Can you be in rapport with an eighteenth century German Lutheran? asked Professor Williams, at the beginning of his study day on Bach in Cambridge last Saturday. All playing is distortion of a kind he said – you are imposing yourself on something you don’t necessarily understand. So how and why do you decide how and what to play?
Peter Williams is among the foremost authorities on Bach’s organ music in the world, and his book* is an essential encyclopaedia for all organ players. His refreshing response to many questions was I wish I knew! We have to use what genuine information we have to understand and play Bach’s music, he said, and often it isn’t enough.
One organ scholar in this masterclass brought BWV 731 Liebster Jesu wir sind hir for comment. (This is on the CertRCO exam list, so I’m also studying it.) What is this chorale for? asked Peter Williams. A slightly sheepish silence followed, as none of us really knew. I had assumed from the chromatic style and general feel that it was a Passiontide chorale. Actually, it’s the chorale that comes before the sermon – preparation for an hour of Lutheran preaching! I asked him about the ornaments on this piece – particularly the G with the same lower mordent over it 3 times in succession – an opportunity for some elegant variation perhaps, or should it be played strictly as written? Well, said Peter Williams, we have no autograph manuscript of this piece, and what has come down to us is from a nineteenth century source, so who knows? Do what you like! – and don’t forget to include appoggiaturas.
I can’t possibly do justice to the full seven hours of absorbing teaching, but here’s another thought to be going on with: I don’t expect Bach taught a scale in his life was one of Professor Williams’ comments, certainly not in the ABRSM exam style we understand now. A scale (especially a chromatic scale) is a special thing for a baroque composer and not to be taken for granted. So play it clearly, don’t treat it like a Grade 3 piece – it means something.
*The Organ Music of JS Bach (2nd Edition) Peter Williams 2003, Cambridge University Press.
The Peter Williams masterclass and study day was organised by the Cambridge Academy of Organ Studies (CAOS) with the Organ Scholars’ Forum.
(Picture shows Peter Williams and an organ scholar at the 2006 Carsten Lund organ in Trinity Hall Chapel, Cambridge.)
