Chorale Preludes by Old Masters, Vol. 2: Organ, Collections, Book

Straube's curation lets organists encounter the formal and harmonic vocabulary that preceded Bach without the intimidation of tackling the master himself. Volume 2 pairs well-chosen examples from Johann Hanff, Pachelbel, Kuhnau, and others, giving you teachable models of how the chorale prelude evolved. The collection demonstrates convincingly that these works stand on their own merit and offer genuine musical satisfaction alongside their historical value.

These preludes embody the intellectual rigor and spiritual warmth of seventeenth-century German organ music. Each piece balances contrapuntal craftsmanship with hymn-tune reverence, unfolding with dignity and clarity rather than virtuosic display. The collection creates a meditative soundworld where harmonic sophistication serves the chosen chorale, inviting listeners into a tradition of devotional music-making that shaped Western organ performance for centuries to come.

Organists seeking to deepen their understanding of the chorale prelude beyond Bach's towering output will find these pieces invaluable. Advanced students and church musicians who perform regularly will appreciate the range of technical and interpretive challenges across the forty-five works in the three-volume series. Teachers introducing organists to Baroque repertoire and its historical context will value how Straube's arrangement demonstrates stylistic continuity and individual compositional voices.

• Study the chorale melodies themselves before diving into the organ part; knowing the hymn tune strengthens your interpretive choices and helps you shape the music's harmonic journey.
• Examine how each composer handles registration and texture; seventeenth-century organ writing often reveals compositional intent through specific manual and pedal combinations that suit the available instruments of the period.
• Balance historical awareness with your own instrument's capabilities; these pieces were written for Baroque organs but adapt well to modern instruments when you respect their fundamental structural logic.
• Approach ornamentation conservatively in early rehearsals; let the harmonic richness and counterpoint speak before adding expressive rubato or timing adjustments.

These pieces work beautifully as recital openers or closing selections, offering substantial musical content without requiring extended performance time. Consider pairing selections from different composers within a single program to illustrate how individual voices shaped the form's development. They also serve well in liturgical settings where organists seek substantive yet approachable repertoire that connects congregational hymnody to the instrumental tradition.

• Recognizing and performing chorale prelude structural models (imitative, ornamentation, variation, and figuration types)
• Reading and interpreting baroque organ notation including manual indications and pedal parts
• Harmonic analysis of seventeenth-century counterpoint and cadential practices
• Interpreting text-based musical meaning through chorale tune relationships
• Balancing melodic clarity with underlying harmonic and contrapuntal voices