Organ Music

resumo: A grand-opéra foi prenunciada por G. Rossini e Da-niel Auber e o modelo será progressivamente desenvolvido e afirmado por seus contemporâneos, principalmente Giacomo Meyerbeer e Halevy. O uso do órgão em cenas de igreja é um elemento diferenciador que atende as necessidades de varieda-de a esse modelo. O órgão tanto pode ser usado como simples instrumento icônico para o sagrado como instrumento ativo na orquestração. No período de transição da ópera italiana a grand-opéra é elemento fundamental das transformações do melodrama na Itália. Por meio de investigação documental e análise musical, verifica-se que Antônio Carlos Gomes, um dos atores privilegiadas desse período de transição, adota o modelo e faz uso do órgão em três de suas óperas: Fosca, Salvator Rosa e Colombo, utilizando linguagem muito similar ao proposto por Meyerbeer em Robert le Diable. Conclui-se que a análise das par-tes de órgão nas óperas de Gomes revela propriedade dramática em seu uso, tem escrita homofônica e contrapontística, escrita esta coerente com o uso que faz desse instrumento para atender as demandas dramáticas das cenas em que está presente. Palavras-chave: Antônio Carlos Gomes, órgão, ópera, musicologia abstract: Grand-opéra was foreshadowed by G. Rossini and Daniel Auber. This model will be developed and affirmed by his contemporaries, especially Giacomo Meyerbeer and Fromental Halevy. The use of the organ and scenes of church is a key di-1 Professor do

An organist by training and occupation, Christian Michael Wolff lived most of his life in the small Pomeranian town of Stettin (today, Szczecin in Poland), but a period spent in Berlin between 1728 and 1732 widened his horizons and brought his activity as a composer within the orbit of the so-called Berlin school, representative figures of which included the Graun brothers, J.J. Quantz and C.P.E. Bach. Four early orchestral works dating from the years around 1740 reveal Wolff’s skill and originality as a composer, displaying some attractive stylistic features that continued to characterize his music after his transition to a more empfindsam musical language in the 1760s. In the 1770s Wolff began—belatedly—to publish collections of his works. His accompanied sonatas (1776) and songs for voice and written-out keyboard accompaniment (1777) have received comment from modern scholars, who are struck and sometimes bemused by the music’s bold juxtaposition of conservative (Baroque, contrapuntal, structured) and progressive (Classical, homophonic, improvisatory) elements. Similar contrasts pervade the fifty-seven chorale preludes for organ making up Wolff’s final and most impressive publication (1782), which has been less kindly treated by modern commentators, resistant to his mixture within a single movement of features associated with different varieties of chorale prelude and unsympathetic towards his penchant for decorative chromaticism. The analysis and evaluation of that collection is the main business of this article, which seeks to pave the way for the wider appreciation and performance of Wolff’s highly individual music.
(For more information, contact mtalbot@liverpool.ac.uk)

<< Jean Adam Guilain (c. 1680 – after 1739) and his Pieces d’Orgue pour le Magnificat (1706) >> /
<< Жан Адам Гилен (ок. 1680 – после 1739) и его Органные пьесы на Магнификат (1706) >>

