Kurt-Ludwig Forg will play a recital in memory of organist Sylvie Poirier, on May 18 at Marien-Wallfahrtskapelle in Pützfeld, Germany. The program will include works by Bach, Fauré, Hielscher, Krebs, Mozart, Mulet, Peeters, and Rheinberger.
A visual artist as well as a musician, Sylvie Poirier created a painting that was used for the cover of a CD (shown above) that Forg made at the Marien-Wallfahrtskapelle. Poirier’s original painting will be exhibited during the recital.
Canadian Organ Duettists Sylvie Poirier and Philip Crozier on tour in summer 2003
Philip Crozier was born in Preston, England, and was a boy chorister in Blackburn and Carlisle Cathedral Choirs. In 1979 he graduated from Cardiff University, and was awarded the Glynne Jones Prize for Organ in two consecutive years. Between 1978 and 1980 he studied in Paris with André Marchal.
For the past several years my wife Sylvie Poirier and I have had the pleasure of traveling extensively giving concerts of organ duets. In the course of numerous concert tours we have amassed a considerable number of very happy memories, sprinkled with some less delightful tales.
It may be worthwhile at this point explaining how all this began. Sylvie and I first met in 1982 as candidates in the Chartres International Organ Competition and at the time lived on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Sylvie was born and living in Montréal, while I am from England. One thing led to another, culminating in my immigration to Canada and our marriage in 1984. The result was that we pooled together our respective collections of organ music and recordings, learning a lot from each other in the process. Our duet playing began later that decade when we decided to try out some organ duets we had bought--enough to make a complete program in two halves which then became the subject of a broadcast on Radio-Canada in May 1990--our debut concert as duettists. That one event was so well received that we were urged and encouraged by several kind folk to continue and do more, so we were stimulated to expand beyond this one concert and examine the available repertory, increase it by commissions and promulgate it by performances and recordings. In 1991 we played in Germany for the first time as duettists, our international debut as such, and it has since grown and grown. We have now commissioned and premiered seven organ duets by composers from Canada, Germany, France and Britain, and released three CDs of organ duets.
From the outset we have preferred to concentrate on original organ duets (the Mozart and Beethoven works excepting, which we consider valid as organ duets) because we are always fascinated by how and why a particular composer would have conceived an organ duet and how he handled this form of music making, rather than someone taking an existing framework and adapting it for two players. It is also very exciting to unearth original works that have long been out of print, but there is still a lot we are looking for.
It has become an annual event for us to travel to Europe during the summer when I have vacation time from St. James United Church and Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montréal. Undertaking a concert tour that lasts around forty days presents a number of challenges. A good part of the success or otherwise is a direct result of what happens in the weeks before the plane is boarded, so a significant amount of preparation is obviously necessary; there are so many diverse eventualities to cover. Planning the actual traveling requires some time consulting train schedules and maps. Occasionally we have had to postpone concerts to subsequent years because of the impossibility of reaching a destination in time.
The choice of repertory for the individual concerts is always carefully planned to include a good representation of standard duet works which are quite often hardly known at all, taking into account the suitability of the instrument to the music and the availability of playing aids (because we do our own registration unaided, pistons or not, with rare exceptions). Our programs are submitted well in advance, always to include Canadian content, and fulfilling requests that are asked of us, when possible. We also like to include some of our own commissioned works. Organ duettists are relatively rare, and the repertory is not enormous, so concert organizers often prefer to hear duet works that the audience and organists alike are happy to discover or rediscover.
The planned tour for summer 2003 was all working out well when I received an e-mail in January from David Rogers of Doncaster, England, a long-time friend who in addition to being a fine musician, improviser and recitalist (albeit a reluctant one), is a recording specialist with a huge knowledge of repertory and recording technique. He had made the acquaintance of one individual named Nick, an organ enthusiast who does not play and is not a recording technician, but whose plan was to start a record company devoted to organ music, to be recorded and edited by David. At Nick’s request David asked if I could record the Reubke Sonata on the 94th Psalm--a piece I had never played, but have known well since childhood as a listener, initially through an old LP of the never to be forgotten magisterial reading of Brian Runnett. David had made Nick familiar with my organ playing through private recordings of concerts I had given some twenty years ago. So I eagerly began learning this wonderful work and completed the task in due course.
Sylvie and I also greatly admire the organ works of Petr Eben whom we met in Prague in 1995 and 2000, and it was also suggested we record some of his works with the upcoming 75th birthday of the composer in mind. In 1993 we had broadcast Job and Faust on Radio-Canada (performances that Petr Eben himself was delighted with), but this music remains quite unknown in Canada. Consequently we invested much time, energy and enthusiasm into this new project where we had been assured all funding was in place, greatly encouraged by this unexpected recording opportunity. The organ of Fulda Cathedral in Germany seemed entirely suitable to the repertory in our opinion, and its availability was negotiated and booked. After all the required arrangements had been made with the cathedral, the repertory approaching where we wanted it to be for the recording (it is vital not to “peak” too soon) and a crescendo of excitement building day by day, Nick suddenly sent us an e-mail five weeks before our departure, citing a family problem and ending “my business will have to be sidelined temporarily, so, as they say in the satirical press, Summer is cancelled.”
