“in the Gigue Fugue the tune comes three times in the hands and when I hit the feet….”

These words spoken by Virgil Fox are known by many around the world today. Virgil Fox was and is a great influence to many in the organ world.

Back in the 1980s a camp councilor played a recording of Virgil Fox in a live performance of Bach’s Fugue in G Major, BWV 577 (AKA The Gigue Fugue). Virgil Fox’s enthusiastic comments to the audience and his energetic and rhythmically driven performance of this work seared it into my memory. When I got home from the summer camp, I asked the parish organist to play the work and I got “the look” and the “well Joseph”. Fast forward 31 years. Persistence pays off as you will see in this YouTube Video. Bach’s Gigue Fugue was finally performed on this pipe organ by Ken Cowan. Ken Cowan is Associate Professor of Organ at Rice University and it was a great honor when he flew up to Brooklyn from Houston, Texas in May of 2014.

Were you influenced by Virgil Fox? What was the performance that resonated with you the most?

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