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!
Saturnus (or Saturn) is from a suite of seven piece for organ titled "The Planets" by the modern Danish composer Bent Lorentzen. And just to be clear it's not a setting of Holst's planets, this is an entirely new one. It's also not on the planets as we know them. The piece in order are as follows:
Sol (Sun)
Luna (Moon)
Mars
Mercurius (Mercury)
Jupiter
Venus
Saturnus (Saturn)
In the cover page Lorentzen says that the pieces may be played as a suite (which takes about an hour) or performed separately. He also gives an explanation on why he used the Sun and the Moon as planets and didn't use others.
"It may seem strange that the Sun and the Moon are included here with the planets proper (and Pluto and Neptune are not), but the explanation is straightforward: my notion of the planets is based not upon present day astronomical science and knowledge, but rather on ancient conceptions of the firmament: the Earth being the centre of the Universe and the known "planets" of medieval astronomy orbiting the Earth.
The sequence of the titles reflects the progression of the days of the week." - Bent Lorentzen
Being that I've only played Saturnus that is the one I'll blog about. It's broken into three primary segments.
It's amazing what Lorentzen does with this piece, it truly sounds like Saturn. I don't know how, but it does. The piece starts out in 7/8 so it gives it that odd rhythm and right off the bat he gives us 9 large tone-cluster chords. Then that suddenly stops and we have this celestial sounding rhythm in the pedal. There is no registration marked, but on the recording and when I played it I use an 8' trumpet stop if I remember correctly. The lefthand meanwhile is holding down long sustained chords and the right hand throws in little chromatic passages here and there. It makes a wonderful effect.
(I apologize, the score is too big for my scanner and I had to cut the end off)
The second section is in 7/16, 13/16, 2/4, 7/8, and 4/4 rhythm. The right hand has a bouncy 6th and three 8th notes while the left hand has long sustained pitches. There's no pedal in this section. I think this was actually the hardest part of the piece for me when I learned it. Just trying to maintain and equal rhythm was a pain.
The third section and climax of the piece is the most fun to play. The hands play alternating fff chords on the manuals and the pedal has the sustained melody notes now from the left hand on the previous page. Again the tricky part is the rhythm again. This continues until the end when he writes out long sustained dissonant chords that end on a wonderfully dissonant chord that sums up the whole piece perfectly.
There is a complete recording of The Planets by the organist Jens E. Christiansen (to whom the piece was dedicated). I'll put a link below.
There used to be a YouTube channel with recordings of all the Planets, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Maybe it has been taken down, but if someone finds it I will post it. I recommend listening to all of them. Since I can't find another though, I'll post a recording of me playing Saturnus last year.
You can get some of the scores I think from sheetmusicplus.com, but I know that musicroom.com has all of them. Warning though! Some of them are ridiculously hard, while others, like Saturnus, are on the more mild side. And unfortunately, they don't come as a set and you must buy each one individually.
Here we have another beautiful, not often heard, gem by one of my favorite composers, Mr. Marcel Dupré.
"Te lucis ante terminum" is the fifth piece in the collection of Sixteen Chorales otherwise known as Le Tombeau de Titelouze. Titelouze was born in Saint-Omer, France in 1563. In 1586 he was appointed organist of St. John in Rouen and appointed organist of the Cathedral in Rouen in 1588 where he was promoted a Canon. He died on October 25, 1633. He left only a few compositions. Two sets of Versets on 12 hymns and on a Magnificat in the 8 modes.
When Dupré visited Titelouze's grave he was inspired to write this collection based off of some of the same hymns Titelouze used as a tribute. Dupré himself writes in the cover of the book: "This Book, intended for students, includes 16 Chorales which are based on liturgical Hymns of which Titelouze has used eight. The Chorales which have been fingered succeed each other in a progressive order of difficulty..."
It's a shame this set of music isn't heard more often. His chorale on Ave Maris Stella (No. 11) and toccata on Placare Christe servulis (No. 16) are two of my other favorites, but I'm going to focus on Te lucis ante terminum because it is my favorite of all and the one I'm currently working on.
As the title says, this piece is meant to be played during the evening at Compline. Dupré does an outstanding job with this piece. (No surprise there) As you can see from the score the Cornet solos out the chant while the Salicional gives a beautiful and luscious harmony beneath. It is truly a moving a experience if you get an opportunity to play this piece in a resonant space in the evening. The atmosphere that this piece will create is just stunning. It was a true joy to learn. And in case you're interested here's the chant it's based off of below. It's on page 267 of the Liber Usualis. I'll also attach a recording.
Being that it is only number 5 in the collection out of 16, Dupré hasn't made it terribly difficult. The solo in the right hand is never more than a single note at a time so it's very straightforward. Even the pedal is pretty simple, especially at the slow tempo. The biggest challenge is the left hand. And thank God, Dupré has give us fingering for each and every note. It's a true blessing. It makes it a lot easier. Even with that though, the substitution and fingers crossing over one another is a bit tricky, but ends up fitting nicely under the hands with a little bit of practice. If someone is looking for some relatively easy Dupré to play, but wants something with a little more substance than his 79 chorale preludes, I would recommend this.
As for a recording, this is also on John Scott's two disk set of Dupré organ music which I mentioned in an early post on Dupré's Deux Esquisses. It is a beautiful interpretation. However, it's not on YouTube, so I'll post my own below. I hope you enjoy it and that someone takes the time to learn this piece.