Shocked and dismayed, we respectfully requested that the recordings could still proceed in his absence with David alone (Nick had insisted on being present at all recording sessions), since these had now become mitigating circumstances and by this stage the planning and preparation for the recording was so far advanced. This was refused outright so we were in a terrible dilemma: do we cancel and possibly jeopardize everything later, or wait, hoping the issue can be resolved, or do we continue alone? The impasse with Nick was not advancing anywhere and we began doubting the sincerity and goodwill of what had been achieved thus far in the project we had embarked upon.
A swift decision had to be made--every day counted with our departure for Europe approaching rapidly. It became more and more apparent that we were going to have to go it alone if these recordings were to be realized. Those final five weeks were spent frantically trying to salvage the situation, soliciting donations from friends and organizations so we could begin the actual recording. This took up so much of our time that hardly any organ practice was done in those five weeks--not the best situation to be in before a tour of twelve concerts and a recording project! With much regret I decided to abandon the Reubke--this after all was to have been only half of one CD, the other half being taken up with the Piano Sonata by a pianist of repute. There was precious little time remaining before our departure and this had to be principally devoted to the Eben pieces which demand so much concentrated work, in spite of the monumental distractions preying on our minds constantly.
It was relaxing in a strange way to be on the plane flying to Europe on the evening of July 16 after the turmoil of the preceding five weeks; we had done all we could, securing enough funding to cover the production of two compact discs. Arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris, it was clear that our flight connection to Frankfurt was beyond reach. Six hours later, with a good meal along the way, we were airborne again. We were met at Frankfurt by Markus Eichenlaub, organist of Limburg Cathedral where we were to play the first concert. After the hour drive to Limburg and settling in to the Priester Seminar, our home for the next three nights, we were taken to the cathedral by Mr. Eichenlaub. A pleasant fifteen-minute walk from our residence, the thirteenth-century cathedral has a commanding presence over the surroundings, perched on a hill overlooking the River Lahn.
The organ by Hans-Gerd Klais (1978) is a large four-manual with eight combinations, spread across the west gallery and will likely be restored in a year or so. Mr. Eichenlaub suggested we hear it from downstairs as he demonstrated its many colors, and it was of great value to hear it played beforehand. He is a very gifted improviser, and it felt somewhat surreal with the fatigue of the journey starting to bite hard as we wandered around this magnificently beautiful building, with the evening sunshine streaming through the windows.
Then we were left to explore it for ourselves and begin registering the program which included Two Pieces for Organ Duet by Ronald Arnatt, a first for us. It proved to be quite a challenge to make this particular piece work on that organ; the second movement is aptly named “Octopus Music.” There was a video hook up for the concert itself (which was very well attended). We needed to change the pistons as we progressed since we had also chosen this as the venue to give the German première of our most recent commissioned duet, the 2me Suite pour orgue à quatre mains by French organist Jean-Luc Perrot. Following the concert we went to an excellent Spanish restaurant with our hosts and some of their friends.
During our time in Limburg we also enjoyed a barbeque on the lawn with the organist and his wife and son. We were the only visiting residents in the seminary, home to just a few nuns, in a spacious new building, so were alone and basically had the whole place to ourselves, with easy access to the small two-manual tracker organ in the chapel. Finally we were able to really concentrate on practice, instead of answering the telephone, meeting people to explain and discuss the aforementioned imminent recording project, and sending multiple e-mails and letters. Just being at the organ and making music was very therapeutic--how we wished life could always be like that!
Leaving Limburg on Sunday July 20, we took the train to Fulda and were greeted that afternoon by Domorganist Hans-Jürgen Kaiser and taken to the Priester Seminar where we had individual rooms with a shower. It was relatively spartan accommodation, home to several priests in training from all over the world, including French-speaking from Africa, but quiet and comfortable, and situated just behind the cathedral. There was also a rail timetable thoughtfully posted on the notice board. Our good friend David Pearson in Kiel had supplied us with various train times for our travels; he acts as our agent in Germany and was a key player in all the Fulda arrangements.
