Note by note: Guilmant Sonata No. 1, Mvt. II: Pastorale

This is one of my favorite movements from the French Symphonic style. I excerpt it all the time, more so than the third movement.

As usual, the published metronome marking is too fast. There is plenty of room to slow this down somewhere into the 70s and still remain in a large meter of 4, which is important. One needs time to smell all these pretty roses along the way!

Compound meter can be a beast to keep under control. With this movement’s lilting rhythm of quarter-eighth, it is too easy to throw it out of flow. If the eighth note occurs too strongly, too late, or too early, it could sound like labored duplets or a dotted rhythm or just drunken sludge. Listen mercilessly but lovingly to every note, and keep the gentle flow alive, all the way to the end.

Obey Guilmant’s rests exactly, even when they are only a single eighth long. It’s all perfect the way he wrote it.

Measure 11: If you configure Swell and Positif adjacent to each other, you’ll be able to ‘thumb’ a couple alto notes in measures 13 and 14, to preserve legato (see next paragraph below). A good way to configure this in English/American manual layout is to couple the Swell to the dead Great and play there, then play the Positif normally from measure 11. You can undo the Swell/Great setup later, by moving the hands to the ‘real’ Swell during measure 18, removing the Swell-Great coupler, and adding the ‘real’ stops on the Great in preparation for measure 21. A general piston is probably the way to go there. If this sounds like a lot of trouble, I assert my gospel lesson once again that preserving as much legato as possible is always worth a piston.

Measure 13: The alto A on the ninth eighth note could be taken by the left hand (probably the second finger). Ditto the alto B in the following measure.

Measure 24: I add the Great to Pedal during the rests in this measure, to give the Pedal more presence in the brief contrapuntal section through measure 29. Guilmant’s directive to remove the Positif Clarinette in this measure can wait until measure 30, when you can hit a general piston just after the downbeat and take care of everything at once.

Measure 38: No need to try to time a general piston just right for the left-hand chord. That piston may be hit any time between 34 and 37, because it won’t affect the Great, where you are playing at that point 

Measure 41: Positif divisions rarely have the Harmonic Flute that Guilmant calls for. I just use whatever manual has a big flute on it. And don’t forget that a four-foot flute (or two of them!) played down an octave might be just as good on some organs. In any event, you can get the Clarinette back later, in time for measure 53. Throughout this passage, obey Guilmant’s rests exactly, and watch for those spots where your wrist may be raising into the air for a release, but your fingers still have notes down!

The rest of this lovely piece plays itself, so long as you observe Guilmant’s rests and registrations. As pieces go, this one is not hard to play, but it becomes harder if you are as much a slave to legato as I am. If you are, then some of this will require sophisticated fingering and quick manual changes that should not be allowed to sound panicked. Enjoy.

The third movement of the Sonata is not under discussion here, but if you have read others of my Note-By-Note posts, you’ll probably be able to write a post about that one on my behalf! Be sure to include phrases such as “usually too fast,” “don’t rush,” and “usually too loud.” *Grin*

Note by note: Vierne Symphony No. 1: Final

Vierne was later apologetic for this movement. He felt it was too youthful, too swaggering, and too shallow to be good music. If my memory serves, he also felt it was unnecessarily hard compared with the musical return on it. I agree with all this, but if we play the piece with dignity rather than pageantry, it will say what it needs to say, without offending. It is exciting enough on its own without me getting in its way. And guess what – we can hit more of the right notes when we slow down. Just imagine.

For this entire movement, the eighth-note pairs of the main theme will give you no end of grief for evenness. Those two notes often come out as lopsided triplets or as subsets of sixteenth quintuplets. Keep them even and perfectly aligned with the accompanimental figures against them.

Repeat after me: “Slurs in French Symphonic music do not break at the end.” The only authority to break a note in this style is a rest, a breath mark, or some sort of articulation such as a staccato mark. All those little paired slurs at the beginning are nothing more than strong-weak indications. Now, for the right hand, the first notes of these pairs are automatically louder, anyway, because they are higher. So don’t work too hard with those. But the left-hand pairs are the reverse, and you and your ears are going to have to show up for work to keep those sounding correct.

Measures 1 and 2: In many performances, these two measures tend to come off as regal, with poise and grandeur. And then the Pedal enters, and the discussion above regarding uneven eighth-note pairs comes into play. Listen mercilessly to the main theme throughout the movement – the recurrences of that rhythm are relentless, and the siren’s song toward rhythmic sloppiness is nearly overwhelming. Your ears need to be as tired as your fingers and feet when you play this piece.

Measures 4, 8, 13, 17, etc.: Everyone shortens the first note in the Pedal, but Vierne doesn’t ask for that. Nevertheless, I think that approach is here to stay. The accents he places on the half-notes are compelling for some detached prep just before, but he would have placed a staccato on the preceding note each time if he wanted the break.

Measure 5 is usually where people realize they started a little slower than they intended, and so they catch up in this measure. Don’t.

Measures 6, 10, and 11 tend to rush. Don’t let them.

Measures 13, 14, 17, 18, etc.: Again, the eighth notes in the melody tend to rush. Keep hands and feet rigorously aligned in solid rhythm.

Measures 23-27: I tend to start this section on the Récit and then move to the Positif in the middle of 25 and to the Great in the middle of 27. Harmless. I do the same in the recap, measures 190-194.

Measures 31-37: Again, make sure the left hand and Pedal remain rock-solid in their rhythms and tempo. The Pedal often tends to rush the eighth notes. Dust off your Gleason technique and clean those up.

Measure 40: The manual change there is terribly awkward. It can be easily fixed by making the manual change on the second eighth of that measure. Although slightly different, Vierne does this in measure 44.

Measure 49: Vierne doesn’t ask for a slower tempo, but many people play this slower. After all, it’s hard to play, plus it’s marked cantabile. But if you do choose to do that, then you’ll need a place to recover tempo in time for 85. Many people speed up in 67, 77, or 81. Just do so gradually and with intention, rather than jarringly. Another option is to play the entire movement more grandly, if I haven't said that already, hint, hint.

Measure 65: The left hand should move to the Positif on beat 2. Consult Olivier Latry’s corrections for this and other spots.

Measures 65-76: Those double thirds are going to require your best finger crossing technique. There is precious little time for substitution. Those third are often played with some sort of articulation, although Vierne doesn’t ask for that. But that might be another one of those global habits that’s here to stay.

Measure 66: I move the right hand to the Great for the final three eighths of 66, and then move the left hand on the second beat of 67. Smoother and easier.

Measures 127-130, 135-139, 143-145: Consider using two feet for each pair of Pedal eighth notes. This will keep the tempo under control, but that idea goes out the window beginning in 147.

