Playing and Pieces
The organ music of Johann Gottfried Walther (1684 - 1748) by Dr. Wolfram Syré
2021-04-08
I start now a series of recordings which will give an overview over the organ compositions of Johann Gottfried Walther.
Johann Gottfried had lessons with Johann Bernhard Bach and Johann Hinrich But...
Playing Henry Smart (1813 - 1879) - Smart but not "smart" by Dr. Wolfram Syré
2021-03-03
Playing Henry Smart (1813 - 1879) - Smart but not "smart" by Dr. Wolfram Syré
My first piece of Henry Smart I studied was his Festive March. This solemn March in the style of classicism has th...
Playing Johann Ludwig Krebs by Dr. Wolfram Syré
2020-10-06Difficult stuff ... Working with the organ music of Johann Ludwig Krebs invites to enter a large world of a Johann-Sebastian-Bach-nostalgy. Krebs fights for to find his own place and style therein. Kr...
Read MoreGuillaume Lasceux and his Compendium "Essay théorique et pratique" by Dr. Wolfram Syré
2020-09-17Guillaume Lasceux (1740-1831) was since 1758 organist of the church Saint-Martin-de-Chevreuse at Paris. In 1769 he hold the post as organist of church of the Mathurins, and additionally as organist of...
Read MoreLouis Marchand and the organ music around him
2020-08-29
Louis Marchand and the organ music around him
by Dr. Wolfram Syré
Luois Marchand was born in 1669 at Lyon.
After the Marchand family had moved to Nevers had been offered the post as organist...
Terms and Conditions Update
2020-05-21
We want to give users a heads up that we have updated the site's terms and conditions.
Effective on Monday May 25, 2020 the following terms and conditions will be required by all users to ...
Inspired Acoustics Competition
2020-03-27
We invite you to the first Inspired Acoustics virtual organ music making contest!
What is this contestIn these challenging times of the Coronavirus emergency, music is more needed than ever. This c...
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the harpsichord. By Dr. Wolfram Syré
2018-10-30
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the harpsichord.
It is unusual to play Mozart on the harpsichord today. But Mozart itself played very often on the harpsichord. Ludwig van Beethoven called Mozart a ...
Playing Georg Muffat by Dr. Wolfram Syré
2018-10-05
Playing Georg Muffat
Georg Muffat was born in 1653 at Megève (Savoyen). He studied in Paris (1663-1669) and in Rome (1680) with Bernardo Pasquini. Among his friends were Jean-Baptiste, Lully, ...
Playing Johann Gottlob Töpfer and Bach's Passacaglia
2018-08-22
Playing Johann Gottlob Töpfer and Bach's PassacagliaBy Dr. Wolfram Syré
Johann Gottlob Töpfer was born in 1791 at Niederrossla. He was Professor at the Academy for teachers at Weimar and from 18...
New Play by Time Feature
2018-05-07
First off thank you to woody-mc for contributing the code to make this feature possible.
You can now add minutes and seconds (1:02) to comments that are directly linked to the music player....
Playing Johann Christian Leberecht Kittel
2018-01-09
Playing Johann Christian Leberecht Kittel
by Dr. Wolfram Syré
Johann Christian Leberecht Kittel was the latest pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed marvelous organ music. His pieces ...
What was new with Claudio Merulo? by Dr. Wolfram Syré
2017-11-02
What was new with Claudio Merulo?
The Toccatas of Claudio Merulo is the bridge between those of Giovanni Gabrielei and those of Girolamo Frescobaldi and of Michelangelo Rossi.Merulo's Toccatas have...
Playing Widor's 1. Symphonie in its first version from 1876 - by Wolfram Syré
2017-09-22Widor created more than one new versions of his symphonies. For to say it directly: He composed against the Italian-opera inspirated French romnatic organ music. The technique of composition should ha...
Read MoreWhat about the use of symphonic British organs of the Romantic periode? By Wolfram Syré
2017-08-01What about the use of symphonic British organs of the Romantic periode?There are written and unwritten laws for the use of convenient organs concerning organ music of every school.The revival of the o...
Read MoreThe scandalous neglect of British and US-American concert hall organ-music is still going strong until today. By Wolfram Syré
2017-07-24The scandalous neglect of British and US-American concert hall organ-music is still going strong until today. I. England I was very irritated seeing that the articles about e. g. William Thomas Best,...
Read MoreWho was the composer of Richard Wagner´s unwritten organ music ?
2017-07-18
Who was the composer of Richard Wagner´s unwritten organ music and
where can you find both Wagner's "Pilgrims-choir" (Tannhäuser) and ideas from a Bach-Prelude in the same composition?
By Wolf...
Was Franz Schubert‘s »Winterreise« an inspiration for Félix-Alexandre Guilmant?
2017-07-16
Was Franz Schubert‘s »Winterreise« an inspiration for Félix-Alexandre Guilmant?
by Wolfram Syré
Unfortunately Lamentation Op. 45, 1 by Félix-Alexandre Guilmant is not very known but i...
Hommage à Bach
2017-07-11
Hommage à Bach
by Wolfram Syré
The romantic French organ masters were deeply impressed by the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach. But the first approach to Bach's organ composition in Franc...