The cathedral was built in the new Baroque manner (1704-1712) to the design of the architect Johann Dientzenhofer and is an outstanding work of art. Inspired by the Roman Baroque style, it reuses the architectural core of the ancient Abbot Ratgar’s Basilica (9th century). In keeping with the splendor of the building in which it is housed, the organ is truly magnificent. The glorious case dates from the time of the cathedral’s construction, and today the organ consists of 72 speaking stops, including some 24 from the large Sauer organ of 1876/77 which was rebuilt and enlarged by Christoph Glatter-Götz of Rieger-Orgelbau and completed in 1996. The specification can be found on the company’s website <www.riegerorgelbau.com/db/pdf/Fulda.pdf>. The four-manual console is well equipped with a multiple memory system (32x12 generals), two-way sequencer and additional electric action for some of the couplers. What a great thrill it is to play this wonderful instrument, and Mr. Kaiser was most helpful during our time in Fulda. We were allowed access to the organ in the evenings and partly during the lunch hours when we could play quietly.
David Rogers arrived the day after with his very specialized and compact recording equipment. At last the much anticipated recording project of organ works by Petr Eben was about to begin. Over several nights spread over one and a half weeks, Sylvie recorded Job (a narrator in Montréal has recorded the French text of the Biblical readings to go between the movements), and I did Faust, A Festive Voluntary and A Small Chorale Partita. There were a few unexpected interruptions--on one evening a private guided tour, and on another evening a trainee priest began practicing the organ in the chapel behind the high altar. Because it is also a monastery and a major learning place, from time to time there were some extraneous noises that had a tendency to arrive just as the last chord was dying away! Despite this, there was hardly any traffic noise because the cathedral is perfectly situated away from roads. We had been lent a set of keys, and on one evening had considerable trouble locking the cathedral door. Something was wrong with the lock and it was fixed the next day.
We interrupted our time in Fulda later that week and rented a car driven by David Rogers to go to Rheda-Wiedenbrück, our next port of call. As we went to collect it we noticed a German newspaper photograph with major headlines from Iraq and two familiar faces front and center. One fact about concert touring is that we tend not to follow the news, and in Fulda we had neither radio nor television. On the journey, in which we ran into some very heavy rain, we picked up news on the car radio. The hotel in Rheda-Wiedenbrück was the first time we had seen a television screen since leaving Montréal, and the demise of these two individuals was the big news of the week, along with gruesome photos.
Upon arrival we were met by a lady at the hotel who gave us the church keys; we deposited our cases and went to eat. We were ravenous and found a pizzeria close to the church and went in about 7 pm, fully expecting to be out by 8:30 pm--the organ was available all evening. In the end it took nearly forty-five minutes after placing the order before the soup was served and nearly an hour after that for the pizza, which was very ordinary. It was approaching 10 pm before we left the restaurant, irritated by the apparent indifference of the patron, and not in the mood to have a good practice. It was almost dark by this time and we fumbled around in the gloom trying to find switches and keyholes. We registered the program, grateful for the playing aids, and returned to the hotel.
The next day, Friday July 25, David Pearson arrived for a surprise visit in time for the concert at St. Clemens Kirche, where the three-manual organ is by Fischer & Krämer (1984), details of which can be found at <www.fischer-kraemer.de/rheda.htm>. It was our third concert in this church where a few years ago we first met Ralf Bölting, composer of several organ duets. Our program included one work we commissioned from him in 2000, the Toccata on “Vom Himmel hoch” (the third movement of the Triptych on German Christmas Carols), but unfortunately he could not attend the concert. We have several good original Christmas duets in our repertory, but are frequently asked not to play them during the summer, so we were happy to be able to include it.
On Saturday the four of us filled the rented car and headed to Borken to stay with our good friend Kurt-Ludwig Forg, director of the music school there, a recitalist and author of numerous articles and a frequent visitor to North America. We left David Pearson in Münster so he could take the train north to Kiel because of services the next day.
On Sunday afternoon July 27, we played a concert to a capacity audience at the Barockkirche St. Franziskus in Zwillbrock, a delightful small village on the Dutch border. The website (in German) <www.zwillbrock.de/barockkirche/> contains information about the historic two-manual organ and an interior photograph of this beautiful baroque building. It is possible to perform a complete concert of original organ duets on a small instrument and gain very satisfactory results, and this particular one served the repertory really well. The program included Fugue à six parties et deux sujets à 4 mains by Clément Loret and Petite Suite by Canadian organist and composer Denis Bédard, and many of our CDs were sold afterwards. We have given concerts on organs of all sizes and found repertory that is suitable in each case. That is the challenge for the performer--to construct an interesting program on the organ that is available. We aim to exploit the resources of repertory and instrument as much as possible. It is amazing what some of these smaller instruments can do.
