Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ (BWV 639)

I post this in memory of my father, 1 week after losing him to a 10 year battle with Alzheimer's. He was not a trained musician but loved music none the less and it was in his presence and growing up with him that I developed my love for music as well.

Always supportive, he was a huge fan of the Toccata and Fugue in d minor and he had his own rendition of it that he would play on his harmonica. It was annoying then but I'd give anything to hear that now. Since the T&F in d minor is a piece that most of us have heard an adequate number of times I put this up instead as it was a milestone for me in the way that I studied it.

This piece is the first one that I worked on with my organ teacher when I got to college and started studying with a serious teacher. I suppose that my high school organ teacher would have considered herself a serious teacher but in college the setting and environment were different. This teacher marked my music up a lot! And he was as concerned with the space between the notes as he was about the notes - a new concept to me at that time. He talked about the organ and music in ways that I’d never heard before. He really loved the instrument!

This chorale prelude setting has been one of my favorites for a long time and I love its simplicity on the one hand while being profound on the other.

This is for you, Dad.

I promise not to post this much “touchy, feely” stuff again. Honest.