Au centre de cette série de publications — un grand compositeur d’orgue français, Jean Adam Guilain (ca. 1680 – après 1739). L’auteur s’intéresse aussi bien à la vie du compositeur au parcours mystérieux qu’à son seul recueil d’orgue qui nous est parvenu, Pieces d’Orgue pour le Magnificat sur les huit tons differens de l’Eglise (1706). Le Livre d’orgue de Jean Adam Guilain est analysé dans le contexte d’autres cycles d’orgue de l’époque.
L’article comporte quatre parties :
1) Jean Adam Guilain (ca. 1680 – après 1739) ;
2) Magnificat, présentation du genre ;
3) Pieces d’Orgue pour le Magnificat (1706) de Jean Adam Guilain ;
4) Les Suites d’orgue de Jean Adam Guilain dans le contexte de l’époque.
L’auteur met en évidence l’insuffisance des sources originales relatives à la vie et à l’œuvre de Jean Adam Guilain — compositeur, organiste et claveciniste français —, ainsi que leur caractère confus.
La deuxième partie de l’article est dédiée à l’analyse du Magnificat, dans le contexte d’autres textes religieux. L’auteur constate que les Magnificat écrits à l’époque Baroque française par les différents compositeurs, de Jean Titelouze (1626) à Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier (1784–1785) et Guillaume Lasceux (1785), sont marqués par un lyrisme profond et une éloquence brûlante, liés à leur programme originel.
En analysant les pièces des quatre Magnificat de Jean Adam Guilain, en leur rapport avec les strophes correspondants du texte latin, l’auteur s’interroge sur l’ordre des couplets musicaux dans la Suite du III Ton de Guilain. Cette analyse, en comparaison avec d’autres Magnificat de l’époque Baroque française, l’amène à conclure que l’ordre du 3e (Dialogue de Voix humaine) et du 5e (Duo) couplets, dans le manuscrit de la Suite du III Ton de Guilain, est inversé.
Dans la quatrième partie, l’auteur compare quatre Livres d’orgue, créés en France au début du XVIIIe siècle et appartenant à la plume de Louis Marchand (vers 1700), Jean Adam Guilain (1706), Pierre Du Mage (1708) et Louis Nicolas Clérambault (1710). Au cours de son analyse, il démontre une très grande unité de style dans la musique d’orgue Baroque française de cette époque. Le Tableau proposé à la fin de l’article illustre et consolide cette conclusion, mettant en évidence la ressemblance de la structure des cycles qui se traduit par une articulation similaire des registrations-genres.
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[ Abstract: ] This series of publications is devoted to a great French Baroque composer, Jean Adam Guilain (c. 1680 – after 1739). It contains for parts:
1) Jean Adam Guilain (c. 1680 – after 1739);
2) “Magnificat”, presentation of genre;
3) Jean Adam Guilain’s “Pieces d’Orgue pour le Magnificat” (1706);
4) Jean Adam Guilain’s “Organ Suites” in the context of their epoch.
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[ Аннотация: ] Данная серия публикаций посвящена французскому органному композитору Жану Адаму Гилену (ок. 1680 – после 1739). Она включает в себя четыре части:
1) Жан Адам Гилен (ок. 1680 – после 1739);
2) Магнификат, презентация жанра;
3) Органные пьесы на Магнификат (1706) Жана Адама Гилена;
4) Органные сюиты Жана Адама Гилена в контексте эпохи.

This is a Neo-Classical realization of Johannes Pachelbel's chorale fantasia on the hymn tune "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" (From Heaven Above to Earth I Come). The opening fugue has remain mostly intact from the original with only a few embellishments and additions. The cantus firmus fantasia, however, is far more contrapuntally adventurous as compared to the original.

La produzione per tastiera di Bertoldo conosce postuma la via delle stampe. Nel 1591 l’editore veneziano Giacomo Vincenti pubblica dapprima un volume contenente quattro canzoni “alla francese”, poi nello stesso anno una seconda raccolta che comprende due toccate, tre ricercari e una canzone “alla francese”, opera dell’organista del Duomo di Padova. Queste dieci composizioni rappresentano la produzione per tastiera di Bertoldo oggi conservata, di cui le stampe di Vincenti costituiscono la principale fonte.

Reviews:
- The Organ 94 (May/July 2015), p. 52–53 (John Collins).
- The Diapason 106/9 (September 2015), p. 17–18 (John Collins).

Though far from neglected by modern research, the interpretation of the so-called stylus phantasticus still appears elusive. While it obviously played an important role in North German music of the second half of the seventeenth century, a precise assessment of its function and significance proved problematical thus far. A renewed interpretation of the – strikingly few and in part contradictory – theoretical elucidations in connection with both the background of the Humanist ‘fantasia’ as well as the specific historic position of the (small) circle which formed the principal recipient of the stylus phantasticus leads to an interpretation which differs significantly from previous views. The term, in all likelihood coined by Johann Jakob Froberger, was decidedly retrospective in character and intent. In the circle of Hamburg organists it was however anachronistically adopted for the theoretical foundation of part of their music. Here it flourished as a compositional method for multi-section instrumental pieces (mostly for keyboard), in which the traditional concept of a rhetorical forma plays a key role. Finally, these new insights are applied to a specific work, namely Dieterich Buxtehude’s Praeludium in G minor (BuxWV 163).

