (and sometimes index-finger) whilst the other fingers remain active on the upper manual. This way you can make highlights in the middle of a texture, or (as here) preserve the registration scheme when there are too many notes for the other hand to play adequately on the lower manual. In bar 20, place left 5th on the bass D, with the other fingers hanging over the edge of the manual, not resting over the keys. In bars 22/3, use the indicated LH finger and thumb on the semibreves. The same procedure applies at bars 26/7.
Page 31
CCO Organ Etudes 1.indd 31
26/08/2020
09:42