Organ repertoire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Because the organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in existence, written organ repertoire spans a time period almost as long as that of written music itself. Because the organ was found almost exclusively in the western churches from the Middle Ages until the emergence in the Romantic era of large concert hall instruments, a significant portion of organ repertoire is sacred in nature. Thus, most organ music comes from Western Europe and North America; because the eastern religions (such as the Eastern Orthodox Church) did not use any instruments in their worship. Owing to the age of the instrument and its frequent use in Western worship, the organ has the largest written repertoire of any musical instrument.
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[edit] Renaissance
The earliest surviving organ compositions are from Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, which shared a common style due to musicians travelling among the three countries.
Early English keyboard music (1550-1650) was not instrument specific and was composed mainly for the harpsichord and virginal, c.f. Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Tumult in the English church resulted in waxing and waning interest in organ literature, and varying styles.
[edit] Baroque
[edit] France
In France, baroque organ music (referred to as French classical music, despite being from the Baroque period) was almost exclusively liturgical in nature and composed and performed in a very systemized manner. In addition, the organs were built along standardized lines. The compositions were smaller scale compared with those in other countries. Some of the forms (the Plein jeu, the Récit de Cromorne, and the Tierce en Taille, for example) utilized almost no counterpoint, while others (the Duo, the Trio, and the Fugue) were contrapuntal in nature (though the counterpoint was never as sophisticated or complex as in Germany and Austria).
[edit] England
English composers John Stanley and William Boyce wrote a number of important works at this time, as of course did Handel.
[edit] Germany
In Germany and Austria, baroque organ music utilized increasing amounts of counterpoint. The primary musical forms for organ music in the baroque period were the Praeludium (roughly, prelude) and the Choralvorspiel (chorale prelude). The praeludium began as a simple piece in a relatively free form, but over time it evolved into the sophisticated form seen in the works of Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Pachelbel, Georg Böhm, and Nikolaus Bruhns. Praeludia in this form consisted of alternating sections of free material (written in the stylus phantasticus) and fugal material. The chorale prelude was a smaller-scale piece based on a chorale melody. Some chorale-based pieces were of a much larger scale, and these were called Choralfantasien (chorale fantasias). Baroque organ music reached its height in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach wrote a few praeludia after the manner of Buxtehude and Pachelbel, but the majority of his free works consisted of two parts: a prelude and a fugue. He also wrote many chorale preludes.
At this time literature with a required pedal part became common in north Germany. Earlier music utilized either a pedal point or had no pedal part at all. Many instruments built prior to the classical era lacked a separate pedal division, with the larger instruments in northern Germany and Austria being the exception.
[edit] Classical era
The great composers of the classical era wrote sparingly if at all for the organ: Haydn wrote only for clockwork organs, and Beethoven and Mozart wrote only a handful of works. The classical style relied upon expressive control, both in dynamics and tone color, and until the end of the classical era the organ lacked the facilities for this kind of expression.
English composers John Stanley and William Boyce wrote a number of important works at this time.
[edit] Romantic era
[edit] France
During the Romantic era, technological advances allowed new features to be added to the organ, increasing its potential for expression. The work of the French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in particular represented a great leap in organ building. Cavaillé-Coll refined the English swell box by devising a spring-loaded (later balanced) pedal with which the organist could operate the swell shutters. He invented an ingenious pneumatic combination action system for his five-manual organ at Saint-Sulpice. He adjusted pipemaking and voicing techniques, thus creating a whole family of stops imitating orchestral instruments such as the bassoon, the oboe, and the flute. He introduced divided windchests which were controlled by ventils, allowing for the use of higher wind pressures. Higher wind pressures allowed for the organ to include many more stops of 8' (unison) pitch in every division. For a mechanical tracker action to operate under these higher wind pressures, pneumatic assistance provided by the Barker lever was required, which Cavaillé-Coll included in his larger instruments. This pneumatic assist made it possible to couple all the manuals together and play on the full organ without expending a great deal of effort. All these innovations allowed the organist to execute a seamless crescendo from pianissimo all the way to fortissimo: something that had never before been possible by the organ. Composers were now able to write music for the organ which mirrored that played by the symphony orchestra. For this reason, both the organs and the literature of this time period are considered symphonic.
César Franck, Charles-Marie Widor, and Félix-Alexandre Guilmant were important organist-composers who were inspired by the sounds made possible through Cavaillé-Coll's advances in organ building. They wrote extensively for the organ, and their works have endured. A particularly important form of organ composition in the Romantic era was the organ symphony, first seen in César Franck's Grand pièce symphonique and refined in the ten symphonies of Widor and the six of Louis Vierne. The organ symphony, comprising several movements, paralleled symphonies written for the orchestra. Guilmant wrote several compositions similar to organ symphonies; however, preferring to remain in the classical mold, he called them sonatas. In addition to organ symphonies, composers of the day wrote in other forms: Franck wrote eleven other major organ works, including the Prélude, Fugue et Variation and the Trois Chorals; Widor wrote a Suite Latine on various plainsong tunes; Vierne composed 24 pièces de fantaisie, of which the Carillon de Westminster is perhaps the most well-known. The influence of these composers has persisted through generations of composers for the organ through history, all the way to the modern-day composers Olivier Messiaen and Naji Hakim.
[edit] Germany
In Germany, Felix Mendelssohn wrote extensively for the organ. Josef Rheinberger wrote a number of important works that blend the romantic style with the contrapuntal complexity of the old German masters. Some composers best known for their compositions for piano or orchestra also turned their efforts to the organ, including Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms.
[edit] United States
In the United States, Dudley Buck was a prominent composer, although his work has remained largely unknown outside of the U.S.
During this time, transcriptions of other music -usually orchestral music or piano solos— for organ became popular. Often the transcriptions would utilize only an excerpt of the original piece.
[edit] 20th century
During the 20th century, there were a number of independent trends in organ repertoire:
- Organ works were composed in a style similar to 20th century orchestral music. Composers include: Marcel Dupre, Helmut Walcha, John Cage, Gyorgy Ligeti; towering over everyone else is Olivier Messiaen.
- The theater organ achieved a brief period of prominence from about 1900-1935, and had its own repertoire
- The Hammond organ was used in jazz, popular music and rock, especially from about 1950-1975.
- There was an evangelical organ style derived in part from the southern gospel movement, with composers including Fred Bock, Lani Smith, and Harold De Cou
- Transcriptions of previous works, and improvisations based on hymn tunes, continued to be written in a fairly traditional style by organist-composers such as Searle Wright, Dale Wood and E. Power Biggs.