Then it was back to Fulda to begin the second week of recording sessions, having fulfilled our concert duties for the time being, and avoiding the heavy service schedule in the cathedral over the weekend. Because we had the car we took a pleasant day off and made a pilgrimage to Eisenach which is not far away in former East Germany. The border is no longer apparent, but passing through the flowing landscapes of Thuringia familiar to Bach and entering the town of Eisenach, there is much evidence of reconstruction. We parked the car close to the Georgenkirche where Bach was baptized. It was also the scene of major protests in 1989, as documented in several photographs in the church aisles depicting all three galleries filled with the townsfolk as the Communist era was nearing its final sunset there. The Bachhaus, Bach’s birthplace, was the first museum to be dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach and is well worth a visit. Established in 1906 through the Neue Bachgesellschaft, its collection includes archives, household items and other treasures from the time of Bach, in addition to a valuable assortment of musical instruments. The visit includes a live demonstration of these historical instruments. In the souvenir shop we purchased several recordings, a poster of the Bach Family Tree, and a tie and umbrella of Bach’s handwriting. Meanwhile a baseball cap (which at one time I would never have imagined wearing) provided invaluable protection against the burning sun.
During that last week in Fulda we also visited the Michaelskirche adjacent to the cathedral; it is one of the most notable medieval sacred buildings in Germany--its crypt dates from Carolingian times originating between 819 and 822 as the burial chapel in the former Benedictine monks’ cemetery on the same site. Daily at 6 pm the bells peal forth from both the cathedral tower and the Michaelskirche. What a glorious sound this is, which David Rogers captured on tape. We have decided to add it to the end of Sylvie’s CD.
For the recording sessions we stayed in the cathedral until around midnight every night, finishing the proceedings in the congenial surroundings of a neighboring hostelry where we mulled everything over before turning in for the night. Finally we accomplished what we set out to achieve, two compact discs of works by Petr Eben. One night we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm and on another night, returning to the seminary at about 1:45 am, we could hear the organ in the cathedral and quietly went to investigate. The great instrument on the west gallery was being played, along with the one at the other extremity of the building in the chapel behind the high altar. A work for two organs--both organists were remarkably together, but we never found out who they were.
On Friday August 1, we went our separate ways; David Rogers headed back to England and we travelled north to Kiel to stay with David Pearson, with whom we took the train to Itzehoe on Saturday where we found the four-manual 1905 Sauer to be quite disappointing, despite a relatively comprehensive specification, far from what the stoplist had promised by way of sound selection. The program included the very first organ duet by a Canadian composer, Duet for Organ by Frederick R.C. Clarke dating from 1954. This concert attracted the lowest audience of the tour with about twenty-five in attendance. However we played an encore on the other instrument that shares the gallery, some four stops that contain original Arp Schnitger pipes from 1716-1719.
Our first visit to Estonia began on Monday August 4, when we took the airport bus from Kiel to Hamburg and boarded the Estonian Air flight to Tallinn where we were to give three concerts in the Tallinn XVII International Organ Festival, the first Canadian organists and duettists to be invited to perform in this prestigious festival which came into being in 1987. As such we were the grateful recipients of a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts under their International Performance Assistance in Music (Pilot Project). Our programs acknowledged that support.
The meal on the plane was surprisingly good, and upon arrival we were met by Eva-Maria Asari from the Canadian embassy and Tiiu Valper, assistant to Festival Artistic Director Andres Uibo, and driven to the hotel in old Tallinn where all the performers are lodged, aptly named “Old Town Maestro’s.” This was the beginning of a lovely week which included a guided tour of the Canadian embassy with its magnificent view over a part of the city walls, and the harbor. We received an invitation for lunch a few days later with the Canadian Ambassador, His Excellency Mr. Robert Andrigo, and his wife, along with other representatives from the embassy and the festival. It was of course an honor and pleasure to be guests of the ambassador and his staff and to discuss our career and performance plans. My mother arrived in Tallinn also, staying in another hotel outside the old town. This was the only time on the tour we could meet up because once again a trip to my native England was not possible this year.
The festival itself featured artists from several countries and each generally performed in three different venues, not just in Tallinn but in other towns as well, and attended each others’ concerts when possible. On the first evening we attended an excellent organ recital by Andras Viragh from Hungary in the cathedral (Tallinna toomkirik) where there is a large three-manual Sauer (1913). This church also has one of the largest collections in all of Europe of coat-of-arms epitaphs of well-to-do families dating from the medieval era. Later in the week Andres Uibo gave a splendid concert at the Niguliste muuseum-kontserdisaal (Niguliste Museum-Concert Hall) which included a fine Fuge in D minor by Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918) whose picture appears on the 50 Krooni note alongside an organ, the only banknote in the world that has an organ on it (also available on a souvenir fridge magnet).
