Debbie Zufall's Church Music Site

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The first time I heard the Passacaglia and Fugue performed in a live recital was while attending an “Organ Week for High School Students” directed by Joan Lippincott. It was one of several summer workshops offered by Westminster Choir College, and took place at the Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad, California. One of the pieces in her organ recital was Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue. I cannot remember whether I learned this piece before or after I heard her play it in recital, but it had already become my favorite organ piece. Last year, deciding that it was time to start playing it again, I found myself eagerly awaiting James Kibbie’s recording on a historic organ in Germany. In 2007, Dr. James Kibbie, an organ recitalist and organ professor at the University of Michigan, began a project of recording all of Bach’s organ music on original baroque organs in Germany. On the website he includes photos and stop lists of each organ, as well as his registration for each piece, and in the case of the Passacaglia, for each variation.

http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/organs/waltershausen.htm

Here is the link to his recording

http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/detail.php?ID=BWV0582

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Here is some background on the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor  BWV  582

The original manuscript was lost, so the date of composition is unknown. In one of the extant scores there is an annotation, cembalo ossia organo, which indicated that Bach may have intended the Passacaglia for either pedal harpsichord or organ. Also there is a manuscript of the first 49 measures that is based on a copy once owned by Bach’s son C.P.E Bach. The heavy ornamentation is common in much of the harpsichord music of the time. However, during Bach’s time organists often practiced their music on pedal harpsichords, as it was easier to practice at home rather than in unheated churches with organs that required an assistant to pump the air. Like much of Bach’s music, this piece does well in transcription, and has been transcribed for various types of instrumental groups, from two piano to brass, strings, and orchestra. The first half of the Passacaglia ground is thought to have been borrowed from the French composer André Raison. The piece shows the influence of Bach’s teacher Detrich Buxtehude.   

Summary of the Fugue

Unlike most of the fugues that Bach wrote for keyboard instruments, The Fugue in C minor that follows Bach’s Passacaglia is unusual, both in and of itself, as well as the fact that it is so deeply integrated with the Passacaglia. There is grandeur in the Passacaglia, and what makes it unique is an expansion of the common use of the form in Bach’s day. With a slightly different ending, the  Passacaglia could have stood by itself one of Bach’s great works, but he took it a step further by adding a fugue. One thing that many enjoy about the Passacaglia and Fugue is the terrific momentum. Just as you feel like you have finally climbed to the top of the mountain, the fugue begins, taking you to even greater heights.

This works because of the unique integration of the Passacaglia and Fugue. In general, Bach’s keyboard fugues are paired with preludes, toccatas, or fantasies, and the only thing they have in common with each other is that they are in the same key. Not so with this particular fugue. Bach begins by sneaking in the first note of the fugue by hiding it in the middle of the eight-note chord that ends the Passacaglia. He then takes the 15 note melody (ground) that is the underpinning of the Passacaglia, and uses it for both the subject and counter subject: the subject using the first 8 notes of the ground, and the countersubject using the rest of the ground, but inverted and with more and quicker notes. And, to make things even more interesting, he uses both subject and counter subject at the same time, from the beginning to the final statement, and adds a second counter subject that catches up to the other subjects around the sixth bar, staying with them throughout the next eleven statements.   

But Bach did not stop here. He made it more complicated by making it a “permutation fugue”. This type of fugue is related to the canon, in that each voice enters with the same order of notes. For example, the first subject (#1) the one that sounds exactly like the first few notes of the passacaglia, starts out in the alto. The alto continues with the counter subject (#2) and then on to the second counter subject (#3) and then finally with free counterpoint (#4). One at a time, each of the other voices follow the same pattern. The bass, which is played by the feet on the pedals, is the last to enter. The exposition is over after the pedal plays counter subject 2. The next part of the fugue consists of “development episodes” where the material is developed in all sorts of interesting ways, including seven more statements of the three subjects, modulations to other keys, and episodes of free counterpoint that grow longer as the fugue progresses.  The fugue ends with an improvisatory coda.