The Art of the North German Organ - Part V
2017-07-01
The Art of the North German Organ - Part V (63)
written by Dr. Wolfram Syré
The technical design of the North German organ required, among other things, the minimum distance between the mai...
The Art of the North German Organ - Part IV
2017-07-01
The Art of the North German Organ - Part IV (41)
written by Dr. Wolfram Syré
A close understanding of a) appropriate performance practice, b) the original instruments and c) the complete su...
The Art of the North German Organ - Part III
2017-07-01
The Art of the North German Organ - Part III (24)
written by Dr. Wolfram Syré
PRAEAMBULUM, PRAELUDIUM, PRAELUDIUM ET FUGA, TOCCATA
Central to early North German Praeludia (the title ...
The Art of the North German Organ - Part II
2017-07-01
The Art of the North German Organ - Part II (23)
written by Dr. Wolfram Syré
THE ORGANISTS
The repertory we know today of the North German Organ Baroque represents only a part of wha...
The Art of the North German Organ - Part I
2017-07-01
The Art of the North German Organ - Part I (1)
written by Dr. Wolfram Syré
INTRODUCTION
In the world of organ music, North German Baroque is the most important of European regional s...
Are you a GREAT Hymn-Player or an AWFUL one - and WHAT makes the difference?!?
2015-12-16Someone once said to me, You are a great hymn-player!Someone also said to me, You are a terrible hymn-player!Fortunately, I don't get called a terrible hymn-player very often, or recently, but how did...
Read MoreSpecific advice on playing an English cathedral work without the use of General Pistons - a COMPLETE How-to-Do!
2015-10-08Editor's note: This article is a follow up to David's wonderful article "The Anglican Way of Setting Up and Using Pistons".The art of making swift changes in registration while playing seems to b...
Read MoreThe Anglican Way of setting up and using pistons!
2015-10-05I have to admit that "pushing pistons" is one of my favorite things to do!Since I'm pretty much "self-taught", I do LOTS of things that many fine teachers would say are "wrong". Each musician mu...
Read MoreSummer Bach Honors!
2015-08-10With my knee surgery, I'm afraid that I've fallen a bit behind in my writing for The Barde! These "Summer Bach Honors" were really supposed to be the June Bach honors, but since it is a little la...
Read MoreIs Composition a Theoretical or a Practical Subject? - by Pat McNeil
2015-07-20Editor's note: This is one of my favourite articles on the subject of composing for any genre of music for it's humour, irreverence, and it's practicality. It's written by Patrick McNeil and...
Read MoreApril Bach-of-the-Month Honors
2015-05-14With the conclusion of Lent and the arrival of the Easter season, everyone was extra busy, but the number of uploads on the Concert Hall continues to grow by leaps and bounds - and not just in numbers...
Read MoreAnnouncing the Lenten Hymn-of-the Day Project!!!
2015-02-16The season of "Ordinary Time" is over, and Lent is upon us! This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which begins the Forty Days of Lent.As with the season of Advent, I'm inviting everyone t...
Read MoreSo Hauptwerk, what have you done for me lately?!?
2015-02-02Isn't it true? How often do we ask, or at least think, "What have you done for me lately?!?"We ask it of friends, cell phones, shampoos, diet foods, just about EVERYTHING! WHAT have YOU do...
Read MoreSample Sets With the Most Uploads Ending 2014
2015-01-12
Alright. So, last time, we covered the top 10 sample sets that users have used to upload to Contrebombarde.
Today, we're going to look at the top 10 sample sets with the largest...
Most Used Sample Sets on Contrebombarde Ending 2014
2015-01-05
One of the great things about having Raymond working on Contrebombarde.com is that we have access to a lot of information about the site.
There are lots of aspects of the site we can look at. H...
December Bach-of-the-Month Honors
2014-12-24December is a good month for Bach. Of course, ANY month is a great month for him! So, once again, it's time for our Bach-of-the-Month Awards!In looking through all the splendid uploads of ...
Read MoreShare your Advent and Christmas Repertoire with your HW friends!
2014-11-27This is the first time in quite a few years that I won't be playing in a church for the seasons of Advent and Christmas. While that makes me sad, it does give me the chance to learn and share ne...
Read MoreMy Hauptwerk Story
2014-11-14My Hauptwerk story began completely by accident. Most accidents are things you look back and say: "Oh, I'm sorry I had that!" In this case, I say: "I am so VERY glad that I did THAT!"...
Read MoreHAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
2014-10-29
What goes together better than Halloween and SCARY ORGAN MUSIC?!?
Think of a cold, windy night, an old dark church, and THEN.............
"A-G-A" (YOU guess the piece!) played on full or...
Bach of the Month - Inaugural Address
2014-10-24I'm sure that many of us have heard of the term, "Book of the Month Club" at somepoint. I think this used to be quite common, and there seemed to be a LOT of books that fell into this category! ...
Read MoreHymn of the Day - #1
2014-10-21
Years ago, when I worked at a major Epsicopal cathedral, I had the occasion to interview for an Assistant Organist.
Now, despite what you might think, I'm actually very "easy" to work with. A...