Hammond XK5 with AGO pedalboard

Another Sunday in 2020, during the Covid-19 era, when 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 the Goldberg Variations Aria of J.S. Bach from the organ loft. Instead of playing an old Rodgers 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.

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Hammond XK5 Pipe Organ Division

One of the attractive features of the Hammond XK5 organ is that Hammond added a pipe organ division as one of the options. At this time, I probably spend upwards of 80% of my 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

This morning was an example of turning to the Hammond XK5 to run through some practice selections. Below, you can watch a YouTube video of my run-through of the Aria from J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

YouTube video

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.

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Arthur Dobrucki