Bach - vorher, während und nachher: Bach - before, during and after

Keyboard music before, during and after the time of Johann Sebastian Bach, all by composers with the name of Bach.

Intended here primarily for organists playing at Catholic parishes, but may be played on any keyboard instrument.

May Bach be played at Mass?

Instrumental music is universal unless it has become associated through its use in secular events and distract as a result. Then it should not be used in the liturgical circumstances.

It used to be quite common for the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to be played after Mass on special occasions. However, its association with horror films now rules it out. But it may be played in an organ recital.

Stop registrations for these pieces are built upon the capabilities of the instrument you are playing plus exactly when you are playing them in a liturgical situation. As an example, Kyrie by Bach may be played on almost any organ registration from soft celestes at Communion all the way up to full organ, as a postlude.

As far as technique, notes are typically to be connected unless they are repeated, that little bit of silence then accenting the repeated note. Let the harmonies build as you play, stretching the tempo as you feel it necessary. Lighter pieces lend themselves to departing from a purely legato style.

The use of the pedals is optional, though there are a few instances that long reaches would require the note to be played in the pedals or alternately played by hand an octave higher.