Measures 215-218: Detail alert: Notice that Vierne doesn’t ask the melodic half notes to break along with the staccato quarters under them. And notice the absence of staccatos on the downbeats of all these measures.

Measures 218-220: There are staccatos on some right-hand notes that are not present in the left. I believe they should be added. But not in the Pedal.

Measures 243-244: As I have said many times before for many other pieces, those Pedal notes are melodic, and this is neither a race nor a parade of technique. Those notes deserve to be heard as the music they are, not as a Pedal exercise. Play music there, and let the notes be exciting on their own terms (which they are). Matter of fact, notice that Vierne does not even ask for a final ritard. If you obey that non-directive, then the final four measures are quite thrilling without help.

Note by note: Jongen Toccata

To clean up printing errors in this piece, you’ll need John Scott Whiteley’s book on Jongen’s organ music. He corrects many instances of pitches and other issues, and I feel he’s right.

Note that Jongen’s instrument in Brussels didn’t have a mixture on the Récit. The organ had plenty of mutations, so his music can authentically have a bit of a ‘snarl’ to it, if you care to experiment with registration.

The temptation should be resisted to play the manual notes staccato. They are already ‘detached’ in a high-low trading pattern. One chord should give way to the other, sixteenth to sixteenth, in a legato fashion with no intervening staccatos.

Tempo: My sermon on French Symphonic tempos is a litany: Slow down, for heaven’s sake. Lord, hear our prayer. ‘Fast’ and ‘grand’ are different things. But don’t take my word for it; see Jongen’s note at the very end of the piece. And as usual, keep in mind that published metronome markings always tend to be impossibly fast, which is the case here. I hover somewhere between 92 and 100, and that’s plenty fast in most acoustics.

Measures 5-6: I believe the tenor D-flats in the Pedal should have staccato markings, like their siblings up to that point. But notice that the low G-flat in measure 6 is now legato into the C-flat.

Measures 13-16: I am ambivalent about the lack of staccatos in the Pedal eighths, and Whiteley is silent about them. It seems that with so many staccato markings now missing, compared to the first few measures, legato is now Jongen’s intent. But I also know that this publisher was notoriously lacking in the proofreading department. Ultimately, it seems to me that the off-beat nature of the motive would retain more ‘presence’ with staccato eighths. Put in modern street terms, it would ‘pop’ more.

Measure 15: I find the addition of the tirasse Positif more effective if moved to measure 18.

Measure 18: I believe the final A-flat in the left hand should be G-flat, to match the right hand. And that would make the final note of the left hand G-natural.

Measure 26: I break my own rule of full-value notes here. I release the Pedal A-flat a sixteenth-note value earlier, to ‘clear the air’ for the landing on the Great.

Measures 27-31: The Pedal now has a melody; so listen mercilessly to it, and keep it under control. Avoid double-dotting. Ditto later measures such as 51-63, etc.

Measure 40: I find the Swell box closure is more effective if moved to measure 42. Smoother that way. But save some of that closure for 46.

Measure 40: Jongen calls for a move to the Positif at the final eighth of that measure. I move the right hand as instructed, but I move the left hand after the downbeat. Smoother that way.

Measure 81: You’ll need to release the Pedal low D-flat a bit early to add its anches. An eighth rest ought to do it.

Measure 82: I tie the final G-flat of the right hand into the downbeat. Ditto 84 into 85.

Measures 98-100: Listen carefully to the pairs of notes in the Pedal, and make sure they all sound consistent. My teacher Clyde Holloway busted me one day in the Messiaen Transports de joie, where I was playing a similar two-note motive in the Pedal with whatever foot/feet was/were available – in other words, what was more convenient [comfortable]. He said that they actually sound different if played with different pedaling from pair to pair. And he was right. And from that moment on, I decided that my comfort is secondary to consistency and integrity. Same thing for the Pedal note pairs throughout BWV 552i.

Measures 101-102: That’s not a cadenza. It is part of the continuing crescendo. Keep it in tempo. The slower note values will automatically create more crescendo for you. Go ahead – give it a try.

Measures 105-107: Depending on the organ, I keep the 32’ reed in reserve until here. It makes a more powerful appearance that way, rather than gurgling its way through, say, measure 101.

Note by note: Vierne Carillon de Westminster

Just about any organist could say, “I have played this piece since high school.” That is not always good news. This carillon is often played too fast, surprise, surprise. Vierne says Andante con moto, not Allegro con fuoco. And when you recall that most metronome markings (here, dotted quarter 69) were often insisted on by the publishers against composers’ wishes and are often wayyyyyyy too fast, then there is no empirical support for playing this piece any faster than marked. Don’t forget that this is live music, not a computerized light show. Vierne asks for ‘motion’ in his Italian indication, but honestly, he writes so many notes in such vigorous rhythm that there is plenty of moto present without having to force things. The piece should soar rather than dive-bomb. Never stop listening.

Registration: French Récits will require everything on, except 16-foot stops. But in the U.S., I often leave off the mixture and the 2’ and even the 4’ reed and have a much better time. Those stops may make for a more imposing buildup later in, say, measure 66.

Measure 1: Repeat after me: “Those slurs over every measure do not indicate lifts at the end.” “Those slurs over every measure do not indicate lifts at the end.” “Those slurs over every measure do not indicate lifts at the end.” French Symphonic is always played legato unless otherwise indicated, and ‘otherwise indicated’ is going to be much more obvious than a phrase mark. Had Vierne intended lifts, he would have inserted breath marks or rests outright. The copious slurs here are not liftable phrase marks but rather moments of ‘pulses,’ where the first note of the slur is ever so slightly lengthened, and the remaining notes simply grow naturally from it and make their way without delay to the next slur. In other words, one may put the slightest tenuto on the first note of each slur and then proceed a tempo through the rest of the measure, with no breaking to prove a point. (Pedagogical descendants of Clyde Holloway will recognize this as ‘pulsing.’) Notice the actual rests Vierne inserts into the Pedal in measures 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, etc.

Measure 3: I like to play this melody on the manual adjacent to the Récit. It makes some of my own ‘thumbing’ easier in measure 33.

Measure 4 and following: observe exactly all printed rests for the Pedal. That goes for each hand, for that matter, for all 165 measures.

Measure 5: Compare the left-hand and pedal cutoff here with those in measures 9 and 14. They’re all different and are perfectly playable differently. I don’t think Vierne was being careless in his notation – he was too advanced in his style by then to miss errors like that. So go to the trouble to be rhythmically precise and listen to the results.

