The Orgelbüchlein Project (A 21st-Century Completion of Bach's Orgelb.), Vol. 4: Organ (Solo)

Volume 4 assembles an extraordinary range of voices, from established figures like David Matthews and Poul Ruders to emerging composers like Nico Muhly and Tarik O'Regan, all responding to the same structural challenge. The project creates a natural framework for recital programming: you can pair Bach's original preludes with contemporary responses on the same hymnal texts, generating conversation between centuries without requiring thematic unity or stylistic consistency. This is the kind of collection that transforms a recital into an event worth announcing beyond the usual organ community.

Encountering this collection feels like standing in a room where Bach's unfinished thoughts are being completed in real time by voices from your own era. The 152 pages contain moments of intimate meditation, architectural complexity, and surprising harmonic terrain, all anchored by the familiar stability of chorale melodies that span centuries.

Organists seeking substantial solo repertoire that combines intellectual interest with spiritual depth will find this indispensable. This collection appeals equally to recitalists building programs around liturgical texts and to church musicians wanting contemporary works that integrate thoughtfully with traditional hymnal culture.

• Study each composer's approach to the chorale melody independently; some honor Bach's contrapuntal conventions while others reinterpret the tune entirely. Understanding each composer's relationship to their source text clarifies interpretive choices.
• Program these across multiple recitals rather than performing the entire volume at once. Grouping five or six consecutive pieces by different composers within a single concert allows listeners to track compositional diversity without fatigue.
• Use the hymnal text as your preparation tool. Reading the original German words while learning the pieces connects you to the spiritual context that motivated both Bach and these contemporary contributors.

Build a recital series exploring single hymnal texts across multiple composers: take one chorale tune and trace how Bach approached it, then follow with settings by three or four contributors from this volume to hear modern possibilities emerge from the same melodic premise. Alternatively, dedicate a liturgical season concert to consecutive pieces from Volume 4, allowing the variety of contemporary voices to deepen congregational engagement with familiar hymns.

• Comparative analysis of compositional approaches to a shared structural constraint
• Pedal technique across diverse harmonic languages and textures
• Sight-reading facility in contemporary notation and extended harmonic practice
• Understanding how chorale-based composition functions as both historical practice and living creative tradition