This is UK organist Jonathan Scott performing Fugue a la gigue in G Major by J.S. Bach, a favorite organ work of all audiences, on the 1982 Collins/Walker & Sons mechanical action organ of Saint David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
One notes in this clip the great videography, broken touch, (almost) no use of the heels on the pedals, the seemingly effortless control, the fact that every note was memorized, and the precision changing of manuals in this rendition which makes the execution of this tricky work look easy. The choice of stops, nuances in tempo, and agogic accents which keep the music sounding elastic and the listener right with the music when something else starts, are particularly and noticeably well done and repay careful study.
One will note in the final full cadence, for example, that the D in the tenor voice of the penultimate chord is tied to the same note in the final chord rather than played untied as indicated in the score. At the same time the other 3 moving lines are played broken in accordance with what is understood as "normal touch" for the period. Instead of playing all 4 moving lines broken with the result sounding too choppy, the performer elected to tie the notes in the tenor line thus anchoring the root note of the dominant chord in the listener's ear. This has the effect of smoothly carrying the other 3 broken lines through the harmony of this full cadence to a powerful conclusion.
This is a brisk, rhythmic, 4-voice dance fugue which organists perform with all kinds of results -- some quite good -- some a muddled mess -- some at a ploddingly slow tempo -- some in a mechanically regular tempo with an unvarying dynamic from start to finish -- some with an insipid "gap" registration. Amidst this ocean of diversity this recording by Mr. Scott brings out all the life and movement this music has to offer. Truthfully, this is as good as it gets -- something that would have had Sebastian Bach smiling with approval.
We offer our highest compliments and sincere thanks to Mr. Scott for posting this instructive video for public viewing.