Measure 9: Notice that the left hand will need to insert an eighth rest in order to re-strike the A for measure 10. Same thing in measures 17 and 30. Same thing in measure 54 for the right hand. Plenty other places – just keep your eyes and ears alert for rhythmic precision at all times.

Measure 33: I ‘thumb’ a few sextuplets into the left hand, to keep things smooth and panic-free.

Measure 34: If you have been playing your left hand on the middle manual since the beginning and your Positif is on the bottom, you can ‘recover’ to the bottom manual at some point in this measure and prepare the Great stops for measure 35.

Measure 35 and following: Repeat after me: “Those slurs over every measure do not indicate lifts at the end.” This also applies to the Pedal slurring, which is aligned differently. Same thing as before – the beginning of a slur can mean a slight dwelling on the first note, but in French Symphonic style, such never indicates a break prior. Only rests and breath marks and staccato marks and the like indicate breaking. German and English? Yes, feel free to break at phrase marks. But not in French Symphonic.

Measure 51 is missing its slur in the left hand. Not that we were at a loss without it.

Measure 59: The final D in the left hand may need to be broken for the re-strike of that note for measure 60. But if the acoustic says otherwise, feel free to tie. In any event, no need to break the B – again, always legato in this style unless otherwise instructed.

Measure 62: The first eighth rest in the Pedal is unnecessary and should be crossed out. The Pedal holds its first note a full large-beat dotted quarter and then releases with the left hand.

Measures 66-69 and similar measures through 93: Repeat after me: “Those slurs over every beat do not indicate lifts at the end.” Use dwelling, not breaking, on the first note to make things clean. But don’t dwell too much, because the first note of each beat here is already the highest, and therefore the loudest.

Measures 70, 74, 78, 82, 86, 90: The left hand is told to lift its chord on the final eighth of each measure, while the Pedal is told to hold all the way to the downbeat. There is always the chance that one of those treatments was an afterthought that didn’t get changed in the other part. But there is plenty to be said for taking Vierne literally in those measures and allowing the Pedal to linger just a bit longer in the name of sustained reverberation. This makes even better sense in measures 114-118. Only in 119 does he change it, and for good reason of the registration change.

Measure 86: The final C in the right hand may need to be lifted for its re-striking in 87. See the discussion for measure 59 above.

Measures 96 and following: See those staccato marks? Now you can start breaking some things. The authority for that is granted by the staccatos, not by the slurs. Keep everything clean and consistent.

Measures 120-125, 130-140: Honestly, I don’t know what sort of claws Vierne is expecting an organist to have in these passages. There are a couple spots where the finger stretching is heroic [read: laughable] and downright dangerous if over-practiced. Be careful. Everyone’s hands are different, so I’ll just offer general comments: 1) When in doubt, strive for legato melody – we would notice a broken soprano note before we noticed a broken or missing inner voice; 2) The sextuplets add a very effective sense of churning but no melody; 3) The drone on A in the left hand adds more sound but no melody. I would say that that A could be the first note you sacrifice to save your wrists or to preserve other parts of the texture. Experiment as needed – no need for this to hurt.

Measure 125: Tie the left hand A into measure 126. Ditto for measure 140 into 141. That is, if you’re actually playing it! (See the discussion just above.)

Measures 126-129, 141-144: The pesante chords are marked with sharp accents, which may be executed by shortening the quarter notes. Not too short – they still need a moment to speak with full voice.

Measure 144: Depending on the organ and the acoustics, I might tie the final F# in the Pedal into 145.

Measures 157-159: I have experimented with all sorts of rhythmic and acoustical manipulations here. Some folks add fermatas to the notes and/or to some of the eighth rests. But with Vierne suddenly coming to a rhythmic halt here for the first time in the piece and adding a ritard, I believe we might have plenty enough success just to keep counting while still slowing down.

Measures 160-163: If you can’t hear the Pedal notes, it’s too fast. That’s only four measures, so there’s no time for the Sowerby Pageant here – those notes are still quite melodic, and they deserve love.

Measure 163: I wouldn’t slow down too much. And I certainly wouldn’t add fermatas to the final sextuplets. Imagine a carillonneur playing a piece such as this – they wouldn’t slow down much. I might, however, release the penultimate chord just a bit early, to hear the Pedal cadenza better. And I might play the final two sextuplets in double octaves, especially if the organ doesn’t have enough lungs otherwise.

Note by note: Dupré Prelude and Fugue in A-flat

This is an extraordinary piece. I think it’s the finest of Dupré’s six Preludes and Fugues. The Prelude churns and alludes to the Fugue to a high – but not overdone – degree, and the Fugue is one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed for the organ. Dupré is not his usual gargoyle self here but rather a picture of nobility and soaring melody. Don’t know what came over him.

Before we begin: Graham Steed’s book The Organ Works of Marcel Dupré is a most helpful guide for history, some performance advice, and so forth. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously – imagine encountering humor in a book on Dupré.

Opening registration: In the U.S., I leave the Swell mixture off. The reeds are often enough to create the manual contrasts we’ll need, particularly if the Choir/Positif is weak by comparison (and it often is in the U.S.).

Measure 4: The Final D of the left hand should probably be D-flat. See Graham Steed.

Measure 11: I add the Positif to Pedal, if it needs it.

Measure 16: Graham Steed suggests the Great to Pedal remain off, in case that helps the balance. He suggests adding it in 24. At 16 he also advocates moving the left hand to the Great and the right hand to the Positif for this passage, to improve the balance. I concur, but I move the left hand to the Great at the final three sixteenths of measure 15. Easier to “thumb” that way. The hands can then follow the published manual indications again from 24.

Measure 22: The second F in the alto should be an eighth note, not a quarter. And if you don’t have the high A-flat and B-flat notes Dupré writes (and he didn’t either), then just play from the fourth beat of 22 without 8va. You can recover at the third beat of 24.

Measures 26-29: I achieve a bit more gradual decrescendo by:

- taking the final alto B of 26 with the left hand and moving the right hand to the Positif for the downbeat of 27;
- taking with the right hand all manual notes of the fourth beat of 27, plus the first sixteenth of 28;
- then moving each hand in turn as published in 28 and 29. 

Measure 32: Graham Steed recommends moving the dim into the middle of 33. I concur.

Measure 42: Graham Steed suggests the first D# in the left hand be D natural. I concur.

Measure 44: If you don’t have the high A# in the right hand (and Dupré didn’t), just play that one note an octave lower.

Measure 63: I move the right hand to the Positif there, to keep those higher notes from screeching so much.

Measures 73-75: In the interest of a more gradual decrescendo, I would play the left hand on the Great in 73, then on the Positif in 74.

