Nadia Boulanger 1912 Improvisation 1909 harmonium p/b Artis Wodehouse

[@MarioBruneau]

Wow so nice! Thank you.

[@ianthompson9201]

Extraordinary! Anyone not in the know would swear that there were two quite different instruments here. Lovely piece, expertly played.

[@ArtisWodehouse]

Thanks, and I must say, it took a lot of work -- fingerings were especially excruciating!

[@INHISIMAGE007]

Hauntingly Beautiful!!!

[@ArtisWodehouse]

Thank you!

[@TheJohn1567]

Amazing!

[@ArtisWodehouse]

Thanks!

[@samuelegambarini9960]

Fantastic composition, and great execution, I love the percussion element on the right hand part. Never heard that on a Harmonium, reminds me of the percussion available on the Hammond organ.

[@ArtisWodehouse]

Yes, what a wonderful composition and yes, that's true about the Hammond!

[@kjdraj]

@@ArtisWodehouse It is the typical french disposition of "harmonium d'art" (see instruments by the inventor Mustel). The stop is called "percussion". You will find more details with this basic infos ...

[@Syfoll]

The Kotykiewicz strikes again, what a sound

[@ArtisWodehouse]

Yes, quite amazing.

[@RichardHandal301]

@@ArtisWodehouse Right. Never heard anything like that. And a perfect marriage with the work.

[@yatsugatakereedorganmuseum5339]

ステキですね♪　パーカッションが輝いています。日本の八ヶ岳リードオルガン美術館には、1910年に作られたMustel社製のアート・ハルモニウム（21stops）があります。いつか貴方にぜひ弾いてみていただきたいです。 It's wonderful. The percussion is shining. At the Yatsugatake Reed Organ Museum in Japan, there is an Art Harmonium (21stops) made by Mustel in 1910. I want you to try playing it someday.

[@ArtisWodehouse]

Thank you.

[@Syfoll]

I keep coming back to this video. The piece, the playing, the harmonium, such a unique and vibrant piece. Also, gotta ask, the hammers hit just one set of reeds, or it changes depending on the stop you use?

[@ArtisWodehouse]

I'm hoping to make a video that covers the capabilities of the Kotykiewicz, stay tuned!

[@Syfoll]

@@ArtisWodehouse Awesome!

[@Maxime_Grisé]

Are you using a percussion stop at the beginning? (Sorry if the question seems silly, I've never played an instrument with one so I'm still not used to what to listen for)

[@ArtisWodehouse]

My Kotykiewicz has percussion that works on the foundational, #1 stop, which is the stop I used at the beginning of the piece. Above each reed is a little metal hammer that hits the brass reed when a note is played, initiating the tone more quickly than it would from just the air flowing through the reed. I took advantage of this in my rendition. I wanted the oscillating staggered 8th notes in the right hand to sound like a ticking clock. You can achieve this by strongly articulating your fingers to make the percussion sound audibly. Meanwhile, in order to deliver a smooth and dynamically flexible contrasting lyric theme in the left, those notes needed to be played with a slow attack so that the percussion sounded as little as possible. That meant I also had to keep the airflow that supported the dynamics of the melody carefully timed and to a scale that didn't cover the articulation of the oscillating "ticking" right hand. I did many takes -- its very tricky and delicate to get it right!