Organ Masters of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Volume II: Organ Comb Bound Book

This collection spans the bridge between Renaissance keyboard tradition and the Bach era, making it invaluable for students exploring how organ technique evolved. The comb binding keeps pages flat during performance, eliminating the frustration of chasing page turns across these texturally dense works. You get substantial repertoire suited to both liturgical settings and recital programming without needing to hunt through separate publications.

These pieces carry the gravitas of music written for churches and courts, with the contrapuntal clarity that defined Baroque craftsmanship. You'll encounter toccatas that balance improvisatory flair with strict formal logic, fugues that interweave multiple voices with architectural precision, and chorale-based movements that build spiritual depth through variations on familiar melodies.

Organists pursuing serious study of the Baroque keyboard repertoire will find these works essential stepping stones between early contrapuntal traditions and the comprehensive organ works of Bach. Teachers preparing advanced students for recitals or competition will appreciate having substantial, proven repertoire in a single, performance-ready format.

• Approach the articulation selectively. These composers expected different touch and phrasing conventions than we typically assume; study the original notation carefully rather than imposing modern legato assumptions across entire passages.
• Balance manual color intentionally. The writing often assumes specific registration choices that reinforce structural clarity, so experimenting with subtle stops on each manual will reveal architectural details that pure dynamic control cannot.
• Address hand independence thoroughly in the fugal movements. The interlocking voices demand clean separation without sacrificing the overall line continuity that gives these pieces their harmonic logic.

Feature individual movements or complete works as recital anchors that complement larger Bach selections, giving audiences a fuller picture of the organ school that preceded him. These pieces also work effectively as repertoire for liturgical services when matched to appropriate church calendars or as teaching material within a year-long organ fundamentals curriculum.

• voice independence in multi-manual writing
• baroque articulation and phrasing conventions
• manual registration choices that serve structural clarity
• fugal exposition and development techniques
• chorale variation procedures and ornamental embellishment
• hand independence in rapid figurative passages