Measures 74-76: The left hand and Pedal are vying for the same pitches, which makes some notes ‘disappear.’ Just remove the Pedal couplers (and beef up the Pedal a bit, if the sudden loss of the couplers renders it too weak).

Measure 93: I remove the Pedal stops and couple Récit and Positif to it, to help with the wide reaches. Pedal can be restored in 94.

Measure 98: Graham Steed and I agree the Pedal G should be G-flat.

Measure 102: I don’t play the left hand low A-flat. With a note that low and that quick, who’s going to notice? I feel the first-tenor subject statement there is more important than risking a misfire with rapid substitution after the low A-flat.

Measure 106: I remove all Pedal couplers, especially the Swell. The Swell is required to add stops in 108, but there is no need for those to transfer to the Pedal during its ongoing decrescendo.

Measure 108: I tend to leave the Swell 4-foot principal off, to keep the Swell from growing too much there. We still have a long way to go.

From here on, obey Dupré’s every staccato marking. If not marked staccato, then legato. And if one hand has one voice marked staccato and another one not, then your finger independence is about to get the workout of its life.

Measure 121: The second eighth notes in left hand and Pedal are not marked staccato. Misprint? Also, the final E-flat in the second tenor appears to be marked staccato. Dirty engraving plate?

Measure 130: The final eighth note in the right hand appears to be marked staccato. Dirty engraving plate?

Measures 134-136: I achieve a more gradual decrescendo by moving the right hand to the Positif on the downbeat of 134 and the left hand on the second half of beat 1. Then I move the left hand to the Swell on the downbeat of 135. I move Dupré’s Swell growth onto the sixth sixteenth of 136, so that the Swell growth doesn’t transfer coupled to the Pedal.

Measure 141: I move the left hand to the Positif on beat 2, rather than in measure 144.

I execute tiny crescendos via pistons at 147, 156, and 162, before the bigger growth begins in 169. These little growth spurts are only for a lingering Prestant here or another 8’ there. Maybe a small mixture here or a light reed there or a heavier Pedal 16’ there. Just a little something here and there to begin filling the room.

Measure 150-152: In the interest of a smoother crescendo, I take the first sixteenth of 150 with the right hand and move the left hand to the Positif on the second sixteenth. Then I move the right hand to the Positif at 152.

Measure 158: Graham Steed says the right hand first note G should be staccato. I concur, but I also say it should be G-flat. And the high B-flat on the downbeat is legato.

Measure 160: I believe the first two eighth notes of the left hand should be staccato, and that the final eighth of the left hand (B-flat) also be staccato.

Measure 161: ditto the final two eighth notes of the left hand.

Measure 163: I believe there is a ledger line missing on the second eighth of the left hand. That should be E-flat.

Measures 163 to the end: If you don’t have that high A-flat (and Dupré didn’t), then you’re missing out on one of the most sumptuous moments in organ literature. The French are forgiven, but American builders are not.

If you have been keeping score, you'll notice I have dealt with three of Dupre's six Preludes and Fugues. Those three -- B, A-flat, and C -- are my favorites. I have not learned the others and am having some trouble imagining doing so. Forgive me. (Or change my mind?)

Note by note: Dupré Prelude and Fugue in C

Memorizing is hard work. And it’s time-consuming. But it’s worth it, because memorized performance always sounds better (assuming the music was solidly memorized in the first place). Memorizing this prelude and fugue is not to be taken lightly, and it must be constantly refreshed. I believe that the chromaticism of the prelude and the close strettos of the fugue just make this piece a memorization nightmare. Not even the Vierne 6^th or the Clérambault first Suite was this tricky!

Well, that’s that. Below are some of my insights into playing the piece, memorized or not:

Dupré’s fingerings and pedalings are welcome, although I changed quite a few to fit my own hands and feet. I wonder what he would have thought. Sometimes he goes to an unnecessary amount of trouble with substitutions, whereas I could just tuck a thumb or cross a long finger over another.

Graham Steed’s book has excellent insights into all of Dupré’s organ music. He knows of a couple corrections for the C Major that Dupré confirmed post-publication (measures 27 and 179, mentioned below). I see several additional opportunities for consideration, all mentioned in turn below.

Measure 12: The final eighths in the manuals will have to be released early to be repeated in measure 13. Dupré would have prescribed a sixteenth-note break, but if you’re playing slower, you might delay that to the thirty-second-note level with some success. So long as it doesn’t sound panicked. Ditto the second eight note of 19 and the final eighth of 38 and 39 and isolated notes in the right hand of 52-54. Ditto lots of individual Pedal notes in measures 2, 4, 9, 26, 28, 40, 43, 45, and 65.

Measure 13: I believe the final A-flat in the left hand should be A natural, since there are two A naturals against it in the right hand, plus the A-natural quarter note in the Pedal. Crunchy chromaticism aside in this Prelude, outright atonality or the prolongation of what sounds like a wrong note is probably a misprint.

Measure 27: According to Dupré/Steed, the final G of the right hand should be G-sharp. I concur.

Measure 33: Curious that Dupré does not reverse the Pedal couplers here like he did for a similar texture in measures 16 and 51. That’s probably because in 35, the right foot will be more melodic there than textural before. By 43, the Pedal is back to ‘normal’ in this configuration. In 60, the Pedal is once more melodic, but with the Récit coupler rather than Great. I doubt any of this is a misprint, but it is nevertheless noted, and the performer may have to do whatever it takes to preserve good balance. As we all know, the lower end of Pedal eight-foot flutes and bourdons can be notoriously weak in the U.S., so you may have to go into various contortions to keep the upper Pedal notes from being too loud but the lower notes from disappearing completely 

Measure 35: The right hand is on its own for legato here. I don’t try to disguise wide intervals with what my teacher Clyde Hollway called the “omigod” way of trying to achieve legato where legato is not possible for most hands. So I just lift the thumb proudly, note by note, until the intervals shrink back down to something more manageable. That is even more pronounced in measures 59, where the white/black key pattern makes detachment even more necessary. I’ll take a detached sound over a panicked sound any day.

Measure 43: The first eighth (E-flat) of the left hand is not the same interval it was in corresponding passages in measures 2 and 15. I wonder if that E-flat should have been a G instead. If so, then the entire passage (42-43) would match its sibling measures 1-2 and 14-15, interval for interval. For the record, I have not changed that E-flat in performance; I just raise the question here. Misprint?

Measure 56 is engraved strangely. The half-rest in the Pedal most likely applies to the upper voice in the Pedal, which has been resting since the previous measure. The lower voice has a half-note, which lasts the full measure, but its stem is pointing up. I believe the stem should be pointing down to continue to signify the lower voice, and that the note be held for the entire measure.

