Triosonate V (BWV 529), first momvement

After my skating accident, I wondered if I would ever be able to play Bach's triosonatas again. I feared my knee would become to stiff to play the pedals again on the level required to play these sonatas. The last two or three weeks the use of my left leg is gradually returning and pedal playing becomes easier. yet I still hesitated to take on one of Bach's triosonatas for fear of discovering I can't play them anymore.

Then I saw yesterday this video of organduo's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA4zRT3eTyM, where he practices for the first time on his new keyboards. And in this video he practices the first movement of the the first of these triosonates.

To see and hear him practising this piece, made me want to try again myself. And so, with a bit of trepidation I choose the first movement of the fifth sonata and set down on the organ bench. That movement has always been my favorite and it is not as difficult as some of the other movements. It's still not an easy piece to play though. Throughout the movement the pedal part plays the role of a continuo, that includes a walking bass in quavers and long pedal points. It should be played lightly and precisely. The texture of a trio is very transparant and playing errors are easily spotted. It is said that if you've mastered all 6 of Bach's triosonatas, you can truly play the organ.

To my relief I still manage okay in this part. It's not a particularly good performance and I make the mess of the last three bars. However, it gives me confidence that with practise, I can play these sonatas again. I can still play the organ!