Musical contribution - November 2021

Hoe zal ik U ontvangen (‘O How Shall I Receive Thee’)                                   Willem Harold Boog (b. 1964)

(LiVE Sample Set: Amsterdam, Vater-Müller)

As soon as the nights start drawing in, organists tend to dust off their Christmas music – or at least that’s what many people think, and they would be correct. We at Johannus, too, look forward to the Holiday Season every year, preceded by Advent. That’s why now, in November, we’re offering an adaptation of a song we enjoy singing and listening to at this time of expectation.

Willem Harold Boog – City Organist for the Dutch city of Zeist, concert organist and a church musician for the Oosterkerk Church in that same town – wrote the arrangement. You can read all about him on his two websites, www.willemharoldboog.nl and www.boogconcerten.nl, as well as view his other adaptations for the organ. You can also listen to him online and watch him perform on his YouTube channel:

This month’s adaptation opens with 4 bars on the second keyboard. You can play this with 1 or 2 soft 8’ registers, or you can use the same registration you use from bar 5 onward. (8’ and 4’).

It’s admirable the way Willem combined two chorales from the second system onward. Gentle, soft reeds are recommended for the main melody, while you can hear the song Jesus, unser Trost und Leben coming through with – as noted – 8’ and 4’ (with the optional use of a tremulant).

From bar 39 onward, we hear an ebullient middle section, which will surely invite listeners to join in song. The Chorale – now with a four-part notation – can of course also be played with a fair amount of duplication.

Warm regards,

André van Vliet