This work studies a a set of violin chamber pieces coppied in an organ manuscript form the late 17th century conserved nowadays in the Catalonia National Library. Among the almost 500 organ compositions, mostly by Joan cabanilles, there is a set of seven instrumental works for two and three voices associated with the Roman composer Francesco Foggia (1604-1688).

Programme of the concluding concert of the international conference "Affrancati dal ghetto: la musica sacra dell’ebraismo italiano tra emancipazione e assimilazione, dalla seconda metà dell’Ottocento alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale" that took place in Venice (Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi and Conservatorio di Musica "B. Marcello", Venice) on 12-13 December 2016

В статье освещается деятельность Михаила Леонидовича Старокадомского (1901-1954) как профессионального органиста. Публикуются документы из фонда Старокадомского в РГАЛИ (Москва): материалы его стажировки в Италии, Франции и Германии в 1927 году, статья  1928 года, программы выступлений.

Michail Leonidovitch Starokadomsky (1901-1954), the Soviet composer famous mainly for his songs, was a professional organist, pupil of Alexander Goedicke, friend of Günter Ramin, author of a significant Concert for organ ad orchestra (1934). The article is based on the materials from Starokadomsky's archive in the RGALI, many of them are published here for the first time.

<< Youri Boutsko and his Second Great Organ Notebook >>

Au centre de l’article — le Deuxième Grand cahier d’Orgue : Images russes, Tableaux, Légendes, Histoires véridiques et invraisemblables de Youri Boutsko (1938–2015), une œuvre majeure dans la littérature d’orgue contemporaine. Ce cycle, composé de neuf pièces, a été écrit par Youri Boutsko en 2010 et dédiée à Marina Tchebourkina.
L’article comporte quatre parties :
1) Youri Boutsko (1938–2015) : héritage et langage musical ;
2) L’orgue dans la création musicale de Youri Boutsko ;
3) Deuxième Grand cahier d’Orgue : titres et programme ;
4) Le Deuxième Grand cahier d’Orgue de Youri Boutsko, présentation de l’œuvre.
L’article présente une analyse polyvalente et détaillée du cycle (images, harmonie, forme musicale…) dans le contexte d’autres pièces d’orgue du compositeur. L’auteur démontre que le Deuxième Grand cahier d’Orgue — qui constitue la dernière œuvre de Youri Boutsko — se lit comme la conclusion non seulement de toute son œuvre, mais aussi de toute sa vie.
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The article is devoted to a major work of contemporary Organ music, the “Second Great Organ Notebook: Russian Images, Pictures, Legends, True and Unbelievable Stories” accomplished by the great Russian composer Youri Boutsko (1938–2015). Composed in 2010, the “Second Great Organ Notebook” is Youri Boutsko’s last work; the composer devoted it to Marina Tchebourkina.
The article includes four parts:
1) Youri Boutsko (1938–2015): heritage and musical language;
2) The Organ in the creative activity of Youri Boutsko;
3) Youri Boutsko’s “Second Great Organ Notebook”;
4) “Second Great Organ Notebook”: titles and programme.
The author offers a complete analysis (conception and images, harmony and musical form) of the “Second Great Organ Notebook” in the context of the composer’s organ work. He reveals that this cycle has a character of a conclusion not only of all Youri Boutsko’s creative activity, but also of all his life.

The article challenges Christoph Bossert’s theory on the third part of Johann Sebastian Bach’s "Clavier Übung". The introduction summarises Umberto Eco’s remarks on overinterpretation and the rule of sympathy, which is characteristic for the hermetic tradition and esoteric epistemology. The article proves that in his reasoning, Bossert makes use of this rule, which leads to the conclusion that his findings can hardly be considered a worth-while scholarly theory.

This article explores Handel's approximately 20 variation sets as a group. including works for solo keyboard, chamber ensemble, and orchestra, as well as organ concertos vocal works.  Spanning the greater part of his career, these works comprise both self-standing pieces and movements within multi-movement cycles.  While most fall broadly within the categories of either sectional or ostinato structures, detailed analysis shows that these works exhibit a myriad of thematic and formal strategies.  Particular attention is placed on Handel's significant contributions to the use of variation form in solo concertos, especially for allowing the orchestra to take the lead in presenting a new variation (a feature until then more commonly reserved for passages with an independent part for the soloist).  Published in Händel-Jahrbuch 54 (2008): 345-378.

