Kittel - Praeludium d-moll / D minor - Dreifaltigkeits-Orgel, Ottobeuren, Hauptwerk

Johann Christian Kittel (1732-1809) was a German organist and composer. He was one of the last students of Johann Sebastian Bach. His students included Michael Gotthard Fischer and Christian Heinrich Rinck. Kittel was born in Erfurt and he died in Erfurt. He first studied with Jakob Adlung. He moved to Leipzig in 1748 and was a favourite - and last - pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach until his death two years later. He was appointed organist and teacher in Langensalza in 1751, following which he returned to Erfurt as organist of the Barfüßerkirche, in 1756, moving to the Predigerkirche in 1762. He remained in Erfurt for the rest of his life. He played many evening recitals there and was famous and a virtuoso organist; Goethe, Herder, and Wieland all went to hear him play, and he even made a concert tour to Hamburg in 1800.
(source: Wikipedia)
This rousing Prelude in D minor certainly shows the virtuosity of Kittel both on the manuals and the pedals. In the score (edited by Pierre Gouin) are many marks to play staccatissimo. It happens that I ignore such a mark for dramatic or accentuation purposes. I used the sample set of the Dreifaltigkeits organ of Ottobeuren. It was a pleasure to play it on such a set with big acoustics and such a powerful pedal part with even a Bomba 16' (Bombarde).
Sample set by OrganArt Media:
www.organartmedia.com/de/karl...
Score on IMSLP:
imslp.org/wiki/Special:Revers...
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Because of the many questions about my modest organ setup, hereby the relevant information:
- Virtual Pipe Organ Software: Hauptwerk VIII
- Manual block (3x Fatar TP-60LF) by @sonarteorgels
- Headphones: Sennheiser HD598
- Pedalboard: custom-made
- Audio interface: Presonus Studio 1810c
- Touchscreen: Iiyama ProLite T2252MSC-B1

[@nakorganist]

A very beautiful and moving prelude, the sound of this great organ is very impressive!

[@RalphLooij]

I like this specific plenum sound very very much.

[@RienSchalkwijk]

Yes! Very cool piece. The pedal part is very exciting indeed! Bravo!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Rien! Yes, that's a tricky part, especially to align it well with some quick manual parts.

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

Great surprise!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks

[@MusicaAngela]

What a beautiful sound and excellent playing!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@tartinitrumpet]

What a great piece and performance!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@carstenkling2566]

A very beautiful and great recording! Very well played! I like it very much! Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Germany! 👍

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@thewilliamtan]

Wow! A lot of fun. Thanks!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks for listening!

[@ClaraOrgan]

The pedal technique is virtuoso! Like100👍

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@salemsokiredor9225]

A superb piece that I did not yet know, and very nicely played! I’ll have to try this myself now.

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks! You should, it's a fun piece to play!

[@philippelegargean5120]

Magnificent piece and very dynamic interpretation. It makes me want to learn it.

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Philippe!

[@juliane_steinwachs-zeil]

Wonderful prelude and a great sound! ✨

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@philipaggesen]

This is an awesome prelude!! I need to learn this! Well played as always Ralph!!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Philip. It's a nice piece indeed, I'm surprised we don't hear it more often.

[@evandejong355]

What an appealing piece this is. A compelling mixture of late-baroque and galant/classical concepts. A good model possibly for improvisation, and an apt postlude for services.

[@RalphLooij]

Indeed, Evan. It's a great and fun piece.

[@KravchenkoAudioPerth]

Always loved the Bomba on the Rep organ. A great workout Ralph. Well registered, and great choice of organ for this piece.
Mark

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Mark. A great workout indeed. There was a moment I thought about using a virtual pedal coupler (HW to Ped), because I'm used to a stronger mixture sound in the pedals (happens when you have so much North-German inspired organs in your country), but this specific pedal sound is actually quite exciting.

[@peternaryd_operasinger]

Wonderful Ralph!🤗👏👏👏👏

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Peter!

[@marklindseykirkmanorganist5681]

Bravo!! Fantastic Ralph!!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@clafer52]

Awsome!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Claudio!

[@andrewloose3419]

Great! A very energetic piece expertly performed. Thank you.

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Andrew!

[@johannsebastian422]

Excellent

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@Flotenbass]

Very nice piece. Thanks!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks for listening, Paulius!

[@Flotenbass]

@@RalphLooij it is really a great pleasure!

[@gardengit]

Great work...awesome playing. Great joy to listen to this excellent Organ performance...Thanks for sharing !!👌

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@Viennalute]

Thank you very much! Happy New Year.

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks for listening, Happy New Year!

[@SteinMarkus]

Bravo! Fantastic piece, fantastic sounds, fantastic playing! Thank you Ralph

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks!

[@MarekMichalakMusic]

Great performance! So much energy in your playing here. A pleasure to listen to!

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Marek! It's quite the showpiece this one.

[@user-tr8gd5ti1d]

Wow, great vivid performance! The registration shows the compatibility of using reeds and mixtures with the Riepp organ, which is not possible (or not common) on pure French organs

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks, Helmut! Yes, that's one of the many nice things of this organ, the beautiful blend of different styles.

[@yaroslav_kaiuk]

Such nice piece, I've heard only a few compositions by Kittel (and BWV 561, which is probably his work).

[@RalphLooij]

Not all Kittel wrote interests me very much, but this piece for sure.

[@VincentdeRidder]

Fraai!

[@RalphLooij]

Dank, Vincent!

[@SecretsofOrganPlaying]

Kittel's pushes the organ into direction like Mozart did but he's much more prolific. Really effective Praeludium!

[@RalphLooij]

True, a nice style galante piece

[@marcelobrunorodrigues7630]

He and Franz Joseph Haydn have the same birth and death years.

[@RalphLooij]

That's an interesting fact, in theory Haydn could have been a pupil of JSB