Measures 69-70: The left-hand stab accents are a bit jarring. Was Dupré just asking for an early release? If so, he might have used a staccato, as he did at the beginning of 69. And I don’t know how much “accent” one should be expected to get from the light registration. Was Dupré asking for only the top note to be released early and the other two notes of the triad to move legato? Who knows? I’m still experimenting.

The Fugue is a nightmare for finger/voice independence. Make sure you’re obeying Dupré’s staccato and legato markings exactly.

Measure 109: Third beat, I move the right hand to the Swell as instructed, but I move the left hand to the Positif, for greater relief of the subject. I’ll move the left to the Récit for the downbeat of 115.

Measure 115: The soprano is legato, but not the second soprano. This legato lingers all the way into the downbeat of 123, including the manual change.

Measure 124: The pedal is still legato, which suggests a full-value second beat, against the staccato second beat of the manuals. So far, that hasn’t sounded ragged to me. Similar mismatches occur in the B Major fugue, so it’s not unheard of. Dupré’s exacting markings and performances are testament.

Measure 134: The left hand note values are incomplete. The final E-flat should probably be an eighth note.

End of measure 137: Both soprano voices are now legato, all the way to the rest in 143.

Measures 149-157: Legato here, staccato there. Watch Dupré’s markings, especially for the isolated staccato voices. And release legato voices exactly on rests, not early.

Measure 158: The downbeat is still legato, which means full value to the rest. 

Measure 159: Second and third beats: notice that Dupré has written a long note value there, asking for a longer length to the tie. Otherwise, all is staccato.

Measures 167-173: Hardest part of the piece, if you ask me. I’m dying here.

Measure 179: I move the left hand to the Positif on the downbeat of 179, rather than 180, so that I don’t have to negotiate a potentially awkward manual change after sextuplets. Third beat of 179: I move the right hand to the Positif, one beat earlier than instructed. Since the fugue subject begins on the 3^rd beat, it just makes sense there. Curiously, Steed/Dupré says that the left hand should remain on the Great there to the end of the piece. That doesn’t make sense to me until 190.

Measure 189: I move my right hand to the Great a beat early. Although that is not a subject statement, moving on the third beat of 189 would retain the third-beat start pattern.

Measures 197-204: I find it dangerous for my hands to work so hard. Those bouncing/traveling chords would all be hard enough to play, anyway, even without the Pedal scurrying up and down. I redistribute the notes and leave the hands in one position. That introduces issues of finger independence but it would remove the issue of hitting cracks with so much quick repositioning from chord to chord.

Measure 218: Dupré didn’t have that high C at St-Sulpice. If you don’t, either (and if you’re in the U.S., then why not?!), solve it any way you like.

The Great upper work and reeds, the Pedal upper work and reeds, and the manual 16s are not employed at the beginning of the Fugue. Dupré does not specifically call for registrational buildup except by way of his fff in 197, which to the French meant simply ‘full organ.’ But surely he would allow some sort of buildup along the way from his opening registration. I suggest some growth at the third beat of 137 (which may have to be reversed somewhat in the Pedal for 161-173). Depending on the size of the instrument, I suggest further growth at the third beat of 173, the second beat of 184, and the third beat of 189, plus the required full organ at the third beat of 196. Finally, I don’t see the point of holding something in reserve for 216 – the pregnant pause and the thick notes themselves are excitement enough.

Note by note: Dupré Prelude and Fugue in B

This piece is played a lot. Maybe too much. It’s flashy, but only if you’re the organist. If you’re a first-time audience for it, it’s either thrilling or it’s mush. That’s a nice way of saying that this piece is often played far too fast for its musical merit. Dupré’s metronome markings were notoriously (and impossibly or at least un-musically) fast, and he never achieved them on his recordings, anyway. Metronome markings were (and are) usually included at publisher’s insistence, and they are quite useless most of the time, going all the way back to Beethoven. So just don’t look at them, ever. And for the record, my tempo for the Prelude hovers around 90, and that for the Fugue hovers around 70.

Measures 1 and following: The opening flourish pattern has two instances of common tones: the B from the 6^th to the 7^th sixteenths, and the B across the barline. These can be tied; I don’t feel the sixteenth-note motion suffers from that.

Measures 4, 6, 8, etc.: The Pedal eighth rests may not be long enough if your tempo is really fast. You may need to release those a bit earlier to ‘clear the air.’ Always beware a sense of ‘panic’ to the sound.

Measures 6-7: The sixteenth-note motion has repeated notes across this barline. I tie them.

Measure 13: On the eleventh sixteenth, I take the alto G-sharp with the right hand, which allows the entire sixteenth-note pattern to remain legato into measure 14. And as we all know, any lengths we go to in order to preserve legato in this style is worth the time in the practice room. Don’t be lazy.

Measure 26: I would configure the organ in such a way that the two manuals you’ll be traveling back and forth among are adjacent to each other. Put in some clever ‘thumbing,’ and legato will then be preserved.

Measure 35: The addition of the Pedal couplers is necessary, but on many organs the Positif or Choir is so weak that its presence or absence is immaterial. I add only the Great to Pedal there, so that I don’t have to hit two couplers nor sacrifice a General piston.

Measure 36: I take the final sixteenth with the right second finger, thereby preserving legato in the sixteenths.

Measure 39: I take the final sixteenth with the right thumb, thereby preserving legato in the sixteenths.

Measure 42: I take the right-hand lower Fs with the left hand, to keep the thumbs out of each other’s way. Ditto the first E in measure 43.

Measures 57-65: Feel free to establish a gradual crescendo to your liking. Dupré just adds ‘cresc.’ in 59. I delay the FFF into 68, not only to add to the continuing crescendo, but also because there are no limbs left to hit a piston for the downbeat of 65. And I never sacrifice notes for pistons. Ever.

Measures 93-100: Same crescendo freedom as in measures 57-65.

Measures 100-102: Hold your horses. That pedal cadenza is still music.

The Fugue subject begins on an off-beat. Be sure it sounds like that. Don’t dwell on the first note – rather, arrive on the fourth note (the beginning of the second beat). Then release the quarter note in such a way that the next morsel of the subject is suitably propelled ahead.

Get those feet ready for their first subject appearance! Do your ankle exercises and prepare the first four notes all at once, heels and toes.

Throughout the Fugue, obey Dupré’s staccato markings. Any note without a staccato is to be played legato to the next note. And obey Dupré’s note values, such as in measure 111, where soprano and alto have different values on their first note.

Measure 113: The final C# in the left hand should probably be released early for the next downbeat. The A# need not be, since it is not going to be repeated.