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For more information click on the link below where you can listen to the Passacaglia and Fugue while watching an analysis of the score.

http://bach.nau.edu/BWV582/BWV582b.html

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Further analysis

Key

1=subject (from first half of Passacaglia ground)

2=counter subject (based on an inversion of the second half of the Passacaglia ground)

3=second counter subject 

4=free counterpoint.

Bass=Pedal

m=minor

M=major

 

Vocabulary

Statement: Each time the subject and countersubjects are played they are making a “statement”.  

Tonic: The first note of the scale of a particular key. The tonic in the key of C is C.

Dominant: The fifth degree in the scale of a particular key. The tonic of C is G.

Subdominant: The fourth degree in the scale of a particular key. The subdominant in C is F.

Modulation: the working from one key to another.  

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Bach composed this in the key of C minor, which in his time would have been indicated by two flats rather than the three that came into use later. The first part of the fugue is called an exposition, during which each voice (SATB) takes a turn playing the subject, counter subject, and second counter subject.  The entrances of the subjects shift back and forth from the tonic to the dominant. The development goes father afield, modulating into the relative major, (E-flat major) and then the dominant of the relative major (B-flat major). Later there is a modulation into the subdominant (F minor). Below is the list of keys of the 12 statements that the subjects travel through. The changing keys are the ones most closely related to the original key of C minor.
 

Exposition: Cm, Gm, Cm, Gm, Cm

Development: EbM, BbM, Gm, Cm, Gm, Fm, Cm

 

 

Structure

 

The first numbers indicates the  number of each statement, and the numbers below indicate the subject, counter subject, second counter subject, and free counterpoint, in that order.    

 

1) (Cm)

1 Alto

2 Tenor

 

2) (Gm)

1 Soprano

2 Alto

3 Tenor

 

3) (Cm)

1 Bass 

2 Soprano

3 Alto

4 Tenor

 

4) (Gm)

1. Tenor

2. Bass

3. Soprano

4. Alto

 

5) (Cm)

1. Alto

2. Tenor

3. Bass

4. Soprano

Exposition ends with cadence modulating to Eb major

 

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6).  Development episode #1 Eb major modulating to Bb major

1. Tenor

2. Alto

3. Soprano

 

7) Development episode #2 Bb major

1. Alto

2. Soprano

3. Tenor

 

Rising sequence, Falling sequence

 

8) (Gm) Development episode #3

1. Bass

2. Alto

3. Soprano

4. Tenor

 

Falling sequence

 

9) (Cm) Development episode #4

1. Tenor

2. Bass

3. Soprano

Cadence in Eb evaded

 

Development episode #5

Rising sequence followed by inverted forms  

10) (Gm)

1. Soprano

2. Tenor

3. Bass

4. Alto

 

Rising sequence, falling sequence, cadence

 

Development episode #6 modulating to F minor

11) (Fm)

1. Pedal

2. Alto

3. Tenor

4. Soprano

 

Development episode #7

12) (Cm)

1. Soprano

2. Alto

3. Bass

4. Tenor

Improvisatory Coda C minor

 

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Good News. This proposal has been accepted.

In its November 12 meeting, the Musical Instrument Selection Committee reviewed a proposal dated October 7, 2009 from Jerroll Adams Organ Builder to renovate a 20 rank Wicks pipe organ housed in the Bloomfield Hills Michigan stake center. The proposal listed a cost of $74,875.

I am in the process of writing a history of this organ. So far this is what I have.

 
April 26, 1959 the Bloomfield Hills Stake Center was dedicated by David O. McKay.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/57203/This-week-in-Church-history.html

Approximately 1,600 people attended the stake center dedication conducted by the stake's president, George W. Romney

  Original organ installed in: ?  with pipes that were purchased from a theater organ.

Recital by Mormon Tabernacle Organist Alexander Schreiner.

1971  Wicks Organ Company put in new console, and additional pipes (façade and front chest) Later there was some water damage to the other pipes and they were replaced (by Wicks?)

