Organ Works

Treasury of great composer's best-known works for organ, including 6 Pieces (Liszt ranked them with the masterpieces of Bach), Trois Pieces — including the well-known Pièce Héroïque — and the Trois Chorals, perhaps Franck's finest organ works. Reproduced directly from authoritative Durand edition in an oblong format designed for easy use at the keyboard.

The music of J. S. Bach continues to be revered and celebrated centuries after his death. Its timelessness can be attributed to masterful musical engineering combined with profound expressivity. In other words, Bach's unique art may represent the pinnacle of contrapuntal technique, but it is just as amazing for its depth of emotion. Bach's compositions remain an indispensable part of the classical-music canon today. The Afterlife of Bach's Organ Works explores the critical impact made on posterity by Bach's organ music. It concerns a diverse group of musicians and non-musicians alike--some famous, some forgotten--who in one way or another became champions of these compositions. These individuals performed the music; edited it for publication; promoted it by means of books, articles, and reviews; transcribed it for other media; taught it to their pupils; shared it with their family and friends; and incorporated it into the soundtracks of their motion pictures. They ensured its "afterlife." In five chapters, organist and Bach expert Russell Stinson traces the historical afterlife of Bach's organ music from the early nineteenth century--the era of the so-called Bach revival--to the present day. Engagingly written and containing a wealth of information previously unavailable in English, the book is a history of performance practice, an aesthetic history of musical taste, and a social history. Each chapter tells the story of how and why Bach's organ works have stood the test of time.

Franck's twelve major organ works enjoy a popularity which surpasses even that of his Symphony in D Minor. This volume provides a guide to the interpretation of Franck's organ works by examining the extant first-hand references to him as a student, performer, and teacher written by those who knew him, heard him, and studied with him.

A companion to the author's Toward and Authentic Interpretation of the Organ Works of César Franck, this title applies the sources discussed in that volume in its practical approach to performance. Each of Franck's twelve major organ works is discussed in detail: the manuscript, the work's history and association with Franck and his circle, published editions, corrections to the 1959 Durand edition, and recorded performances. Technical problems are discussed and solutions provided. A glossary of terms found in Franck's organ works is provided with English translation; Franck's often confusing registration indications are translated and explained; performance of each work is discussed in light of the information provided by Franck's own pupils, their students and contemporaries. A bibliography of Franck literature published from 1983 to 1996 is also included.

In this penetrating study, Russell Stinson explores how four of the greatest composers of the nineteenth century--Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, and Johannes Brahms--responded to the model of Bach's organ music. The author shows that this quadrumvirate not only borrowed from Bach's organ works in creating their own masterpieces, whether for keyboard, voice, orchestra, or chamber ensemble, but that they also reacted significantly to the music as performers, editors, theorists, and teachers. Furthermore, the book reveals how these four titans influenced one another as "receptors" of this repertory and how their mutual acquaintances--especially Clara Schumann--contributed as well. As the first comprehensive discussion of this topic ever attempted, Stinson's book represents a major step forward in the literature on the so-called Bach revival. He considers biographical as well as musical evidence to arrive at a host of new and sometimes startling conclusions. Filled with fascinating anecdotes, the study also includes detailed observations on how these composers annotated their personal copies of Bach's organ works. Stinson's book is entirely up-to-date and offers much material previously unavailable in English. It is meticulously annotated and indexed, and it features numerous musical examples and facsimile plates as well as an exhaustive bibliography. Included in an appendix is Brahms's hitherto unpublished study score of the Fantasy in G Major, BWV 572. Engagingly written, this study should be read by anyone at all interested in the music of Bach or the music of the nineteenth century.

A study of Beethoven's organ and composition studies as a youth in Bonn. It includes the three works contained in his collected works, as well as works for mechanical or "barrel" organs. Next the true origins of the organ trios are presented, followed by miscellaneous works of questionable authenticity.

Marcel Dupré's career as an organist spanned the first seven decades of the 20th century, and took him all over Europe, North America, and Australasia. He delighted vastaudiences wherever he played, and attracted large numbers of enthusiastic students, for whom his church of St. Sulpice in Paris and his home at Meudon were their musical Mecca. Dupré had a profound influence on a host of musicians who sought his guidance, and as a composer for the organ his place in the historical line of J.S. Bach, the Couperins, César Franck, Widor, and Vierne is assured. Graham Steed is recognized for his skilled and musicianly advocacy of Dupré's compositions and he brings a keen and discerning intelligence to his analyses.

French romantic organist and composer Alexandre Guilmant wrote beautiful works for organ throughout his life. This collection, which consists of Books 1-6 of his "Pieces in Different Styles," contains 24 pieces, many for which Guilmant was well known, written primarily for church services. This volume is copied directly from the 3rd Edition of 1892, and contains a wealth of historical information, making it an essential part of the organist’s library. Titles: * Allegretto * Allegro * Amen (Deux) * Andante Con Moto * Cantilene Pastorale * Caprice * Communion No. 1 * Communion No. 2 * Epiphanie * Grand Choeur en Re * Invocation * Iste Confessor * Marche Religieuse * Marche Funebre * 1re. Meditation * 2de. Meditation * Melodie * Noels * Priere en Fa * Priere en Mi-flat * Quasimodo * Scherzo * Verset