Until the year 2013, if it was the first Sunday in Advent, you could 100% count on hearing me play “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” Johann Sebastian Bach’s transcription of the fourth movement of Cantata 140 for organ. It is also known as the opening piece in the collection known as the Schübler chorales.

Here is organist Ton Koopman playing this piece:

I was surprised to learn from Wikipedia that Bach composed this cantata for the 27th Sunday after Pentecost, which only occurs if Easter is early. He only performed it once, on the 25th of November, 1731.

The last time I played this piece, however, was in the summer of 2019 at Joey Fala’s wedding, when I accompanied his then future brother-in-law singing the chorale. As you may recall, he wanted it transposed down a third, to the key of C, and although I completely wrote it all out in the new key, I felt a little insecure. You know, when you’ve played the piece for over FIFTY years in the key of E-flat, and then you have to play it in the key of C, it’s a tad bit discombobulating!

For fifty years, I had absolutely no problem with playing this piece, even though I will never forget one of my former students years ago telling me that she had never heard a “perfect” live performance if this piece—one way or another, the organist made a “boo boo.”

For many years I pooh-poohed this notion, and it never bothered me to play it. But now that I’m recording my preludes, postlude and other voluntaries for Nuuanu Congregational Church, I decided to record this piece for today’s prelude.

And boy oh boy, it took me eight “takes” to record it last week! Each time, I kept telling myself, how many times I’ve played this in the last fifty years, and how well I know this work, and BOOM, I would lose concentration and make a little mistake, forcing me to record another “take.”

One time I got all the way through, and made a mistake in the very last phrase! Yikes! Need to try another “take!”

I was also reminded of when I programmed it as the opening piece of a concert at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, about two years ago. Like a fool, I neglected to practice in the dress I eventually wore, and found out the hard way the skirt was too narrow for the wide range the pedals require. The performance was unfortunately a disaster! Chalk it up to another “learning experience!” Groan!

If you dare, you can see my performance here, starting at 1:57.