Organ in the Covid-19 era
Another Sunday in 2020. Another Sunday during the Covid-19 era where church attendance is prohibited. Stunning to think this is true, but yes, that is how things are playing out for the moment. And on this Sunday, I won’t be playing J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations Aria from the organ loft.
Church Lockout Continues
Instead of playing an old Allen organ in the choir loft of my parish, today I get my organ fix by running through some music on the Hammond XK5 organ at my house.
Hammond XK5 Pipe Organ Division
One of the attractive features of this organ was that Hammond added a pipe organ division as one of the options. At this time, I probably spend upwards of 80% of the time using the Hammond console to control Hauptwerk and its multiple organ recreations. Occasionally, it is just easier to flip the switch on the Hammond and employ its built in pipe organ division.
J.S. Bach on the Hammond XK5 Organ
Such is the case this morning. Here is a run through of the Aria from J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
Link to J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations Aria on the Hammond XK-5 Organ
Registration Selection
I used the Pipe Organ division with an alternate registration on each manual.
For the lower manual, I used the Rohrflute and 4′ Flute.
For the upper manual, I used a gap registration with the Gedeckt 8′ and Flute 2′ stops.
Waiting for the Church Loft Door to Open
I’m not sure when I’ll be back on the organ bench at church. Given California’s approach to Covid-19 appears to be slower than nearly every other state, it could be several weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised, though thoroughly disappointed, if the lockout lasts for months.
In the meantime, the Hammond XK5 offers plenty to keep my practice time occupied.