Ok so if there is anyone out there looking for a really fun and easy piece to learn, this is it. Toccata Brevis by Daniel E. Gawthrop. This short toccata in the French style makes a fantastic recital piece or postlude at church on a Sunday morning. The real beauty of this piece is that it is written to be easier than it looks and sounds. The manuals play almost the exact same thing the whole time, going between major and minor with a few transitional sections for variety. The theme in the pedals is memorable and easy to execute. The score even marks in pedaling to make things easier.
This piece, written in the 80's is Gawthrop's first serious organ work. Unfortunately, neither he nor his music seems to be known very well. However, people do like this toccata. As a matter of fact I played it in a recital just this week and got a wonderful response from it! Since it's such a short and simple piece, there isn't much else to say about it. I'll post my YouTube recording below. It's not my best since I had limited time on the organ, but it's fine. I recommend that everyone learns it. It's cheap to buy, satisfying to play, requires little practice to play, and people love it. Isn't that everything an organists looks for in music??
So, I'm gonne take a step back a few decades for this next piece: Ballade in D by Joseph W. Clokey.
I get mixed reactions from people on this piece. Some have liked it and thought it very beautiful (like myself) and others found it sort of boring and out-dated. Clokey was a big church composer during the 50s. Everybody was singing his music at the time. However, he quickly went out of style. It's sort of understandable why, too. His music, especially this Ballade, has an older sound to it. Nobody really plays his organ music anymore and probably for that very reason. Very little of his music is still published. I think maybe only a few choral anthems are left. I only came across this piece because my former organ teacher played it and I loved it so he gave me a photocopy of his and that's what I learned it from. I've been able to track down some of his other music through the inter-library loan at my college, but even I don't particularly care for most of it. There is however one book I do own (also out of print) of thirty-five hymn tune arrangements that was written by Clokey that I think is good. There are some nice little gems in there and great for church use. I think there is one used copy left on Amazon. There were two, but I bought the second...
Anyway, the Ballade in D is a very beautiful piece, especially on a nice organ with lush sounds. It begins with a very serene and calming chorale theme that builds up to a dramatic climax in the middle of the piece and then dies back down to a restatement of the chorale. Technically, the piece isn't too demanding, though the middle is a little tricky in places. I really think it's a worthwhile piece to learn and would be a nice addition to a recital program.
Once again, since the piece is out of print I can send a pdf to anyone who is interested in learning it! Also, below I'll put my recording of the piece. I'm curious to hear peoples thoughts on the piece!
Oh and a fun fact about Joseph Clokey. His adopted son, Art Clokey, was the creator of the TV show Gumby! He (Art) was also the voice of Pokey. =)
It's been a while, but I'm back! I've been working on some fun rep in my absence. This next piece is for pedal solo, titled Fantasie-Choral sur l'hymne de Saint John by Joseph Reveyron (1917-2005). If you're looking for a good piece to help improve your pedal technique I'd recommend this. It's short, only two pages and mostly in double pedal lines.
The piece starts out with a very savage and chromatic introduction that gets references in later interludes. Following this brief introduction the first theme gets introduced in the right foot while the left foot plays a continuous, machine-like, pattern of sixteenth notes. Then the second chant theme takes over in the right foot with the left foot repeating the same pattern. Upon first look at the score it seems very daunting (at least it did for me), but I assure you it's not as bad as it looks. Though it will present a bit of a challenge. Thankfully though, Reveyron included pedaling for almost every note in the piece!
After the chant has been stated, we get a condensed one bar reference of the introduction (I have been unable to track down the origin or text of the chant). The rest of the piece continues this way. Alternating between this very machine-like motive with the chant and the wild and savage references of the introduction. It's like it has multiple personalities and the crazy side keeps rearing its head, only to be quickly silenced. Very Jackal and Hyde.
I also noticed something interesting about one of the main motivic figures. Throughout the piece there is a leap up of a fifth and then a half-step down. (Ex. C-G-F#) This is the same motive that Langlais uses in the Epilogue movement from his Hommage à Frescobaldi, also a pedal solo. This could be coincidence, but interesting anyway.
Another interesting, but more personal fact. The piece is dedicated to a Monsieur John Sanderson. As it turns out, Mr. Sanderson was the husband of my organ teachers accounting teacher when he was in high school! Small world! I just wanted to throw that out there.
Anyway, as far as I know there are no commercial recordings of the piece nor any on YouTube other than my own, so once again I'll post mine below. I had a lot of fun with it and learned it pretty quickly in about a week, so I encourage others to do so as well!
Also, for those of you interested in the score. It is available in a collection of pedal etudes by contemporary composers called Pedals Only; published by Universal Edition. Unfortunately, it's a bit pricy ($37.95) and to be honest many of the pieces are extremely difficult. Definitely nothing in there for a beginner organist, but I still think it's a fascinating book. Below is the link to where you can buy it on SheetMusicPlus. Enjoy!