Measure 114: The first C# in the left hand should probably be released in preparation for its re-striking on the next eighth. The upper F# need not be released early.

Measure 116: The first D# should probably be released early to allow for the restrike coming up in the soprano.

Measure 118: The alto G is common to two sixteenths in the middle of the measure. I tie it. Ditto the alto E-flat in 120.

Measure 122: As mentioned for measure 35, the Positif or Choir is often so inconsequential on many instruments that managing its coupler to the Pedal is much ado about nothing. I don’t employ the coupler for this Fugue until the end. Also in this measure, notice Dupré’s exact staccato marking on the first eighth note but not the second.

Measures 123-124: Again, obey Dupré’s exact staccato marks in the Pedal. Yes on beat 4 of 123; No on beat 1 of 124.

Measure 124: I take two notes with the right hand to preserve legato: beat 3 alto G#, and beat 4 alto A#.

Measures 129-151: It might be good to consider a good tempo for these measures before beginning the Fugue. This is where many organists lose their audience due to excessive speed. The rhythm is so vibrant in this section that it sounds plenty fast at a more humane tempo. And again, I just have to take issue with Dupré’s metronome marking – or at least sympathize with him for publishers’ myopic insistence on metronome markings. Italian tempo markings are always much more expressive and informative.

Measure 131: I move to the Récit there, instead of the Positif. It allows the left hand to be heard better at 133.

Measures 138-139. I tie all the common notes among the moving sixteenths.

Measure 140: Notice the staccato first eighth but full-value second eighth. Ditto measure 141.

Measure 144: I take the final two sixteenths with the right hand to smooth out the transition to the next manual. And I do agree with the editorial C# added above the final manual chord.

Measure 149: I take the final sixteenth with the right hand, to smooth out the transition to the Positif.

Measure 151: I take the third and fourth sixteenths with the right hand, to allow the left hand to get to the Great.

Measure 152, downbeat: Again, take Dupré quite literally with his staccato markings or lack thereof. Notice that the final soprano E of 151 will proceed into 152 legato, which in this case probably means tying. And notice that the Pedal low C will proceed to the F# of 152 legato, which means you’ll need the right foot prepared on F# (unless your left foot is really long and its ankle really flexible).

Measure 154: Beat 3, the left hand high F# will have to be released early, because the soprano is about to need to restrike that note. But don’t release early the remaining notes of the left hand there.

Measure 157: Beat 3: The final C# in the right hand will need to be played quite short, to allow the alto to use that note next.

Measure 160: Again, taking Dupré’s legato literally, the final two chords of the left hand should be legato.

Measure 161: The first chord of the right hand might well omit the lower G, since the left hand needs it for its sixteenth-note pattern.

Measures 166-168: The manual chords are not staccato there. They are real sixteenths and should be no shorter. And this section need not go faster. Again, with so much happening at the sixteenth-note level in this piece, a relaxed tempo still sounds fast. And exciting.

Measure 168: The final lower C# in the right hand may be taken by the left.

Measures 169-170: Tenutos are always a guessing game with these French guys. If tenuto means ‘to hold,’ then why can’t the usual, underlying rule of legato suffice here? Therefore, I believe that Dupré’s use of tenuto there actually means ‘release.’ At any rate, it makes sense to release these chords early, to add to the excitement. Dupré is rarely so careless with rhythmic indications.

Finally, if you are playing on a three-manual organ that really should have been two, you could relatively strengthen the Positif by not coupling it to the Great. That would give you some degree of contrast among the three manuals. Of course, couple the Swell to both manuals.

If all you have are two manuals, then you get to decide when you’ll move to each manual during the Fugue. My adoptions are:

Measure 125: Left hand to Great.
Measure 137: Récit.
Measure 145: Great. And stay there in 146.
Measure 150: Récit.

Note by note: Mulet Carillon-Sortie

This piece has always been with me. I always thought the main theme is so lovely and tuneful and has a certain French café air about it.

Measure 1: I begin with the box slightly open and close it in time for measure 2. Don’t know why. I just like that. I do the same thing with other pieces that begin similarly.

Opening measures: Sixteenth notes: always legato. There should be no phrasing, lifting, or other anachronistic techniques employed in any sixteenths in this piece. Matter of fact, ditto for eighths.

Measures 2-14: Except where otherwise indicated (such as measures 4, 5, and 9), the left-hand melody is not intended to be played detached in the least. This style is always legato unless otherwise indicated. The phrase marks in French Symphonic literature are designed to ‘land’ on the first note and carry on to the very last, but that does not dictate a break of any sort. When these French guys want you to break, they’ll write a breath mark or a rest. It’s quite scientific sometimes.

Measure 10: One might extrapolate left-hand detachment here, to match measure 9. And one has to wonder why measures 5 and 9 have a tie but measure 10 has a dotted half-note for the same value. Also in measure 10: play the Pedal F# with the right foot, just like all the other Pedal pairs, so that it doesn’t sound different. Discerning ears can hear that difference!

Measures 5, 9, 10: Pedal ‘stabs,’ both notes, should have exact releases. The French way is to measure that break, probably an exact eighth rest (or sixteenth, if it doesn’t sound too panicked). The note being held in the Great should probably be released as the same time as the second Pedal note, so that those releases don’t sound ragged. The left-hand markings in measure 10 suddenly don’t support the pattern, but I continue the pattern, anyway. There’s just not a compelling musical reason not to.

Measures 17-18: The dotted rhythm in the RH there is possible legato, and Mulet has not indicated anything else. So loosen up those fingers and get ready to cross them over and under each other. There is precious little time (if any) for substituting your way through those two measures. Likewise the left hand a few bars later.

Measure 18: I move the right hand to the Swell for its final sixteenth note, rather than on the next downbeat. Doing so on an eighth gives me more time to make the switch and doesn’t sound panicked.

Measure 48: I ‘thumb’ the alto D with the left hand, to help the right hand with the parallel sixths. Likewise measure 49, for the alto D and Ab.

Measures 52-56: Limber up those ankles and play all those consecutive black notes legato! If there’s room on your pedalboard, the right heel could play the Eb in measure 53. Play the Db in measure 56 with the right toe or the left heel. Heels on black notes in the tenor range don’t always work if the expression shoes overlap the notes (which is a design flaw, if you ask me).

Measure 71: If there is one, I’ll add the Zymbelstern for the recap. (Hey, it’s a bell piece!) I remove the Zymbelstern in measure 99, after one of those chords, either one.

Measure 80: The final alto A in the right hand is problematic for right-hand legato. Solution: since both hands are together on the Great, play that A (and hold it for its eighth-note value) with the left hand.