On August 9 we attended a most satisfying program entitled “Dance and Mass.” The dance was in the first half, the dancers being the Vilnius Camargo Troupe, and the Estonian Baroque Soloists playing Lully, Campra, Bach, Vivaldi and others from the period, all choreographed. “A Mass for Sunday Misericordia Domini” was the title of the second half consisting of Gregorian chant and North German baroque organ music. Peter van Dijk from Holland performed Scheidemann, Hasse, Praetorius, extracts from the Tablature of Martinus Leopolita (ca. 1580), Sweelinck, Karges and Buxtehude. The choral Mass sections were sung by the ensemble Vox Clamantis, which comprises a diversity of musicians, singers, composers, instrumentalists and conductors who all have a common interest in Gregorian chant, under the direction of Jaan-Eik Tulve. The musical forces were a finely balanced complement all the way through the concert.
Our first recital was on Tuesday August 5 in the impressive Pärnu Concert Hall which is less than one year old and fully equipped. Pärnu is a very popular holiday resort in Estonia, particularly favored by politicians. The organ builder Martin ter Haseborg was present when we arrived and was available should there be problems with the instrument. There remained a few pipes that still needed to be connected and some finishing touches to the instrument here and there, but this did not affect our program during which we gave the Estonian premières of three of our commissioned works: Sinfonietta by Denis Bédard; Dance Suite for Organ Duet by South-African born Canadian organist and composer Jacobus Kloppers; and the aforementioned 2me Suite pour orgue à quatre mains by Jean-Luc Perrot. The specification of the three-manual organ along with photographs can be found at <www.concert.ee/eesti/parnu/orel/index.php>.
The second concert was originally scheduled to be in Viljandi on a two-manual instrument but in due course this was changed to Räpina Church on Thursday August 7. Räpina is a somewhat bare place near the Russian border not far from Lake Peipsi, the fifth largest lake in Europe. The priest welcomed us, along with the local organ maintenance technician. Before the concert the priest and his wife invited us to their home for some refreshments. The audience was spread around the church and on the gallery, and the organ was in many ways the most satisfying instrument we played in Estonia. The program included the Sonata in G minor (op. 50) by Leberecht Baumert, a fine duet that has only recently become generally available, and the Estonian première of the Petite Suite of Denis Bédard. The concert closed with some prayers led by the priest. There was not a great deal of time to rehearse, as in Pärnu, and we collected a poster bearing a variant of my name-- Sphilip Crozier. The return journey was beautified with a fabulous sunset, around 11 pm in early August.
I should mention that we had a preview of Estonia three years ago when Karl Raudsepp, a Montréal-based organbuilder, gave a very captivating talk and video presentation to the Montréal Centre of the RCCO on Balticum 2000, the ISO Congress of that year that visited Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Karl is the only member of his family not to have been born in Estonia, and he has been preparing an inventory of Estonian organs. I am grateful to him for the following information:
The organ in Räpina Church is a fairly large two-manual instrument, built by August Terkmann in 1934. It also incorporates some stops from the 1857 organ originally built by the Tartu organbuilder, August Kessler. The new stoplist was worked out in conjunction with the well-known Estonian composer and organ teacher, August Topman. It was the last instrument built by Terkmann. Among his employees at the time were the brothers Oskar and Voldemar Gutmann as well as Otto and Alfred Gutdorf.
The stoplist is as follows:
Manual I
16’ Bourdon
8’ Principal
8’ Gamba
8’ Flauto amabile
8’ Doppelgedackt
8’ Gemshorn
8’ Salicional
4’ Oktav
4’ Hohlflöte
22/3’ Quinte
2’ Oktav
Cornett III-V
Cymbel III-IV
Subkoppel II-I
Superkoppel II-I
Superkoppel I
Manual II (under expression)
16’ Gedackt
8’ Geigenprincipal
8’ Quintaton
8’ Flöte
8’ Lieblichgedackt
8’ Viola
8’ Vox celeste
4’ Principal
4’ Rohrflöte
2’ Koppelflöte
Mixtur III-V
8’ Trompete
Subkoppel II
Superkoppel II
Glocken
Tremolo
Pedal
16’ Principalbass
16’ Subbass
16’ Gedacktbass
8’ Oktavbass
8’ Cello
102/3’ Quinte
16’ Posaune
I-P
II-P
Superkoppel II-P
The Echo organ, planned for installation in the gallery behind the altar, and playable from Manual II, was never built due to the lack of funds. It would have comprised the following stops:
Echo
8’ Fernflöte
8’ Undamaris
4’ Gemshorn
Karl also added in a further e-mail to me that August Terkmann is credited with introducing many new technical innovations into organ building in Estonia, including the use of electricity. His instruments are renowned for their gentle voicing and singing quality. Räpina’s organ stands out as a remarkable example of his work.
