Yesterday I received a phone call from Scott Fikse asking if I’d be available or interested in playing the February “Bach and Prayer” service. I really wasn’t sure what this service is all about, so this is the description I found on Facebook:

Join us every 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm for Bach and Prayer, a short prayer and meditation service by candlelight with works by J.S. Bach. All are welcome for the livestream – tune in at www.lchwelcome.org/streaming.

Scott told me I’d be playing three pieces: a prelude, a meditation and a postlude, all by Bach. If I picked chorale preludes, or works associated with a text, Pastor Jeff would expound a little on them. The whole program would last about half an hour.

Can do? Of course! I always jump at the chance to play Bach!

Truth be told, I feel most comfortable when playing the works of Bach. Some people get nervous, but not me! Yes, I know that when you play Bach, everyone can tell when you’ve made a mistake, because the texture is so transparent. What I discovered about myself, however, is that the works of Bach “stay with me” — even though I haven’t played them awhile, I can pretty much quickly “revive” works I’ve played before, when it’s been years or even decades!

Today, I sent this list to Scott for the February 23rd program:

Prelude: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654
Meditation: Von Gott, will ich nicht lassen, BWV 658
Postlude: Komm, heiliger Geist, BWV 651

All of these come from a collection of extended chorale preludes from a collection called “The Great Eighteen Chorales.” You may recall that some of these pieces I last played in 2013 when I played the entire set of 18 chorales. At that time I spent eight months preparing for that concert, which to me seemed luxurious since I didn’t have a weekly church job to distract my practicing.

Hey, I thought you already have a Bach concert commitment on March 21st, Bach’s birthday?! Thank goodness, most of that music is learned and in “maintenance mode.” Maybe I’m tempting fate to just give myself three weeks to relearn this music— some of which I haven’t played since 2013!

Last night, I had three guests for dinner: Bill Potter (longtime chorister, webmaster and financial secretary of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu) and his friends, organist Calvert Johnson and Cal’s partner, Ken Dutter. I met Cal very briefly when he substituted for me, playing the services and Japanese weddings at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu while we took off for an AGO convention in Seattle in 1998—that’s been over 20 years ago! Cal retired from Agnes Scott College and the First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia.

Appetizers included Boursin french cheese with crackers, garlic shrimp with fresh papaya, and cucumber and ham bites. We also had a crunchy fruit salad with fresh spring mix, mandarin oranges, fresh blueberries, candied walnuts and granola; honey lime glazed salmon, parmesan broiled tomatoes, rice pilaf, and fresh broccoli. Dessert was a mixed berry crisp, with blueberries, blackberries and raspberries with a dollop of whipped cream.

I’d better get back to practicing!