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Wie schön leuchtet des Morgenstein - E. F. Richter

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sesquialtera

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Wie schön leuchtet des Morgenstein - E. F. Richter

PostSun Sep 08, 2013 12:25 pm

Hello friends

I've discoverd this piece :
http://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/3735 and
http://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/9985

I've found the score, learned it, but I've got several questions about registration.
I know this piece is romantic, Ernst Friedrich Richter (1808-1879) belongs to the XIX century,
but, I think this piece could have been written by Bach's pupils,
It sounds "nearly baroque" for my ears ...

I'd like to make the song, (choral theme) more clearer,
but I can't use the "cornet" or other stops because of the notes under the middle C...

So, my questions are :

Is it "allowed" to play the choral melody one octave higher ?
Is it "allowed" to play this piece non legato ? (as a Bach choral ) (on a baroque organ) ... ?
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BachsFugue

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Re: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern - E. F. Richter

PostMon Sep 09, 2013 8:14 pm

Sesquialtera asks,
Is it "allowed" ...?

It's written in trio style. If the composer has no registration indications, you have free reign. If the composer does have a registration, you can still do what you want, and tell people who might "sniff" at your hubris that you are playing it in Baroque style. I would still use legato for the cantus and make sure you phrase according to the text.

BTW, in college I went to a harpsichord recital where the artist played Chopin's "Military Polonaise" for an encore! Did it make sense? Of course it didn't. He did it because he liked it, and it did sound rather lovely.

Play what you like and how you like it, Sesqui. If someone is paying you well to play it a certain way, then do it their way.

Oh, I think it's "der Morgenstern"–morning star not morning stone.
Cole Votaw -- Springfield, Ohio, USA
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sesquialtera

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Re: Wie schön leuchtet des Morgenstein - E. F. Richter

PostTue Sep 10, 2013 12:44 pm

Hello Bachsfugue

Thank you for this reply.
I know that everything is possible and that some people dare everything (or anything) ...
I should ask :
" is it possible", or "is it acceptable" ( in a real historic conventional artistical way )
to play the choral melody one octave higher, using a 4' stop,
or can I play it with the feet, using a 2' stop ?
and keep the "romantic" side of the work ...

Anyway, even with composer's registration indications, you must adapt them to the organ you'r playing.
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murph

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Re: Wie schön leuchtet des Morgenstein - E. F. Richter

PostTue Sep 10, 2013 3:06 pm

I had a look at the score the other day.
The tennor line looks designed for a Syntematephon!!!
If you don't have Doesburg, try the free Wildrevank Walker (It even has the octave extensions!!!!!!)

(I know you asked for baroque, but try the romantic organ. It's wonderful.)
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Grandjeux

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Re: Wie schön leuchtet des Morgenstein - E. F. Richter

PostThu Sep 12, 2013 3:00 pm

Hello sesquialtera,

Of cause you are allowed to play it the way you like it!
As the style of Richter is close to the 18th century you can play it so. I would say it depends on the organ/ sample set - let the type of instrument point you the direction.
The choral melody is in the tenor, so I should not change that, as the character of the piece would be different in that case.
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studens

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Re: Wie schön leuchtet des Morgenstein - E. F. Richter

PostTue Oct 29, 2013 6:49 am

I´ve just listened to your renderings of the trio on both the Schyven/Bever organ and the Ladegast organ and I´m impressed -- this sounds very good, and it sounds very right, in all respects: tempo, articulation, and registration, in both cases. I don´t think you should approach Richter as you would a "real" (late) romantic composer like Reger. when Richter was appointed Kantor (director of music) of the Leipzig Thomaskirche in 1868 (the very post held by JS Bach), the organ there dated from 1773; it was not replaced by the present Sauer organ until 1889. generally, most organs that Richter would have been accustomed to playing would, in fact, have been built either before 1800 (i.e., they were baroque), or in the early part of the 19C, when what today we think of as the "Romantic" organ was not really invented yet but people continued essentially in the pre-1800 tradition. and I suspect that Richter, a professor at the Konservatorium and author of numerous textbooks on things like harmony and counterpoint, was at heart pretty conservative. having said which, I don´t think anyone really WOULD date this piece to the baroque period! it seems fairly typical of this genre of organ music at this time and place.

in your renderings, the hymn tune is immediately recognisable. accentuate it further, and it might be too "in your face". of course you can play it any way that sounds right to you, but the way you HAVE played certainly sounds right to me! NOR do I think that Richter would have insisted you play everything legato!

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