October 19, 2019--Practice Blog

Spent quite a bit of time between instruments today. The morning was spent at the organ, preparing a recording for the Secrets of Organ Playing for the Week 42 contest, practicing music for tomorrow's church service, and sight reading music for November and Advent. I made it to the gym for the first time in about two months before returning home and practicing Bach Preludes and Fugues for a while--after posting the Secrets of Organ Playing video on Steem (https://steempeak.com/@jeremyowens9501/secrets-of-organ-playing-week-42-submission-guilmant-prelude-in-e-flat-major-op-41-no-1). A Masonic brother had a cookout at his house tonight, so I, my wife, and another brother visited them and had a great time around a firepit eating brisket and meatballs.

On the organ, I am trying to get together some miniature concerts in my church to start building a concert going public. A half-hour concert every month may start something, or at least that is the hope. I have quite a bit of repertoire in my fingers, but would also like to start learning some pieces appropriate to the season. So, in November, I am looking at a serious piece of music (Dorian Prelude and Fugue of Bach) and then some shorter Thanksgiving based pieces (Nun danket alles Gott by Siegfried Karg-Elert and the version of Bach by Virgil Fox as well as some versions of Lobe den Herren I discovered today). December, BWV 536 and some advent pieces concluding with Wayne Wold's three settings of Wachet Auf. Then in January, Carillon Sortie by Mulet, In Dir ist Freude from Orgelbuchlien by Bach, and some Epiphany music that I am still looking at. So, I sight read through some of this music today as part of my practice. I'm getting kind of excited about it....

On the piano, I was able to sit down with some of the Bach Well-Tempered Clavier. I am considering a concert in February of Bach and Beethoven--how Beethoven used fugue (which he learned from Bach at a young age) to create tension and development. I am starting the program with Prelude and Fugue number 1 and 2 from book 1 of the WTC, and then playing Beethoven's Op. 10, no. 2 and Op. 101 for the rest of the program.