Our third concert was at the Niguliste Museum-Concert Hall on Sunday August 10. Details and photographs of this former church can be found at <www.ekm.ee/english/niguliste/>. The organ was built in 1981 by the Rieger-Kloss company and has 4 manuals and pedal, 63 registers, and 4711 pipes. The program included two movements from one of our commissioned duets, Suite de noëls by Canadian organist and composer Gilles Rioux, as well as the Bombardo-Carillon by Charles Henri Valentin Alkan for pedals alone, and ending with the Toccata Française (sur le nom de H.E.L.M.U.T.) by Ralf Bölting which is a real showcase work. The concert was attended by the ambassador and the full staff of the Office of the Canadian Embassy and broadcast live on Estonian Classical Radio. Before this concert I recorded an interview for the same program that was aired during the interval.
At the conclusion of the concert there was a fine reception hosted by the festival which is run by the State Concert Institute Eesti Kontsert and in our experience is extremely well organized. Ground transportation in the form of comfortable mini buses belonging to Eesti Kontsert was provided from the airport and back, and for the two-hour drive to Pärnu and three-hour ride to Räpina. In each of these venues outside Tallinn we received the same courtesy and warm welcome extended to us in Tallinn. The driver himself, an employee of Eesti Kontsert, was responsible for the distribution of programs in Räpina where everything ran smoothly. We had the chance to explore a bit during some of the free time that week. It was most interesting to go into a supermarket, something that always fascinates me in different countries, and it was very well stocked with all the usual household necessities. Milk products were in abundance, so they have their act together on that one. Just a visit to a supermarket can give a snapshot of the location--and if this was anything to go by, Estonia is on the right path.
The week passed very quickly in Estonia, before we returned to Kiel on Monday August 11, for the next venue a couple of days later in Garding, some two hours by train. It is a beautiful small town, and the delightful ancient St. Christianskirche was completely full for the concert which we opened with the Duet for Organ by Samuel Wesley. The organ was built in 1974 by the Schuke company of Berlin. The organ case of the Hauptwerk dates back to 1512, and as such is the oldest unchanged organ case in North Germany. The casework for the Rückpositiv was completed in 1680. The specification is below:
Hauptwerk (C-f3)
8’ Regal
8’ Prinzipal
8’ Rohrflöte
4’ Oktave
2’ Oktave
Mixtur IV-V
8’ Trompete
Rückpositiv (C-f3)
8’ Gedackt
4’ Rohrflöte
4’ Prinzipal
2’ Gemshorn
11/3’ Quinte
Sesquialter II (from c0)
Scharff III-IV
Pedal (C-f1)
16’ Subbaß
8’ Prinzipal
4’ Choralbaß
Hintersatz IV
16’ Fagott
After a couple of days rest in Kiel we headed south to Saarbrücken on Friday August 15 to play at the Basilika St. Johannis. We met our host Bernhard Leonardy, organist of the basilica, later in the evening, and visited the town in his open top sports car. This was a first for us too, exhilarating to experience the fresh midnight air like this. We had only one hour on the organ before the 11:30 am recital the next day, but fortunately the five-manual Hugo Mayer from Saarland organ has a multiple memory system. Further information about the church and a specification of the organ with photographs of the console can be found at <www.basilika-sb.de/>.
After the concert we ate at a small snack bar near the station because we had our luggage with us and needed to be at the station for the train that gave us good connections to Wiesbaden. Travel from Saarbrücken to Wiesbaden was plagued with rail problems, beginning with the non-arrival of the ICE that was running one hour late, forcing us to take a taxi from Mainz to Wiesbaden. Gabriel Dessauer, organist of St. Bonifatius, had left instructions for us to be at the church to collect various keys after the Saturday evening Mass. He was away and was only returning in time for our concert on Sunday afternoon. Over the years we have developed a technique for working rapidly on a new instrument--we prepare for the eventuality that there is often a short amount of practice time on the instrument due to circumstances beyond our control--but we do find it is invaluable to gain access to the organ the day before the concert. On this occasion we almost missed an evening on the three-manual Mayer organ which has 640 pistons allowing for instant comparison of various registration options and is “user-friendly.” Information about the church and organ and music are on the church website <www.st-bonifatius-wiesbaden.de/> and there is an English section too.
Gabriel Dessauer arrived the day of the concert to greet us. Our visit coincided with an annual Fest going on in the town, with a huge selection of wines, beers and food on stands in the main town square. It was so good to be part of this great celebration but a huge downpour of rain, essential though with the heat wave going on at the time, watered it down somewhat. The church with its vibrant acoustics was akin to a sauna bath.
