I would really like to add a big C. Franck work to my repertoire but I'm having difficulty deciding on a piece to choose. Which is the easiest to start with - Piece Heroique or the Choral No. 3 in A minor?

Thanks.

It depends on you and the organ you play it on.

Choral 3 has a bloomin' hard bit at the end but can be managed on a small 2 manual. Stamina could be an issue on a mechanical action.

There is a florid (arpeggio) section not far into PH which requires a deft registration change. Again I used to play this on a small 2 manual in my youth which had few registration aids. The end of the PH makes an impressive end to a recital on a large organ.

Both are good pieces to start with if you are Grade 8 or so. I did the B minor next and the E major last

As a contrast you could try the Pastorale.

Yes, the closing pages of the third Choral do require some nifty passagework. On the other hand, Piece Heroique can be quite demanding throughout, not least because it can be difficult to work out what key Franck is in in the middle section at times! They're both really worthwhile learning - why not tackle them both?

Forget 3, it is overplayed. No. 2 is a much more rewarding work.

Well, you're just a "Choral Singer" apparently.....

What a nice attitude you must have towards the members of your choir(s). Are you as patronising in rehearsal?

Utterly! Would you expect any less MrX...., sorry, Confutatis?

I agree that the Choral in A Minor is overplayed. However, you should learn it becuase it's such a standard work in any organist's repertoire.

The arpeggios are not that hard. For me, the hardest bit is about half way through the Adagio section when the chorale appears in A major. Some of those chords are way too big for my tiny hands. I had to do a lot of rearranging in order to not leave out any notes and to play them with a proper legato.

And I think musically the Adagio section really tests one's ability to phrase expressively. One prominent organist in my hometown once commented that many secondary schools students loved to include this piece when they auditioned for a place in an undergraduate organ performance programme, thinking that the toccata-like fast sections would impress the adjudicators. Because of that, he would often ask prospective students to begin at the Adagio section as not many are able to play this section well.

I wouldnt discount Prelude Fugue and Variation either, but of the two suggested I'd opt for Piece Heroique.

Hmmm.

Do any of those of you that play either choral 1 or 2 or PH have small hands (ie. can't do a 10th) ? As I have always stopped investigating those pieces at the 1st 10th. On the other a long time ago I played the 3rd chorale so I assume it has no 10th or I felt nothing was lost by omitting something.

Yes, I thought of that awkward moment early on in the "oasis" in PH. I've heard several glanced notes there, one organist rearrange it without it sounding convincing, and I managed to very briefly glance a note in exactly the same place at a recent recital due to a lapse in concentration.

I play PH but not the chorales... but is it possible to re-adjust what is in each hand (Even using dropped thumbs etc) to get rid of the 10ths?

I think it's the only option if one's hands aren't large enough, but I can't find a convincing way of doing that with PH.

My momentary lapse of concentration was, unfortunately, in a packed Cathedral! I just consoled (no pun intended) myself with the fact that the organists in the audience would know what a tricky stretch that was. At least it was only a very brief glance!

Could i be so rude as to ask where the lapse was?

...and may I ask what a glance is? This is not a term I have heard my organist friends use before.

Between bars two and three just after the "timps" come in in the middle section, in the right hand. A tricky little bit, and there's no obvious way around it. It was on a very responsive tracker organ and I just caught the edge of another key sufficiently for it to speak.



I'll happily educate you here as, of course, you're not an organist at all...

It's a glanced note, ie one which is caught inadvertently and briefly.

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.
I've decided to go with the Choral. Judging by some of your posts, it seems this is a standard in the organists repertoire.

I'll have a look at the Piece Heroique at a later date.

Hope you enjoy it. I think you'll find that it's one of those pieces which very much benefits from learning from the end first, gradually working towards the beginning as you become familiar with it.

Good luck to you in learning the Choral. It's a great work.

Other than this one I play the Piece Heroique, Pastorale, and Prelude, Fugue and Variation but the one which really stumps me is the Priere. I can play most of the portions of this piece, but there are some sections which are frighteningly tricky (especially the stretches and 2 against 3 time in the central section). Anyone have any tips for this one?

Priere is notoriously difficult, not just for the notes but also the music which does not yield its meaning easily.

For this reason it is often chosen as a set piece for Festivals.

Barry Williams