Tabernacle Organist Robert Cundick gave a recital and gave organ lessons.

http://www.lawrencephelps.com/Documents/Articles/Beginner/pipeorgans101.html

Ever found yourself coming face to face with a pipe organ, after playing on nothing but electronic organs? It can all be very confusing and a bit scary. Lawrence Phelps (1923-1999) does a good job of introducing the pipe organ. He was known for his insightful articles about organ building. He was a great pioneer in organ building.  I met him twice, once in Erie, Pennsylvania when I paid a visit to Lawrence Phelps and Associates, his company that actively built organs from 1973 through 1981. The second time was several years later when I visited the Allen Organ Company in Macungie, Pennsylvania, where he was working as a consultant. He explained, in great detail, his work in developing electronic organs that would mimic pipe organs. He was married to British concert organist Dame Gillian Weir.

Music has a tremendous power to give scriptures an even stronger voice than they already have. I often shiver with awe when I hear the words of the prophet Isaiah  “Behold all flesh is as the grass” set to music by  Johannes Brahms in his “German Requiem.” The ominous drums, the sense of an inexorable march to death have a profound effect on me. When I listen to “And the Glory of the Lord” from Handel’s Messiah, a text also taken from Isaiah 40, it uplifts me, as the joyful answer to our mortal state is “Behold your God!” These scriptures come to mind at odd times, always in the company of this music. It makes me want to delve into the book of Isaiah, the music having made this beautiful poetic book feel more accessible. Even more importantly, it reminds me of the plan of salvation, and that death is not the end of our existence but the beginning of something more beautiful than we could ever imagine.

I remember, as a teenager, singing a three-part treble arrangement of the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” At the time this hymn was not in our current hymnal, and so this was the first time I had  heard it! Two of my cousins joined me and, together with my mother on the piano, we performed it for my grandfather. We were glad to sing this for him, knowing that this was his favorite hymn, and seeing how deeply moved he was to hear us sing it. Since then this hymn has been one of my favorite hymn, as well and one of the few hymns that I can sing by memory. In retrospect, what made this occasion even more meaningful to me was that my grandfather passed away not long after that. I will always hold in my mind’s eye three high school girls gathered around the piano singing for our grandfather. It was our final gift to him.

This experience came to mind the other day when I heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing this same hymn on a radio broadcast of “Music and the Spoken Word.” I had recently decided that I wanted to listen to one of these broadcasts every morning. Living in Michigan, it was hard enough for me to figure out how to watch the live broadcasts on Sunday mornings. I found broadcasts at random times, once on TV on the Hallmark channel at 7:30 in the morning, and former broadcasts on BUY Television at various hours on Sundays. The live radio broadcast is reliably available from KSL at 11:30 Eastern time.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=21
However, this does not work if you need to be at church then. Also, I  wanted to listen to a different archived broadcast first thing every morning. I found what I wanted ot a radio station from Dayton Ohio that has archives available from last year. http://newstalkradiowhio.com/inside/mormontabernaclechoir.html?printer=1

I now start every day with these wonderful broadcasts, and am glad of it. I am better because of it, in every aspect of my life, and find that it gives me a renewed interest in studying the scriptures. That is because the hymns are rooted in scriptures. Time after time, while listening to the Tabernacle Choir, I hear familiar scriptures in the hymns and anthems that they sing.

This reminds me of a way in taking our hymns home with us from church meetings. With a copy of the bulletin and a hymnal, one can find the scriptures behind any hymn in our hymnal. Many people do not notice this, but printed next to each hymn are the chapter and verse of the scriptures that are the source and inspiration for the hymn. One could then use those scriptures as part of their scripture study during the week.

I am grateful for this wonderful choir, and applaud the church leaders who, not only formed the choir many years ago, but decided to have a weekly broadcast in the tabernacle at Temple Square. As both the church and audience has grown, it now takes place at the much larger Conference Center. This choir has become an ensign to the world, and a testimony of the power of sacred music.    

