Wilhelm Karges, Capriccio
The third piece by Karges from manuscript Am. B340 is a piece called Capricio. Only the first half is (probably) written by Karges. The second half of the Karges’ Capriccio is actually written by Froberger. It is the second half of Froberger’s fourth Fantasia (“sopra Sol, La, Re”). Karges’ first half is based on the same notes as Froberger’s second half, and both parts blend together to form one coherent whole.
Intruiging is that Karges scribbles and extra bar in the margin of the manuscript near the end of the piece. With a small cross besides it. He also scribbles a small cross after the first bar of Froberger’s second half. Is the extra bar to be inserted there? Musically that makes no sense, as it is almost a repetition of Froberger’s first bar. And if it is to be inserted there one would expect he would have written it on the same page. But he didn’t. He wrote it on the opposing page, near the end of the piece. There is actually a small line there, probably indicating it should be inserted there. The only logical explination is that the extra bar is meant to make a repeat possible. That’s why it is almost identical to Froberger’s first bar, and that’s why it is scribbled near the end of the piece.
As the extra bar is scribbled in the margin, Karges did not mean that the repetition should always be played. It is just there, I think, as a handy way of creating a longer piece if need be. I can imagine Karges, playing during service, looking down and asking himself “Are they nearly done? No? Okay, let’s play this part again…”
In my performance I play the repetition once.
The recording was done with the sample set of the Eisenbach organ of the St. Bartholomäus church in Friesach, by Piotr Grabowski
Score
Karges, Capriccio
Performance
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