Following Wiesbaden we returned north to Kiel, breaking the journey for a second visit to Borken to see Kurt-Ludwig Forg for a couple of days. Such free days are much appreciated in a concert tour. The last concert in Germany was on Thursday August 21 at the Stadtkirche in the coastal town of Heilgenhafen which boasts much tourism and fish restaurants, but lacks reasonable public transportation, not being served by a railway, and a bus service that finishes before the end of the concert. David Pearson came with us for the day trip and we were well received by the organist Dörte Czernitzski. The concert was very well attended; one special characteristic was that the organ bench was polished to perfection, enabling us to slide forward straight into the pedalboard with effortless ease. So we had to be vigilant all the time!
The next day we had an early start for the long train journey to Frankfurt airport from where we had an evening flight to Paris. Late trains and missed connections had become quite rife on this trip (not typical of Germany, I might add), so we decided it was better to be safe than sorry. In Paris we were met by Sylvie’s brother who has lived in France for more than thirty years. On Saturday afternoon we went to rehearse at La Madeleine to find that there were two weddings so we had to return in the evening.
General Kalck, who is in charge of concert organization, proudly demonstrated the organ to us. As he was explaining the various registers and their history, I was observing and memorizing their location. One interesting fact about this organ is its shortage of 8’ diapason stops. There is a wide plethora of sound at 8’ pitch, but only one Montre 8’ on the Grand Orgue and Positif respectively, and not on the other two manuals. The absence of more principal sound at 8’ pitch is not so noticeable. A multi-memory system accelerates matters much faster in the relatively short practice time available. He left us to it, giving us precise instructions and exact telephone numbers to call when we had finished so we could be let out of the building. Reassuringly, they matched those posted on the organ console, so we enjoyed exploring the delights of this wonderful monument of French organ building, with its grandstand view down into the nave (not so easy if one is afraid of heights).
La Madeleine has had a long succession of distinguished organists including Camille Saint-Saëns (1857-1877), Théodore Dubois (1877-1896), Gabriel Fauré (1896-1905) and Jeanne Demessieux (1962-1968). After about three hours we had done all the necessary work and then telephoned but could not obtain a free line. Half an hour later, with no joy whatsoever, it seemed we were doomed to spend the night in the Madeleine. Sylvie stayed upstairs, trying the telephone again and again, while I went hunting for exit points and other telephones. Thus I discovered just about every door in the building, various tunnels, spiral staircases and iron grills. Tourists do not usually have the freedom and privilege of such explorations; what a wonderful place it is! In the sacristy I found another telephone in the dark but still could not get a line, then a portable one that I took back into the church so I could see better. Between us we tried everything but nothing worked. I continued walking around, sincerely hoping I would trigger an alarm somewhere, but after about forty-five long minutes a voice shouted from high up over the high altar to enquire if we had terminated for the night because the organ was no longer being played. It was a janitor and we informed him that obtaining a telephone line was impossible. After checking the telephones and finding them to be in order he let us out. It was a relief to be outside on the street. The next day General Kalck greeted us with a question “what happened last night?” Then he added “did you add a zero to the number?” That was the key to the problem.
The concert was attended by over 500 people, many of them Parisians returning to the city after their traditional month away. Jean-Luc Perrot and his wife also came to hear the performance of his 2me Suite pour orgue à quatre mains which in fact was its première in France. François-Henri Houbart, organist of La Madeleine since 1979, was away for that weekend, performing a concert elsewhere so we did not have the opportunity to meet him.
The next day we flew back to Montréal, arriving home tired but fulfilled. Before the trip we purchased some good disposable cameras so we could have a record of everything because our own camera had recently become non-functional. We took numerous photographs including all the organs and their consoles and most of the people mentioned in this article, and eagerly awaited their development. When I went to collect them they were unrecognizable! The photographs had been mixed up with another customer when they were forwarded to a central processing plant and were never traced. The photos here are by David Rogers.
List of repertory performed on this tour (all organ duets)
*Sinfonietta, Denis Bédard (1950-)
Petite Suite, Bédard
Two Pieces for Organ Duet (1989), Ronald Arnatt (1930-): “Sarabande with Variations,” “Octopus Music”
Fantasie in f-Moll, KV 608, W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Fantasie in f-Moll, KV 594, Mozart
Fuge in g-Moll, KV 401, Mozart
*Dance Suite for Organ Duet, Jacobus Kloppers (1937-)
Fugue in D major, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Adagio, WoO 33/1, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
*2me Suite pour orgue à quatre mains, Jean-Luc Perrot (1959-)
Sonate g-Moll, op. 50, Leberecht Baumert (1833-1904)
Duet for Organ, Frederick R. C. Clarke (1931-)
*Toccata on “Vom Himmel hoch,” Ralf Bölting (1953-)
Toccata Française (sur le nom de H.E.L.M.U.T.), Bölting
Duet for Organ, Samuel Wesley (1766-1837)
Vier variierte Choräle für die Orgel zu vier Händen, op. 19, Christian Gottlob Höpner (1799-1859)
Fugue à six parties et deux sujets à 4 mains, Clément Loret (1833-1909)
Sonate in d-moll, op. 30, Gustav Merkel (1827-1885)
Präludium und Fuge in B-dur, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (1736-1809)
Praeludium und Fuge in C-dur, Albrechtsberger
Introduction und Fuge in d-Moll, op. 62, Franz Lachner (1803-1890)
Fugue in e-Moll, op. posth. 152, Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
*Suite de noëls (extracts), Gilles Rioux (1965-): “L’Attente” (Venez divin Messie), “La joie” (Il est né le divin Enfant)
Bombardo-Carillon, Charles Henri Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)
* Organ duets commissioned and premièred by Sylvie Poirier and Philip Crozier
Clyde Holloway died December 18, 2013, in Houston, Texas. He was 77 years old. The Herbert S. Autrey Professor Emeritus of Organ at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Holloway earned B.Mus. (1957) and M.Mus. (1959) degrees from the University of Oklahoma, studying with Mildred Andrews, and the S.M.D. degree in 1974 from Union Theological Seminary, studying with Robert Baker.
