3 Tips for Playing 16th-18th Century Hymns on the Organ

Although hymn-playing might seem as uniform area of organ art, it requires at least several different approaches. In other words, hymns from different historical period should be played differently. In this article, I would like to give you 3 tips for playing 16th-18th century hymns on the organ.

1. Articulate Legato for 16th-18th Century Hymns. Because the general traditional touch for keyboard music composed up until the 19th century was the so-called Ordinary Touch, it should also be applied for hymn-playing of that period as well. Look at the century when the particular hymn tune (melody) was created.

If your hymn tune was created in the Reformation time, the Baroque, or the Classical period, then you should play it using the ordinary touch. The ordinary touch in today's terms might be referred as articulate legato. It is neither legato, nor non legato. The notes should be neither connected smoothly nor too detached.

2. Feel the Alternation of Strong and Weak Beats. However, achieving the articulate legato in such hymns is not enough. Since one of the most important characteristics of performance practice in early music is meter, try to emphasize the meter. Any meter has a beat which is stronger than the others. It is called the downbeat. In 2/4 meter, the first beat is the downbeat (stronger) and the second is the upbeat (weaker). In a 3/4 meter, the first beat is stronger, and the other two are weaker. In 4/4 meter, beats 2 and 4 are the weak ones. Beat 1 is the strongest and beat 3 is relatively strong.

In hymn-playing, try to make the stronger beats more accented. The other beats are weaker and don't need to be accented. So this alternation of strong and weak beats is very important in correct performance of 16th-18th century style hymns.

3. Shorten the Weak Beats. Since the organ mechanics does not allow making dynamics with the strength or the softness of your touch, the most common way to achieve metric accents and feel the alternation of strong and weak beats is by shortening the weaker beats and prolonging the down beats a little. In other words, if your hymn tune moves in quarter notes, make rests on the weak beats. These rests depend on the acoustics of the room - the longer the reverberation - the shorter the weak beats might be and the greater the articulation.

If you play your 16th-18th century hymns with articulate legato, feeling the alternation of strong and weak beats, and shortening the weak beats, your hymns will sound much more precise and in style.

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