November 4, 2007 Concert Notes
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897): The Academic Festival Overture
In 1879 Breslau University conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy on Brahms and
in return he composed this lively overture based on four student songs. The
best known of these is ‘Gaudeamus igitur’, but Brahms holds back from using
the theme till it appears as the stirring finale.
Arrangements of orchestral works for the organ has a long history stretching
back to Bach’s own Vivaldi concerto arrangements. Edwin Lemare, the
arranger, is fairly faithful to the original, though Christopher Herrick has
corrected a few small harmonic errors. Lemare’s decision to cut 46 bars near
the end has not been changed as it helps the piece to sweep forward rather
effectively to its final climax.
Iain Farrington (b. 1977): Stride Dance, Song and Fast Dance from Fiesta!
Educated at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar, Iain
Farrington is among the leading organist-composers of his generation, as
well as having a formidable reputation as a solo and accompanying pianist.
These three short but strikingly brilliant pieces are from a seven-movement
suite for organ entitled ‘Fiesta!’ The first movement of this suite,
‘Celebration’, was a birthday present from the composer to Christopher
Herrick, and the ‘Stride Dance’ and the ‘Fast Dance’ are in the same
exuberant mood.
‘Stride Dance’ has an edgy, jazzy but dangerously unpredictable rhythmic
pulse. The foot wants to tap but tends to misplace the beat in a
delightfully intriguing way. ‘Song’ is more relaxed, with an ornamented
melody soaring gently over a rich harmonic texture, underpinned by a
stomping bass. A smoke filled jazz cellar is evoked. If ‘Fast Dance’ is a
dance it is a virtuoso dance for the fingers, joined near the end by the
feet. Only an ace dance company could come near to doing it justice!
Louis Vierne (1870 – 1937): Carillon de Westminster
Vierne was organist of Notre Dame from 1900, having been a pupil of Widor
and César Franck. His main organ works are the six Symphonies, the 24 Pieces
in Free Style and the 24 Fantasy Pieces. The Carillon de Westminster comes
from this last collection and is a celebration of the Big Ben chimes
(slightly incorrectly transcribed) in a long crescendo from a distant echo
through to a grand tintinnabulation. It was dedicated to the famous English
organ builder, Henry Willis.
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 – 1707)
Buxtehude was organist first in Helsingborg, at the time a Danish town and
now Swedish. He crossed the narrow strait to Helsingør for his next job,
which is definitely still a Danish town. But it was with the move to Lübeck
in Germany that he finally became settled for the next 38 years. He did all
the usual things connected with his post as organist, but he also reinstated
his predecessor’s spiritual concerts on five Sunday afternoons in the year,
called Abendmusik, at which he performed extended oratorios.
His considerable output of original and inspired organ music is perhaps his
best known legacy, partly because of the well known four week visit paid by
the young Bach to study his organ playing which turned into sixteen weeks,
getting Bach into a lot of trouble when he returned home.
Bach will have learnt from Buxtehude’s use of the pedals as an equal partner
in the musical texture and he must also have been greatly impressed by the
range of compositional techniques employed by the great man, often within
the space of one piece.
It must be emphasised that Buxtehude was not a stone age forerunner of Bach,
but a fully fledged brilliant and expressive composer in his own right.
While we tend to idolise Bach in modern times, it is refreshing to
experience other voices who have a huge amount to offer and enchant us. What
better time than his 300th Anniversary year to open our ears to Dietrich
Buxtehude’s organ music?
Petr Eben (1929 -): Hommage à Buxtehude
Petr Eben studied at the Prague Academy and later taught at the Charles
University. He is particularly well respected for his large output of
colourful and dramatic organ music. In 1987 Eben was asked by the
Schleswig-Holstein Festival to write a piece for the 350th Anniversary of
Buxtehude’s birth.
Using themes from two well-known Buxtehude organ pieces, the fanfare-like
pedal solo from the Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne in C and the fugue theme in
his G minor Prelude and Fugue, Eben has composed a disciplined and
delightful work in North German toccata form:
toccata-fugue-toccata-fugue-toccata. The piece sweeps forward in a
gloriously logical manner and with a great sense of joie de vivre.
