Performance Practice | Tempo, articulation and release

Daniel Moult
Friday, May 9, 2025

Responding to the variance of wind and weight in historic organs

The 11-stop Gottfried Silbermann organ of 1722 in the Marienkirche, Rötha can sound distractingly wobbly

In the previous issue, we considered whether HIP (Historically Informed Performance) is less relevant than in recent decades (or even dead). In terms of organ performance, the picture is complicated still further by a reawakening of interest in Romantic HIP, and in Romantic and symphonic instruments as vehicles for J S Bach and other earlier repertoires. But can our minds and emotions be opened to new performance possibilities beyond recreating specific points in time? I believe that hands-on experience of old instruments offers one pathway – in combination with using our ears.


Follow the wind

I mentioned previously that the north German organs (typified by Arp Schnitger), known to J S Bach during his younger days, or the central German organs (such as those of Gottfried Silbermann, Trost and Wagner), of his prime, are of notably different sound worlds. But they have traits in common. And most striking perhaps, to the modern player, is the flexibility of the wind supply in the organs concerned.

Then as now, some organs are more sensitive than others to the demands on wind. The small G Silbermann in the Marienkirche, Rötha, for instance (1722, 11 stops) can all too easily sound distractingly wobbly – whereas the same builder’s larger essay at Dresden Dom (1753, 47 stops, finished by Hildebrandt in 1755) has flexible, but less obviously volatile, winding. Rather than seeing the potential ‘wobbliness’ as a shortcoming to be endured, the player can often (to a large extent) control the wind to make the organ sound as if it is singing and breathing. Unflinchingly steady wind does not seem to be part of the 18th-century aesthetic, but neither should a lack of desire or ability to control the wind be an excuse for distracting, asthmatic sounds. ‘Following the wind’ requires some skill, an attentive ear, and a willingness to experiment from organ to organ!

Soft releases

Various factors come together to make the wind flow rather than gasp or lurch. A critical part of technique on these older organs (and some more sensitive modern instruments, too) is the soft release of keys. This allows the pallets underneath the pipes to close in a controlled way, avoiding the equivalent of an organ ‘belch’. A soft key release can also give a beautiful, tapered end to a note, avoiding a hard edge to the musical line and general ensemble. They are an invaluable part of controlling the sound. Some players refer to the technique as ‘slow releases’, but as it is best applied to music of all speeds, I think that ‘soft’ is more inclusive.

Even the softest key control might still cause unwanted wind wobbles if not combined with staggered releases. Especially important in thicker textures and on bigger registrations, these organs tend to favour an avoidance of musically vertical releases. This means that the player sometimes has to stagger the key releases from top to bottom. This staggering is best done subtly and softly. But it can make a significant difference to the organ sound and avoid an overly vertical feel to the performance. It is also a technique which can draw the best sound from many a 19th-century organ, whether by Ladegast or William Hill. But none of these controls can mitigate against overly fast tempi.

The last organ built by Gottfried Silbermann (completed by Hildebrandt in 1755) at Dresden Cathedral has flexible but less volatile winding

Avoiding the extremes

Put simply, overly fast speeds sound grim on unaltered 17th- and 18th-century organs. The wind complains, the pipe speech becomes all consonants and no vowels: and the poor instrument often receives the blame. I believe that rather than being unique to the organ, this avoidance of excessively fast tempi in the era was the norm. As C P E Bach said so pithily, his father’s fast tempi were never frantic and his slow speeds always flowed. To me, this is an incredibly helpful insight. Coupled with our quite extensive knowledge of more moderate tempi based around the human pulse (the tempo ordinario tradition), it seems clear that German musicians of J S Bach’s era tended to avoid extremities of tempo.

The same avoidance of extremes seems to have applied also to articulation. F W Marpurg (1755) describes the ordentliche Fortgehen (ordinary touch): ‘Both slurring and detaching are contrary to the ordinary touch, which consists of raising the finger from the preceding key just shortly before touching the following note. This ordinary touch is never indicated [in the notation] since it is always presumed.’ Rather like good speech, this approach looks for a perfect balance of clarity and musical line (or a perfect mix of consonants and vowels, to put it another way). Like good speech, the parameters are going to change (perhaps significantly) depending on the building’s acoustics and the player’s own taste. But the trinity of suitable tempo, tasteful articulation and soft key releases remains a vital aim for the sensitive organist.


More than one technique

Controlling the sound to such a refined degree demands a highly ergonomic technique. Keeping key contact at all times and not using any excessive motion will help the player achieve this. But this approach comes with a caveat.

Just as the wind differs from one instrument of the era to another, so does key weight. The difference in weight between an uncoupled, small Silbermann and the fully coupled might of (say) Naumburg or Dresden is considerable. You can sometimes experience this gamut of different weights on the same instrument (as I was reminded at Waltershausen quite recently). Inevitably, heavier actions demand a controlled amount of additional energy from the player. They may require extra wrist rotations and possibly some upper body weight, too (in addition to leaning forwards a little, to enable gravity to do its job). But the philosophy is the same, regardless of the action weight: loose limbs and digits are the key, and no more energy than is needed to travel with confidence to the bottom of the key.


And finally…

While there is no longer a strong expectation (let alone a sense of moral imperative) to apply these approaches to our playing in different contexts, I hope that the parameters they suggest might inspire you. We all need artistic boundaries (self-imposed or otherwise) if our playing is to speak with authority and cohesion. For many performers (myself included), the lessons offered from instruments of J S Bach’s time present as good a set of boundaries as any. 

Daniel Moult is a concert organist and organ tutor based in London. He is head of organ at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

 

This feature originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Choir & Organ – Subscribe today

 


 

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