Prelude and Fugue in F Major (From Eight Little Preludes and Fugues)(BVW 556)

Bach’s “little” F major from the so-called 8 Short Preludes & Fugues will have a place in the heart of nearly every organist as the first or one of the first real pieces that they learned.

When I discovered that the next Pipeloops release was to be a Sauer I metaphorically scratched my head wondering what it was I was going to play. My German romantic repertoire is limited, but then I remembered the name of Karl Straube.
I asked for help from our brilliant organist/academic friend & colleague mckinndl who pointed me in all sorts of directions including contacting a fellow academic (for which, huge thanks, David).
One of the discoveries was a wonderful recording called “Straube plays Bach” by Dean Billmeyer of the historic 1913 Peters edition of ten organ preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach, edited with late-Romantic performance instructions by Straube.
The next discovery was that tracking these scores down was a bit like the quest for the Holy Grail!
What we did find was an edition of the 8 Short, some collections of chorale preludes & other works by “Old Masters” edited by Straube.
Once my 8 Short arrived from an antiquarian book seller in Germany I played these old friends through & found that they came up fresh through the prism of Straube’s precise registration & extremely particular phrasing & articulation.
It is a salutary experience relearning these pieces & unlearning what I think I know about historical interpretation!
Don’t expect anything wildly different! I think what you will find, however, is charming & fits this organ like a glove!