What Are the Two Rules of Organ Registration?

Although organ registration is a very complex topic, it is important for every organist at least to have the basic understanding of it. This is necessary because not every organ piece has registration suggestions printed in the performing edition. In this article, I would like to give you two rules which will help you to use informed decisions when choosing organ registration.

Change registration when structurally necessary. If there are no original registration suggestions from the composer, I suggest changing the stops only in places which are important structurally. Think about the form of the piece. For example, when playing a prelude and fugue, it is often OK to change registration or at least manuals after a prelude.
However, some people change stops during the fugue itself. Although there is no right or wrong decision here, still, think about whether or not the registration change emphasizes the structurally important parts of the piece. I think that adding a stop just for the sake of sound is not as strong as changing the stop when you see the need for it (when the second subject comes in or at the start of a stretto section etc.)
Simplicity. In case of doubt, keep it simple. It is always better to play a piece with one registration throughout than to make things over complicated. In other words, if you feel that your prelude and fugue needs changes of registration because the sound of the principal chorus is too harsh on your organ, it is best not to bother with it, unless you are really confident of your decisions.

Very often we think that listeners cannot stand this sound for a long time but in reality what is more important is music itself. A fine composition will sound well using several different registration choices. On the other hand, it is hard to make a weak composition more convincing by changing registration (it takes a lot of experience). However, in some cases on certain historical organs, the registration might be perhaps as powerful tool as the music itself. This is why much of early organ music might sound boring on a modern organ.

Another example: I know many organists who register the music of Franck in a very complicated manner. They try to achieve the perfect dynamics and add stops every few phrases. This is obviously too much. For music like Franck's, we still need to clarify the structure of the piece.

These are my personal suggestions for registering an organ composition. Of course, this is just a generalization and you have to consider many variables, such as historical period, national school, type of organ music, instrument available and many other things.

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