Modern playing aids

A few years ago while visiting an organist friend, I noticed that he used an intramanual- coupler for playing octaves in the right hand. I cannot recall what piece he was playing, but I seem to remember that it was a big romantic work. This made his legato playing easy.

Lately I have been working on the Gigout Toccata from10 Pièces pour orgue . I am finding the section starting around measure 95 a bit tiring for me to play. (I am recovering from recent hand surgery.) It occurred to me that if I had the same registration on two different manuals, it would be easier to play the section where the hands overlap. Hauptwerk’s master couplers make this possible.

I am not sure if I want to use a coupler to facilitate playing the octaves in the right hand in measures 171-180, but this too could be easily done. Because there are so many pistons available in Hauptwerk, I could make this registration available only for those measures, and use the stepper to take the coupler off for the final chords.

For those who regard this as “cheating,” you have a point. However, I play for my own enjoyment at home. It occurs to me that others in the Hauptwerk community might find these methods helpful.

I used to take the two manual approach to some awkward parts of Messiaen's "Transport de Joie". I don't think it's cheating if it works!

It most definitely is not cheating. Or if is, I'm doing something similar myself.

I recently came across a prelude (and fugue) by Bohm. It begins with a virtuosic lengthy pedal solo. Even in my younger years I'd never have been able to play it (partly because of polio issues). But now with the bass couplers available on HW, I can do a decent performance of it with my left hand. Like you I play only for my own enjoyment. So if it works, do it.

It's definitely not cheating. Remember there are many pianists and organists who can't play an octave with one hand! My piano teacher was one of them. She had many tricks for getting all the notes played (or as many as you can!). She said you just do your best to play as many notes as you can. When I first started learning the accompaniment for Ralph Vaughan William's song "Wither Must I Wander," I did my best to play the notes in the left hand I couldn't reach by playing them slightly arpegiated. Now I don't bother! I'm pretty sure 99% of pianists can't reach those, and so don't bother either. I don't remember hearing them on the recording I usually listen to, and I've never heard anyone complain when it's played at wothout them at recitals (the focus is usually on the singer!). It's the sort of thing a very small percentage of people listening to you can even hear, and even if they do, it's probably not going to bother them, since they would do the same thing. I'm pretty sure Vaughan Williams couldn't play them either! He was a very anxious keyboardist and always made too many mistakes to make a living out of it. His teachers convinced him not to become an organist because he couldn't play the simplest things without messing them up. But then the composer can do whatever he wants on the score! I seem to remember an organist who lost his leg, and he just relearned all his repertoire with one leg! Vierne had to relearn all his repertoire when he was involved in a trolley accident, and I'm pretty sure he didn't play it the same after! One of my favourite organists is Dorien Schouten, who plays for the "All of Bach" series. She cannot reach the pedals with her heels! So she just plays with toes, and does an amazing job. This is all to say, there is no shame at all playing it however you can!

I agree with others who have said this is not cheating. I also play solely for my own enjoyment.

In some ways one can perhaps compare the use of the assorted couplers in Hauptwerk with other devices and tools that are available these days for people with physical limitations. I use forearm crutches and a power wheelchair; they give me the freedom to do things which I would not otherwise be able to do.

I've reached the point where, in for example Buxtehude's Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne , I'm prepared to leave occasional notes out of the keyboard parts so that my left hand is free to play those pedal passages which my feet are not able to do. I will be happy (hopefully!) with the final result and if a friend or family member wants to hear the performance, they almost certainly will not have a clue about the few minor note omissions or octave change in the keyboard parts.

I hope it isn't cheating, as long it's done judiciously and doesn't change the piece substantially!

Even different editions of the same piece can be written out differently - some scores of the G major Bruhns Praeludium have a fugal section of double pedalling whilst others put one of the two feet parts in the left hand. I do the double pedalling, but a little later there's a rapidly descending G major octave scale pedal which is effective as an echo effect. I take it on the Positive rather than the pedals.

Lizst Ad nos was originally scored with piano and organ sections and whilst the piano version is almost never played now, various organ editions take more or less of the rapid base piano notes with the pedals or left hand. The only way I was able to learn to play the piece was when I found the newer Hungarian edition which has all the rapid cadenzas in the left hand (Peters Edition scores them for the pedals!) Also, I've never seen an edition that solos out the right hand of the lower piano part during the final part of the adagio section. But it's fairly easy to thumb down (even though you have to use alternate thumbs at times) and sounds exquisite.

A neat trick at the end of Alain's Litanies to get through the bars of rapid fortissimo left hand quaver chords is to cross hands and play them with the right hand (possibly using suboctave and unison off).

In other words, if it sounds right, why not?