Organ Music: How do I tell the melody from the harmony?
This bar, from a Pachelbel organ piece, has 2 voices in both the top clef and bottom clef, so how do I tell where the melody lies? Is it the top clef because it's at the top or is it the upward stems or is it something else?
from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twrYmpY-7sM - Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder
Comments
Hello, in this measure, the melody is in soprano (voice 1 treble).
The piece is composed that the melody is present in various voices. Here well to recognize by the longer note values
More generally, though, there isn't necessarily just one melody. The essence of counterpoint is creating multiple melodic lines that are often of equal importance, and have them work together to form harmony. Much Baroque and Renaissance music is based on this model.
Thanks, that makes sense. A lot of careful listening will be required.
Can organs produce dynamics like a piano or they more like a harpsichord? The source midi file has every note at the same volume.
In reply to Thanks, that makes sense. A… by yonah_ag
a Church Organ can't. Pressing a key just opens a valve to some pipe. Only thing you can do is to increase the number of pipes, by pulling some stops
In reply to a Church Organ can't… by Jojo-Schmitz
So are all the pipes set to the same volume as each other or are there some pipes which are more important and therefore set to a louder, but constant, value? Presumably the sound sustains whilst the valve is open.
In reply to So are all the pipes set to… by yonah_ag
How an organ sounds is depending on which and how many stops are being used.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ
In reply to How an organ sounds is… by Jojo-Schmitz
Amazing!
In reply to a Church Organ can't… by Jojo-Schmitz
Do keep in mind that some organs do have mechanical swell chambers, where using a pedal one can rotate wooden/vilted planks in front of the pipes, thus allowing some form of dynamic control.
On top of that, organ players are trained to express accents and phrasing by subtle variations on note duration. Which then in turn often depend both on the registration used on the organ, as well as the acoustics of the surrounding building.
In reply to Do keep in mind that some… by jeetee
I read the wiki article and was amazed at how complex pipe organs can be. Looks like it was hard work for someone in the days of manual bellows. I'll take a closer look next time I'm in our local cathedral – but this will have to wait until after covid lockdown.