by Daniel Hathaway

Despite its unassuming title, the idea of the Clavier-Übung — a collection of pieces exploring the practice of keyboard music — inspired a number of Baroque composers to some of their best compositional efforts. First among them was Johann Sebastian Bach, whose four-part published collection included the Six Partitas (collected in 1731), the Italian Concerto and French Overture (1735), the German Organ Mass (1739), and the aria with thirty variations we’ve nicknamed the “Goldberg Variations.”

Organist Jonathan Ryan, who pursued his undergraduate studies with Todd Wilson at the Cleveland Institute of Music before moving on to Eastman, will play the German Organ Mass, or Clavier-Übung III, on the Flentrop Organ in Trinity Cathedral on Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30 pm. [Read more…]