Measure 82: It’s good news that the left hand is permitted an ad lib there. I take advantage of that to allow a little ‘daylight’ before reintroducing the melody in 83 in the new texture. Likewise measure 94 for the right hand, but to buy time to move the hand to the Swell.

Measures 91-99: The left-hand octaves could be played on a solo reed, so long as the balance is still pleasing. I move that hand back to the Great for the second chord of 99.

Final chord: It’s admirable that the French approximate the ‘boom’ of the big Bourdon bells with Pedal resultants. That works in France. But in the U.S., the fifth of a Pedal resultant is very often too heavy. Instead, I play D octaves in the Pedal and transfer the left hand to a lower inversion of the chord, namely, low A/tenor D/tenor A. In my old age, I have become increasingly less apologetic about making such changes. If something sounds better that way on a non-French organ, then why apologize? No one has ever noticed. I wonder if Mulet would have.

Note by note: Dupré Cortège and Litany

I haven’t combed through a piece since my Franck series. So let’s dig into a piece today:

The Dupré Cortège and Litany is uncommonly beautiful. Dupré was often heavily gothic and chromatic, but this early work seems to come from a young Dupré still being a romantic.

The piece is a transcription of a transcription of an original. It began as incidental music for a handful of players for a stage work. Then it became a piano transcription. Then it became the organ transcription, which was written on a train at a presenter’s request. Then it became an organ & orchestra piece. All that to say that with so many layers of transcription present, I feel emboldened to make tiny alterations here and there, whether to honor Dupré's insistence on wall-to-wall legato or to preserve my hands and wrists against tendonitis. From the scores of times I have performed this piece, I dare any listener to point out the alterations. :)

Measure 1: The opening registration is one of the most optimistic I’ve ever seen. What organ will have those stops, let alone have them on those manuals? We all know that adjustments must be made from organ to organ; the composers are always the first to say so. But what on earth was Dupré thinking here? Not even Saint-Sulpice had all that! Anyway, my opening registration will be on some sort of string. Not too much, because I’m going to bring in the entire ‘string section’ at measure 13. For these first measures, don’t put breath marks where Dupré doesn’t. Wall-to-wall legato was the name of his game.

Measures 4-5: Don’t be a hero with those widely-spaced chords. We can hear the panicked lunging from chord to chord there. Just use a dead Pedal with the manual coupler on to help you through those wide reaches, then you can touch a Pedal divisional piston on the downbeat of measure 6 to bring the Pedal back to life for its bass function. Dupré wants it coupled, anyway, so you don’t have to remove the coupler there.

Measure 9: This is one of those spots where breaking so many voices sounds too much like a major event. I tie the alto C# to mitigate. Depending on the organ, acoustic, etc., that may not be necessary. I do break all repeated notes going into measure 10, since that is a phrase point. Although Dupré doesn’t ask for a breath there, his writing repeated notes creates a break.

Measure 13: I bring on lots of strings there and maybe even a 4’ flute, if it’s gentle enough. A super-coupler would be nice, but only if the chests go that high. I punch the piston for this section on the final sixteenth-note value of measure 12, during which the hands are ‘taking their breath,’ and that also gives the Pedal some crescendo into 13. It’s a nice effect, once you have the piston timing and the manual release worked out.

Measures 15, 18, 28, 31, 33-36: Those ‘Celesta’ moments (the questionable English directive in the score there) can be handled in several ways, I feel. If you have chimes, go for it. If so, I recommend playing only one note at a time, rather than octaves. Also, standard chimes may go out of range in measure 34, in which case you could raise those four notes an octave. Other than chimes, use anything that has some contrast but doesn’t take over the texture – those notes are only rhythmic filler and don’t need to be stentorian. Depending on the organ, I will play only the lower note of the octaves, with a 4’ stop in the mix to produce the upper octave. Bonus: doing that will also make measure 31 easier. Finally, I have found that playing the ‘Celesta’ notes on a manual below that of the right hand will make traveling back and forth a little easier, especially for measure 33, where I do some extravagant ‘thumbing’ to keep everything legato.

Measures 17-18: I am not sold on the sudden appearance of the upper Pedal octave there. Depending on the organ, it’s just too much. On organs weak in the bass, chances are that the Pedal has been strengthened to balance, in which case that upper octave suddenly takes over, however momentarily. Musically, I can’t find a good reason for that, and so I often omit those upper octave notes.

Measures 20-22: I omit the alto C# at the end of 20 and the beginning of 21, plus the ensuing alto Bs in 21. Ditto the alto E in 22. All for the legato of the upper voice.

Measures 20 and 22: I will crescendo a bit (not too much) in those measures. Dupré’s crescendo in 23 seems a little late to my ear, and it’s also harder to achieve there because the Pedal notes have suddenly gotten busier.

Measure 24: I move Dupré’s decrescendo into that measure, again because the Pedal notes are about to get busy in 25.

Measures 30-31: Again, with so many voices breaking across that barline, it can sound like a major event. I tie both left-hand notes while breaking the right-hand and Pedal notes. Notice that the upper G# of the left hand can then tie to the lower note of the right across the bar.

Measures 31, 35, 36: I rarely play the high octaves of the left hand. They are often too screechy.

Throughout the Litany, don’t break where Dupré doesn’t write a rest or a breath mark. And hold all notes full value, even those that lead into a rest.

Measure 49: The right hand can be kept more legato if you can configure the manuals to be adjacent to each other.

Measure 52: Note that the right hand is given a breath mark and the left is given a staccato, both of those suggesting a sixteenth rest, in Dupré’s practice. The Pedal is given nothing, which indicates legato into 53. Multitask with those voices!

Measures 57-60: I reverse the hands there, playing Dupré’s left-hand part with the right and vice-versa. Clever, no? Also, our Positif Cromornes are usually wayyyyyy too loud there (not to mention too buzzy), and so I mitigate that by starting the Litany on a slightly larger registration from the beginning, to balance.

Measures 71-73: For a smooth crescendo, I punch a new piston every two beats, beginning on the quarter rest in 71, all the way through the downbeat of 73.

Measure 73: Dupré is calling for another optimistic registration that only Wanamaker will have. I bring on all the 16- and 8-foot stops I can find, plus a few 4-foots, omitting brighter Prestants. There will be opportunity to add more later.

Measure 76: As in measure 52, decide how you want to handle the various parts at the end of that measure. The closing D-sharps in the soprano and first tenor are melodic and should not be broken. The Pedal is asked to repeat low G#. That leaves the Bs and G# in alto and tenors, which I do break – that seems just enough to acknowledge the phrase break without creating a chasm.

Measure 77: The final eighth rest in the right hand is misaligned in the engraving and should occur with the high C#, with the other two rests.

