Note by note: Basil Harwood Sonata No. 1

According to Peter Hardwick, this is probably Harwood’s finest organ solo. It’s certainly epic, and the hymnic conclusion to the final movement is rousing enough to learn the entire work (I'm living proof of that notion). This piece is very easily “orchestrated” at the organ, and in this Victorian style there is little risk of overdoing things.

I have jabbed at the English many times in this blog about their thick, chordal writing and their frequent request of legato for it. It’s just impossible, and I find it a little disingenuous to ask a fine acoustic to cover it up. For me, the rich texture of this piece begs for legato, and I go to some lengths to achieve it, sometimes even leaving out the occasional note or employing contortionistic fingerings. Furthermore, Harwood is a little stingy with slurs; therefore, unless otherwise instructed, my modus operandum is legato.

MOVEMENT I

Measures 1-3: Although Harwood doesn’t call for it, one could play those three short statements on three increasing registrations. The Pedal might need to be increased for each, whether with more of its own stops or more couplers as you go.

Measure 5, final six notes: This just seems to beg for a reed texture of some sort. I would return to the Great at either the final flourish of measure 7 or with the second eighth note of measure 9.

Measures 12-14: One could begin again with registration growth, as suggested for measures 1-3.

Measure 14, downbeat: Depending on the organ, the tenor C# may conflict with the voice-crossed Pedal tenor F#. If so, just leave out the C#.

Measure 19: Perhaps beginning at the second eighth note, one could use a tiny registrational boost.

Measure 20, final flourish: reed again? I would return to a much-enlarged Great on the flourish in measure 22.

Measure 24: This is our first real landing point since the piece began. It is more grounded and not nearly as moody as what precedes it. And since it’s already in the relative major, then Sonata form is already underway. I make incremental registrational reductions from 25 through 30. If the organ is huge, a reduction occurs each measure! Alternatively, if the boxes are plentiful and effective, then just closing those as you go could also effect a breathtaking decrescendo.

Measure 27, second half: The second tenor doubles the Pedal here for a few beats. If those parallel octaves are too much for the otherwise rather contrapuntal texture, I just remove the second tenor until the middle of 28.

Measure 30 kicks off one of those wonderful diatonic passages that only the Victorians can pull off. I follow Harwood’s manual indications, and I add registrational boosts in 43 and toward the end of 46. Opening boxes somewhere in 49 also helps.

Measures 50-56: Again, the flourishes seem to want a reed of some power. The Great could play those quarter notes in 54 and 55.

Measure 57: “Con fuoco” is misleading. It means furious, not fast. As a matter of fact, if you go too fast, you’ll miss the Beata nobis gaudia hymn quoted four times in this passage.

Measures 74-81: non-legato, definitely. It’s clearly a fanfare passage.

Measure 87: Again, an orchestral approach might support the notion of a reed chorus of sorts from the second eighth of 87 through the fifth eighth in 88. For whatever reason. And I cut the pedal F# in 87 in half to keep it out of the way.

Measure 89, final eighth: The left-hand tenor F# clashes with the Pedal E#, however briefly. On some organs, that’s not an issue. But when it is, I just remove the left-hand F#.

Measure 93: This is the loudest moment of the movement as I play it. From there, I begin reducing in 96, all the way to the recapitulation in 101.

Measure 101: The recap proceeds just like the exposition, using all the same suggestions as above, through 143. A tiny exception might be made to the overall decrescendo in measures 117-118, where Harwood “keeps the pressure on” (compare measures 28-29), which might benefit from a tiny bit less decrescendo.

Pickup to measure 147: The organ might be full from here through the fermata in 149, but then it needs some contrapuntal clarity again, 150-154. The final 3-4 measures may be full again. Manage all this as you like.

MOVEMENT II

This movement is just Mendelssohn, and shamelessly so. Harwood was an admirer, and it is nowhere close to fanciful to assume that he took more than one cue from “Felix the Great” in this movement.

This movement is a little vague in form, and it risks monotony in registration. I use three basic pistons with minor adjustments along the way:

1. The opening four measures could match the final four measures in texture.

2. Measures 5, 17, and 31 could be quite similar to each other, with perhaps 31 being larger to allow for the buildup to come.

3. Measures 9, 13, and 23 could be similar to each other, setting up any level of dialogical manual registrations you like.

MOVEMENT III

The first page is a crescendo, plain and simple. Depending on the size of the organ, I’ll grow the registration in measures 2 (downbeat), 3 (downbeat), 5 (downbeat), 7 (downbeat), and 8 (final eighth).

This Fugue is often accused – not completely undeservedly – of being pedantic, severe, academic, etc. But registration to the rescue! Notice that this fugue follows Mendelssohn’s lead in increasing rhythmic activity beginning at measure 44, relaxing at 57, and increasing again at 71, all the way through 105. Managing that along with some subtle registration can help immensely.

Measure 44: I will add a little registrational buildup to match the increase in rhythmic activity.

Measure 57: I will remove the buildup I added in 44. I will also drop to a secondary manual there, returning to the Great on the second quarter note of 64.

Measure 71: The long registrational buildup begins, hand-in-hand with Mendelssohn’s Harwood’s marking of animato. I add increases in 77, 84, 88, and 99. These are only small increments, because measure 106 demands a more noticeable increase, all at once.

Measure 106: Beata nobis gaudia begins here, somewhat disguised over the Pedal fugue subject powering forth.

Measure 116: I find the Pedal upper octave is often too heavy, especially since the left hand needs that same pitch for its ascending scale. I tend to leave the note out of the Pedal until measure 117.

Measure 126: Beata nobis gaudia is finally unencumbered and allowed to speak forth. Doing so quietly is utterly breathtaking. Enjoy finding the perfect registration that sounds like a distant choir of angels, preferably non-vibrato.(!)

Measures 143-144: No Tuba? Play the left hand in octaves on the Great, and move the right hand somewhere else. Just for those six eighth notes. And if the Tuba or its equivalent is weak, then play the solo reed in octaves, anyway.

Measures 147-149: I don’t agree with the plodding Pedal octaves there. (Sorry, Basil.) I just play the lower octave only, and I add the tenor D-flat in measure 150, for one more note of buildup. Alternatively, depending on the organ, perhaps even tenor A-flat in that final measure would add a fuller color.