After three weeks of practice, I listened again to Diane Bish's performance and discovered something interesting: she plays it slower than she has indicated on the score. She indicated  quarter note = 100 on the score, but, when I checked her performance with a metronome, I found that she was playing it at quarter note = 80. For some of the piece she played a little quicker, but always came back to 80. 80 is something I can deal with. I like 80. 100 does not seem humanly possible. I am going to assume that the marking on the score is a misprint.

This morning I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. Usually in these cases I get busy doing something, and then go back to bed when I feel sleepy. This time I never felt sleepy. As I am writing this, it is 9:30 p.m. and I have been up for 18 hours and I still do not feel sleepy, I know not why. So I had all this extra time in the wee hours, and decided to use it to do something I had been putting off, and that is advertising this website.

So for five hours I searched for places to add my link. During the process, I found two very  interesting websites, sites I would never had discovered if I had not found myself in the middle of the night with nothing else to do. The first is http://www.musicianspage.com/  where I found that I can post my own compositions using my notation program, Sibelius. I posted three pieces, and found that it was much easier than it is to post on  www.sibeliuismusic.com  where most of my compositions reside. So that was a happy day—no,  I mean happy sleep-deprived night. The second site that especially interested me was a blog by organist Robert Ferrell, a composer who is offering a free “prelude of the month club”, where if you send him your E-mail he will send you an organ prelude once a month in PDF format. I had never heard of a “prelude of the month club,” but it sure sounded like a great idea. I promptly e-mailed him, and he just as promptly sent me an organ prelude. Here is his site address if you are interested. http://www.sacredsoundworks.blogspot.com/

So I hope that now people will begin to find this site, as the old one disappeared a few days ago when the service provider went out of business. Please sign the guest book and tell me a little about yourself. Most of the sheet music is free, and you have my permission to print a copy for yourself, as well as copies for your choir members as needed.. 

 

A year and a half ago I purchased her organ piece,  "Introduction, Theme & Variations on ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING".  I did not learn the whole thing, just chose some of the quieter variations to play for prelude music. Now I find myself learning the organ accompaniment to her choral arrangement of "Lead on O King Eternal." It is not for the faint hearted. In typical Bish style, it is filled with countless running sixteenth notes in various permutations, including quintuplets, and some fancy foot work at the end. The main difficulty I see is that that the tempo is quarter note =100, which is fine for a virtuoso organist like Diane Bish. For the rest of us she offers no slower tempo (we can only hope that our choir directors have mercy on us). She does however offer us a life-boat on page 9 where she has sixteeth note scales going up and down with the left hand, with various different tuplets: 14, 12, 11, 13, 10, and 9 to be played against the right hand dotted rhythm. After trying it a few times: it was more irritating than impossible, I chose her alternative at the bottom of the page where she writes, "For faint hearted organists R.H. may be doubled octave lower in L.H."

Here is Diane Bish playing this. Watch her fingers fly! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ron3Vp_NHhw







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Hymns are Music Too

I once attended a choral music workshop in Ridgewood, New Jersey with Anton Armstrong. Dr. Armstrong (who has strong ties to Michigan, by the way) is a faculty member at St. Olaf College, in St. Olaf, Minnesota. You may have seen him on television Christmas specials, directing the St. Olaf choir. The workshop choir was a combination of a large church choir and members of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists. What Dr. Armstrong reminded us is that hymns are music too. Along with various anthems, he led us in some of the hymns. Dr. Armstrong has a wonderful voice, and he demonstrated exactly how he wanted us to sing them. The difference between how he sang them and how most choirs sing them was staggering. He sang them with a depth of feeling, and consummate musicianship, that I had rarely heard before. To a certain point, you can hear this sort of thing when The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings hymns for general conference, something that would probably make Dr. Armstrong (who is no stranger to this choir) sing for joy.

 I do not see any reason why we cannot train our choirs to sing hymns as music. I am sure that many choir directors have often heard the complaint from choir members, “we don’t want to sing just hymns.” It seems that some people perceive hymns to be in a different category from other church music. The fact is, a hymn is music if we treat it like music. If not, well, then it is just another hymn.