George Shearing (b. 1919): Amazing Grace
A blind pianist born in poor circumstances in Battersea, London, George
Shearing rose to greater and greater fame as a jazz musician particularly
through his BBC radio appearances. In 1947 he moved to the USA, recording
for MGM, appearing frequently on TV and even playing with some of the major
American symphony orchestras.
A set of variations on early American hymn tunes, including this piece, were
arranged for organ by the composer with help from his editor, Dale Wood, who
was also an organist. Shearing would stand over Mr Wood making suggestions
such as soloing out lines, or indicating a warmer registration, full organ,
soft célestes or a brighter nazard! The organist has a pretty free hand to
bring out the spirit of these variations on ‘Amazing Grace’ to maximise
their effect.
Mons Leidvin Takle (b. 1942): Festmusikk
Based in Kristiansand, Norway, Takle is an organist-composer who studied in
Stockholm, Copenhagen, Chicago and New York. Festmusikk is the last piece in
a collection called Våg å leve (Dare to live), a set of very extrovert, no
holds barred, somewhat over the top compositions.
Intermission
George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1759): Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
This is an arrangement of an orchestral Sinfonia from Handel’s Oratorio
‘Solomon’. Arrangements of this sort have an honoured history - Bach
arranged many Vivaldi Concertos for the organ. In fact it was quite normal
for Baroque composers to rearrange their own music for different purposes.
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio was culled almost exclusively from various secular
Cantatas. Handel borrowed from himself all the time.
The concertante style of this well known and popular piece is particularly
effective on the organ with the contrast of full orchestra (ripieno) against
the solo group being mirrored on the organ by the change from one keyboard
to another.
Marcel Dupré (1889 – 1971): Prelude and Fugue in G minor
Marcel Dupré became one of the best-known organists in the world. He studied
with Guilmant and Widor and he succeeded Widor in 1934 as organist of Saint-Sulpice
in Paris nearly thirty years after becoming his assistant there. Dupré was
organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire and then Director. He had gained
the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1914, but the War prevented his taking up
the award. Instead, he occupied himself with the composition of three
preludes and fugues. They were published soon after the War and remain
Dupré’s finest contribution to the organ repertory.
The Prelude and Fugue in G minor is the most frequently heard. Against a
lively-spinning movement on the manuals, the pedals sing out the main theme
of the Prelude in long notes. Later, when this tune is quietly harmonised in
seven parts, the player’s right hand supplies four, and – by an almost
acrobatic process – his feet the remaining three voices, while the left hand
continues the spinning. The strongly rhythmic Fugue in six-eight time
ingeniously introduces the tune of the Prelude, presenting it finally as a
chorale between two stretti that goad the piece to its last three chords.
J. S. Bach (1685 – 1750): Trio Sonata No. 4 in E minor [BWV 528]
‘Bach produced them for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, so that he could
prepare himself to be the great organist he later became. One cannot praise
their beauty too highly. They date from the years of the composer’s fullest
maturity…’ This description of the Six Trio Sonatas by Bach’s biographer
Forkel was written more than fifty years after the composer’s death, but
there is no reason to doubt its accuracy.
The sonatas represent Bach at his most human and relaxed. This is real
chamber music for the organ, each of the three voices requiring its own
nuances of phrasing, articulation and musical projection.
The vivace movement of Trio Sonata No. 4, which follows directly from the
brief slow introduction, was originally scored for oboe d’amore and viola da
gamba over a continuo bass in one of Bach’s numerous cantatas. Similar
earlier versions exist of the beautiful andante and the opening passage of
the vigorous dance like poco allegro.
Luigi Boccherini (1743 – 1805): Minuet
This minuet must be easily the best known piece by this rather obscure
Italian composer and cellist. After studying in Rome he moved around from
Vienna to Paris, to Madrid, and even to the Prussian Court with his chamber
ensembles. He wrote and played over 120 string quintets, 100 string
quartets, and 100 other chamber music pieces. Twenty symphonies and a number
of virtuoso cello concerti complete the list.
Marcel Lanquetuit (1894 – 1985): Toccata in D
Dupré, at the age of fifteen, taught his first organ pupil, Marcel
Lanquetuit, who was later to become his assistant at St..Sulpice in Paris.
This typical French toccata has busy jostling chordal passagework in the
hands, set against the theme which is heard either in the pedals or singing
through in a higher voice. The piece is dedicated to Dupré’s father.