Because it is a personal favorite as well as being one of the few organ preludes specifically designated for the Baptism of the Lord, I almost yearly program Bach’s "Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam" for that Sunday. I would also like to mention that I have never performed it to my satisfaction. Not once.

It is of course a difficult piece requiring organ stops not always available. And here in the Northeast, January is not always the best month to show off a work requiring nimbleness. [I have a vivid memory of Jennifer Lester, her breath leaving a smokey trail, gamely making her way thru this prelude on a frigid morning after the boiler of St. Paul’s in Cambridge, MA decided to die. What a trouper.]

But more to the point, I always need some rest after the musical demands of Advent and Christmas and thus never have sufficient practice time to adequately prepare this musical gem. The only consolation is that other organists tell me that they’ve experienced the same dilemma.

Are there other points in the liturgical calendar that present this kind of problem for you? When would you most like to have a couple of extra weeks before show time?