Praeludium & Fuge, BWV 539

The fugue of BWV 539 is Bach's own transcription for organ of the fugue of Violin Sonata, BWV 1001. Bach added the prelude to it, a short intro to a magnificent fugue. Bach goes often for excitement in the prelude and follows strict counterpoint in the fugue, but here it's the other way around.

As often with Bach pieces, you can go different directions with the same piece. I doubted very long which registration to use for the fugue in combination with the tempo and articulation. You can create a light, gentle atmosphere with just some flutes, maybe even just a 4' flute. You can create an intense and sad atmosphere with just a principal (which points to the original instrument for this piece, the violin). For me it's a sparkling piece full of exciting passages, which goes well with a small 8' plenum sound accompanied by an independent pedal line. So that's the choice. I probably will play it different in a few weeks...