Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Johann Sebastian Bach

This is my entry for Week 20 of the Secrets of Organ Playing Contest.

My name is James Flores and I'm playing an arrangement of a well-known piece by Johann Sebastian Bach called "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". It comes from one of Bach's chorale settings, BWV 147, so the title is actually an English adaptation of Jesus bleibet meine Freude.

I can highly guarantee that as soon as you watch my entry for the contest, you will have heard this piece before! It is also a very popular piece to be played at weddings—in fact, the reason why I chose this piece is because I have been asked to play it as the Bridal Processional for a wedding next month.

This particular arrangement is written in a trio style (three independent parts) except for when the chorale tune comes in, where it is harmonised further. Playing this on a three manual organ would be much more effective, as the chorale could be played on a different registration. But nevertheless, it is still pretty effective on this instrument. The registration for the obligato line in the right hand is very much up to the organist...here I use an 8'+4'+2-2/3' solo. I could have easily chosen other stops like the 8' Hautbois (Oboe) or a full Cornet.

I do hope you enjoy my rendition of this Bach work. If you've ever played any trio work on the organ before (e.g. any of Bach's Trio Sonatas), you'll know that playing them is quite a challenge—there is absolutely nowhere to hide! For this reason, in my video this week, I have added a second camera angle of my feet in action (thanks to @partitura for the inspiration).