Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger, Præludium, A Dur (L 19)

Since manuscript Becker III.8.63 notates the music on just two staves, it is most of the tmes a bit of a guess wether or not a the pedals have a role or not. Sometimes long bass notes have an explicit indication “P” next to them. For the rest it is as if the music is meant to be played manualiter. The prelude in A major, L 19, is no exception in this regard. It is notated on two staves and bears no indication of the use of the pedals. Nevertheless, to my ears, this composition begs the use of a strong plenum registration and in line with that, use of the pedals. Notated in dotted rythm, the use of plenun and pedals are in line with the forcefull character of the piece.

As there is no indication of the use of the pedals, the decision to nevertheless use them, brings the question: which bass-notes to play with the pedals and which with the hands. I don’t think the pedals should be used all the time. There is for example the fact that Seger’s own organ, the organ in the Týn Church in Prague, had a pedal section that went to the note A in the small octave. Any notes above that could not be played with the pedals. And in this particular piece, I think an alternation between the left hand and the pedals is called for. Which notes I do and do not play with the pedals is therefore my own choice and is not in any way prescribed by the manuscript. In the score I give no indication for the use of the pedals either. Whether or not to use the pedals and which notes to play with them is entirely left to the musical taste of the player.

The recording was done with the Hauptwerk software and the sampleset, made by Sonus Paradisi, of the Schnittger organ in the St. Martini-kerk, Groningen (https://www.sonusparadisi.cz/en/organs/netherlands/groningen-st-martini.html).

Score
Seger, Praeludium, A Dur (L 19)

Performance

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