Measures 77-80: Notice the Pedal voices should release at separate times. The right-foot notes hold to the downbeat, while the left-foot notes release prior.

Measures 85-92: Get out your Gleason book and review pedal substitution and two-plane pedaling methods! I substitute only on the final Pedal notes of 89 and 91. The rest can be done in a two-plane, one-foot-over-the-other situation. This is one of those spots best played from memory.

Measures 85-86: Unless you have a console assistant, you may safely ignore Dupré’s cresc. poco a poco. The hands and feet are too busy there.

Measures 96-97: Don’t break all notes at the end of 96. Always legato with Dupré, unless otherwise instructed. However, I do break the alto Cb, because it is about to become a melodic B in measure 97.

Measure 102: This requires a general piston to reconfigure the organ. You have to separate the Swell from the Great, but we want the Great to remain strong somehow. So this is where I bring in the missing Prestants I omitted in measure 73. This will keep the Great strong, even while it says goodbye to the Swell. I also do not couple the Swell to the Pedal for this entire passage coming up. I can’t come up with a good reason for the Pedal to have all those reeds droning in those strong octaves, while the more important upper parts of the Swell are struggling to be heard (usually on weak American reeds). Although I don’t couple the reeds to the Pedal, I will enhance the Pedal in some way, to keep it from sounding too distant, whether I add to it another coupler or some quiet Pedal reeds.

Measure 103: Dupré calls for full Swell there, but I have found that better clarity is achieved from leaving the 2’, mixture, and 4’ reeds off. A more noticeable contrast between the flues of the Great/Positif and the Swell reeds is clearer without so many additional flue pipes of the Swell mixture playing as well. Plus, that will leave more opportunity for a smoother buildup later on, especially on smaller instruments.

Measures 103-119: I leave out lots of second-alto notes in the Swell, in service to the legato of the melody. You may take or leave these suggestions, but remember that no one has ever caught them from one of my performances! Again, in the name of clarity and contrast, sometimes it’s better to leave something out. (That’s a nice way of saying that Dupré went a little overboard with the notes there.) Here are the second-alto notes I leave out: measure 104, beat 2: alto E and G# / measure 105: alto F# / measure 106: alto E and A / measure 107: both As in the alto / measure 109: alto B / measure 110: alto B and final C# / measure 113: alto B / measure 114: alto B / measure 117: alto E / measure 118 and 119: alto F#s. Also in this entire passage, pay attention to breath marks or lack thereof – always legato unless otherwise instructed.

Measure 108: the Pedal has a breath mark, which I apply to the right foot but not the left. To break them both seems excessive.

Measure 116: the eighth rest in the Pedal is for the right foot, not the left.

Measures 120-121: This is one of those terrifying moments requiring a change of manual and a change of registration, with nearly no available limbs or digits to pull it off. In 120, I make sure the right foot plays E with the heel, which I then slide forward on the note to get my toe over a general piston. Then I am able to punch the piston with the right toe for the downbeat of 121, omitting the tenor F# entirely. That solves that particular problem. The fingering for the downbeat of 121 is another matter: Try playing the final eighth note of measure 120 in the right hand with fingering 421 [stacked], substituting to 532 [stacked]. That frees up 4 and 1 to stretch down to the Great for measure 121. If your fingers are long enough AND if your right toe is accurate with its piston timing, all this can be achieved perfectly legato. As always, that’s worth the work in the practice room.

Measure 124: I punch another general for a little more buildup, depending on the organ.

Measures 125-126: As in measures 52 and 76: decide what you want to apply the staccatos to. Again, it is just too eventful to break everything, especially since some of the notes are sixteenths and will sound too clipped if broken. I break the upper two notes of the right and tie the B. I break the left-hand G# and carry the C# legato into 126. I apply the staccato to the right foot but tie the left.

Measure 127 into barline of 128: Right hand should break the high B but not the A just under it. I also break both notes of the left hand into that barline.

Measures 130-136: I omit the right-foot note to use the foot for punching more pistons, a new piston every other barline. Then I add the right-foot E back in, in 136 or 138 depending on the organ, which makes for a nice continuation of the crescendo. Also for this section, don’t speed up or suddenly take off. This page needs to be grand, not hurried. And be clean about the chordal trading between the hands I release each chord at the same time as the appearance of the next one, rarely releasing earlier unless the acoustic asks for it.

Measures 139-140: I don’t break the left hand into 140. No need.

Measure 140: I return to a tempo again there. The half notes are long and exciting enough, especially if I punch another piston for each, for a final buildup.

Widor vs. Joby, Part 11: Suite Latine and Trois Nouvelles Pièces

This is the eleventh and final installment in my series on my take on playing the complete works of Charles-Marie Widor. See the first post in the series for an introduction and my philosophies behind this blog series. And as always, refer to John Near’s edition for important corrections in the scores that I might not necessarily mention.

The Suite latine and Trois Nouvelles Pièces are up today. Visit my program notes on the pieces. And of course, feel free to order the recording.

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The Suite latine makes me feel like I’m ‘cheating.’ We’re not used to seeing a Widor organ piece that’s not a Symphony, and so I feel like I’m intruding into a forbidden corner of Widor’s mind! These pieces feel like composed improvisations. And if that is the case, then we have a most valuable glimpse into Widor’s late improvisational prowess, of which increasingly fewer people – if any now – have ever heard in person.

If you have been keeping up all this time with these many posts in this series, you’ll notice that the later the piece, the fewer performance comments I have. With the later pieces, Widor was less inclined to revise, and at that point in his life, he didn’t have time to get around to it, anyway. But there’s also something to be said for him ‘getting it right’ the first time later in life.

I have only two comments for the Latine. First, the final two pages are, in the words of my dear friend John Yarrington, “worth the price of admission alone.” Second, I would point out a magnificent ‘Wagner moment’ in movement 1, measures 59-65. As noted before, Widor admired Wagner’s music, and it may or may not be accidental that tiny moments of Wagnerian inspiration exist here and there.

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And finally, for the Trois Nouvelles Pièces: Widor’s indications throughout are enough, and I have no corrections or performance quirks to offer. Not only did Widor have no further opportunity to revise these later works, but he also ‘got them right’ the first time. In some cases, that may be because he was such a sure composer for the organ and did not need to re-infuse works with a more mature style. In other cases, he did not provide quite the volume of in-score indications he had earlier, in which case, the performer is at more liberty there, requiring less commentary here. Just do as Widor said, and given the choice, don’t go overboard with anything.

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I know of no liturgy to wrap this up, and so I’ll simply announce, “Our Widor series is concluded!” (to which many may enthusiastically reply, “Thanks be to God!”).