Also, the score. It used to be printed by H.W. Gray with the English translations of the Latin hymn texts in it. That's the edition I posted above. Unfortunately, it is long out of print, but is still published by Alphonse Leduc (at a much higher price) and has French translations instead of English. I'll post a link below.
My next piece is yet another gem. Variations sur un Noël Bourguignon by André Fleury (1903 - 1995). Fleury studied with Gigout at the Paris Conservatory and was titular organist at the Dijon Cathedral as well as a professor and the Dijon Conservatory. Unfortunately, many of his works remain unpublished, but fortunately this one isn't one of them.
This is a great set of Christmas variations for any organist and much easier than something like Dupré's Variations on a Noel. It's not terribly difficult and all of the variations are fairly short.
Obviously, the piece starts out with the theme, in 6/8 played on the 8' and 4' foundations. It's a beautiful melody and Fleury harmonizes it wonderfully.
Following the theme is the first variation, a nice little duo for an 8' Bourdon and another 8' Bourdon with a Nasard.
The third variations reminds me of the second variation from Dupre's variations. In the left hand the theme is now played on an 8' trumpet, in 4/4 time now with the pedal harmonizing in simple quarter in half notes with the 16' and 8' foundations. The left hand is the tricky part though, with it's ascending and descending thirds. However, once you get proper fingering for the thirds it shapes up quickly.
The fourth variation is the most beautiful in my opinion. It has a very mysterious and underwater sort of feeling for me. Probably because of the celeste and bourdon together. It also gave me the hardest time! Back in 6/8 now, the theme is played in the pedal coupled to the swell/recit and on soft 16' and 8' foundations (a nice 32' works great too!). The pedal is the easy part though. In the manuals there is an accompanying figure of triplet fourths and sixths in the left hand and mostly duplet fourths, fifths, and thirds in the right hand. I always have a hard time with two against three, so that's why this variation posed the biggest issue for me. I also like to use the expression pedal a bit too. Even though it's not written in the score, I think that it works very nicely in the variation.
The fourth variations is a cool little trio between a cornet, a cromorne, and an 8' flute in the pedal. Not too difficult and really not much else to say.
The fifth variation is a little more difficult, (At least it was for me) but one of the most fun to play. The entire variation is staccato chords and a very sparse pedal line. It always reminds me of snow falling. It's a bit tricky, but nothing a little bit of practice can't cure!
Now in 5/8, the sixth variation is very lush and warm sounding. It reminds of me a sunny day. Only the organ's 8' foundations are used in this variation. Maybe now the sun is coming out and snow has stopped falling?
The finale comes to us now in the form of a fugue. I think I spent more time on this variation than any other; even the third. I still never felt like I got it right either. Fortunately it's a short fugue though so it's not too bad. Though, as with any fugue, there was some tricky spots to finger. I think that page is the most marked in my score. There are fingerings and pedaling everywhere.
Anyway, the fugue builds up to a wonderful climax and then the theme is restated, but in a much bigger and bolder fashion, thus concluding the piece.
So, there you have all the variations. As far as recordings go. There is one commercial recording I know of. That is by my teacher and concert organist, Ken Cowan. Unfortunately, the disk is out of print and only used copies are available.
Fortunately, I myself have learned the piece and I'll post my recording on YouTube below. It's not the best, but it'll do for now. I hope you enjoy it!
Also, if anyone wants the score it is available in a collection of Christmas organ music from France and Germany and very inexpensive. Link is below.
As you can probably already tell, I like a lot of unusual and not often heard music. =) This next piece is another one most people have probably never heard, but I feel it should be known.
Kirken den er et gammelt hus is the third chorale prelude in the second book of chorale preludes by the Danish composer Ludvig Nielsen. It is part of his Op. 5. The melody for Kirken den er et gammelt hus (Built on the Rock the Church Doth Stand) was written by L.M. Lindemann in 1840 and the text for the hymn was written by Nikolai Grundtvig in 1837. The following is the first verse written by Grundtvig:
Kirken den er et gammelt hus,
står, om end tårnene falde,
tårne fuldmange sank i grus,
klokker end kime og kalde,
kalde på gammel og på ung,
mest dog på sjælen træt og tung,
syg for den evige hvile.
Here is the English translation of the same verse:
Built on the Rock the Church doth stand,
even when steeples are falling;
Christ builds his church in every land;
bells still are chiming and calling,
calling the young and old to rest,
calling the souls of those distressed,
longing for life everlasting.
It's really a beautiful text in my opinion.
Anyway the piece itself is very short, only two pages and last about two minutes or so. The theme is immediately introduced by itself in a series of eighth notes with the theme coming in again above this on the third measure, but now in quarter notes. It's really a very well written piece of music. I really don't have too much to say about it other than it is well worth the time it takes to learn it. Most of it is actually fairly sight readable for a decent organist and it's one of those piece I'm going to play for a long long time.
Below I'll post my own recording of the piece on YouTube. Unfortunately, the organ is relatively small and doesn't quite do it justice, but it comes close. I'm also sad to say that this is another piece that seems to be out of print. I've been trying to track it down for quite sometime. I myself learned it off of a photocopy of a photocopy that my teacher had given me. I do have it in PDF form though if anybody is interested. It's only two pages.
