2.5 Nick!!! wtf... anyway.
Musicians studying counterpoint can find plenty of other Bach to digest and disect, and sure, this might not be his most tantalising piece. However, it's a brief body of mystifying music that shows the pure capability of the church organ before it got bastardised into playing only at weddings. Despite others like Camille Saint-Saens (particularly his Organ Smyphony) and Olivier Messiaen (his La nativite du seigneur suite) later having their own magical prowess, Bach's ability here to show exactly how the organ is quite possibly the only natural instrument that can voice almost all others is easily the most distinguishable to listeners worldwide from the work's opening mordent. Not only does it resonate like a tuba and carry like a flute, it also saws like a violin, and squeals like a trumpet. Ironically, these rich harmonics also make it one of the most difficult to control instruments; Bach doesn't seem to be affected by this, adding melodic accompaniment in places where it seemingly would be impossible to fit.