<< Youri Boutsko’s “Second Great Organ notebook” (2010): a “Swan Song” >>

Статья посвящена анализу Второй Большой Органной тетради (2010) выдающегося российского композитора Юрия Буцко (1938–2015). Выступая одновременно в роли музыковеда и концертного органиста, которому посвящено данное сочинение, автор предлагает разносторонний анализ Второй Большой Органной тетради (образность и содержание, гармония и форма), преломленный через призму личных впечатлений и воспоминаний.
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The article is devoted to analysis of the “Second Great Organ notebook” written in 2010 by the great Russian composer Youri Boutsko (1938–2015). The author, who has a double role of musicologist and concert organist to whom this “Second Great Organ notebook” was dedicated, presents its complete analysis (conception and images, harmony and musical form), completed by her personal impressions and memories.

See:

Nuove prospettive sul contesto editoriale delle Canzoni d'intavolatura d'organo – Libro primo (1592) di Claudio Merulo. – In: Recercare 20 (2008), pp. 117-141

Claudio Merulo : Canzoni d'intavolatura d'organo a quattro voci, fatte alla francese (Venezia 1592). Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 2009

<< The French Baroque Organ Art: Musique, Organ building, Interpretation / Habilitation thesis in Science of the Arts; specialisation: Musical Art >>

Thesis was defended in 2013 before the Scientific Council of Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, with attribution of the scientific degree of Habilitated Doctor in Science of the Arts (“Doktor nauk / Doktor iskusstvovedenia”), specialisation: Musical Art.

<< About some aspects of Olivier Messiaen’s organ work >>

В статье определяется роль религиозной образности органной музыки Оливье Мессиана (1908–1992) как основы её программности, анализируется её взаимосвязь с художественными и философскими тенденциями эпохи, определяется место органной музыки Мессиана в контексте его творчества в целом и выявляется её эволюция.

Published in: Anuario Musical 50 (1995), pp. 75-85. || ABSTRACT: José Elías (c.1687-after 1755), probably the most outstanding of Joan Cabanilles’s followers and pupils, began his career as organist in Barcelona. The weight of his reputation rests principally on his experiments in tonal writing and design, which had a great influence on Antonio Soler who claimed that as a student he had learnt 24 pieces by Elías in all the major and minor keys. He is especially renowned for his ‘Obras de Organo, entre el Antiguo y Moderno estilo’ (1749), written during his time as organist at the Royal Descalzas Reales Convent in Madrid, but much other music by him survives.
This article discusses a collection of  ‘Pange lingua’ settings for organ by Elías (dated 1729) preserved in a fascicle in Montserrat, which are still unpublished. They demonstrate stylistic elements and figuration associated with keyboard sonatas, and include important insight into organ registration practices in 18th-century Catalonia.

Location: Protest Music in the Twentieth Century, International Conference at Lucca, Complesso monumentale di San Micheletto, Italy
Date: 15-17 November 2013

Location: Remembering Heinrich Bewerunge: Perspectives on 150 Years of Church Music, MUI Maynooth and Maynooth College, Ireland

Date: 6-7 December 2012

The chorale partita, a quintessentially Thuringian genre, was cultivated by Bach only in his youth. While modelling his partitas after the imaginative examples of Georg Böhm, Bach was keen on forming convincing variation cycles with, above all, a substantial 'finale'. However, the fact that the chorale partita is constructed from short movements as well as the dichotomy harpsichord/organ present in this genre proved irreconcilable with his ever developing sense of form and instrumental differentiation. He therefore abandoned the chorale partita altogether as early as c.1712.

Bach's chorale fughetta's BWV 696-699 and 701-704, which have been preserved solely in posthumous sources, have been hitherto much neglected. Because of their miniature format and writing for manuals only, they are usually relegated to an early period. The authenticity of Das Jesulein soll doch mein Trost BWV 702, has moreover always been questioned. However, closer scrutiny reveals that there is no reason to doubt Bach's authorship of this fughetta too. The eight pieces moreover form a liturgical cycle from Advent to New Year. Their highly condensed contrapuntal language shows all the hallmarks of Bach's late Leipzig keyboard style, and a comparison with the fughettas from Clavierübung III (1739) demonstrates that the Eight Chorale Fughettas must postdate these and thus appear to belong to Bach's Spätwerk of the 1740s.