Well, I played my Prelude on Ellacombe (for organ) this morning. I thought it went well. It was particularly gratifying that I made different (relatively small) mistakes each time (we have two morning church services). As a performer I find that I often have words with my composer self. What was I thinking about, writing two lines in the pedal? Particularly when skips of a 4th or 5th are constantly required?
Between the intricate pedal work of the opening and closing sections and the articulation of the manual voices (lots of staccato--contrary to the principle of legato playing that organists first learn) I had a nervous week or so as I became familiar with the piece. It only took about 6 hours of actual rehearsal; I knew yesterday that I was ready when I didn't use the other two hours I had planned (freeing me to work on other stuff).
I didn't have time to check if an adequate recording was made, since I left just as the final notes of the postlude were dying away to head to the Giants/A's game in Oakland. I'd expected something like a Concerto Grosso, with lots of give and take, and a certain amount of antiphonal play. It was more of a Tuba concerto, with the Giants' collective head stuck in the bell of the Tuba--they didn't even make an effective mute as the A's took the day 16-zip.
While my morning performance wasn't a shutout, I felt almost as good about my piece as the A's did about the game. If I can't post a recording from the service, I'll make one soon and provide a link under Recent Work on the sidebar.
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