Holloway’s concert career began in 1964 when he won the National Young Artists Competition of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in Philadelphia. He performed under the auspices of Karen McFarlane Artists, and was a featured artist at numerous AGO conventions, also appearing in recital in Mexico City, the West Indies, and Europe.
His doctoral dissertation, The Organ Works of Olivier Messiaen and Their Importance in His Total Oeuvre, remains an important monograph concerning this music. Holloway worked with the composer on several occasions, examined his works at the organ of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, and performed under his supervision. As a Fulbright Scholar at the Amsterdam Conservatory, he worked with Gustav Leonhardt in the study of organ, harpsichord, and chamber music.
Clyde Holloway began his teaching career in 1965 as the youngest member of the Indiana University School of Music faculty. In 1977, he joined the faculty of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he established the organ program and served as Chairman of the Keyboard Department and Director of Graduate Studies. The school’s widely acclaimed Fisk-Rosales organ embodies his unique understanding of how numerous organ-building traditions and tonal designs are manifested in organ literature and will be considered his most profound contribution to Rice University, Houston, and the larger musical world. He also served as organist and choirmaster of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston for many years; in 1993, he was named Honorary Lay Canon and Organist and Choirmaster Emeritus.
Renowned as a gifted pedagogue, Dr. Holloway served on the AGO’s Committee for Professional Education, addressed two conferences of the National Conference on Organ Pedagogy, led workshops and masterclasses, and served as a member of the jury for numerous competitions, including the Concours de Europe, the Fort Wayne Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Competition, the National Young Artists Competition of the American Guild of Organists, and the Grand Prix de Chartres. In 1994 he was invited to perform for the Bicentennial Festival of the celebrated Clicquot organ in the Cathedral of Poitiers, France, and served as a member of the jury for the international competition held at the end of the ten-day festival.
Sylvie Poirier, 65 years old, passed away December 21, 2013 in Montréal of cancer. Born in Montréal on February 15, 1948 into a family of artists, her father was a goldsmith jeweller, and her mother, a painter and sculptor, was a pupil of the renowned painter Paul-Emile Borduas. Influenced by her parents, she began drawing and painting, and studied piano from an early age and later studied organ at l’Ecole de Musique Vincent d’Indy, Montréal. In 1970 she gained her baccalaureat in the class of Françoise Aubut and went on to study at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal with Bernard Lagacé, with whom she obtained her Premier Prix in 1975. In 1976 Poirier studied at l’Université de Montréal with the blind French organist Antoine Reboulot. From 1977–1983 she was professeur affilié at l’Ecole de Musique Vincent d’Indy, presenting private music and drawing courses around Montréal.
In 1983 she became the Founding President of “Unimusica Inc.” whose objective was to bring together the art forms of music, painting, enamels, as well as poetry and photography. At the invitation of the oncologist founder of “Vie nouvelle” at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Montréal, Poirier taught a course specifically designed for cancer patients entitled “Psychology of Life through Drawing” in the 1980s.
She gave recitals in North America and Europe and broadcast many times for Radio Canada. Her organ duet career with her husband Philip Crozier spanned eighteen years, with eight commissioned and premièred works, numerous concerts in many countries, several broadcasts at home and abroad, and three CDs of original organ duets.
Sylvie Poirier also recorded Jean Langlais’ Première Symphonie, and Petr Eben’s Job and The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart; she gave the latter work’s North American première of the published version in Montréal in 2005. Poirier was also an accomplished painter and portraitist; examples of her work can be found at sylviepoirier.com.
She was predeceased by her only son Frédéric (30) in 2007. Sylvie Poirier is survived by her husband, Philip Crozier.
Phares L. Steiner died in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 14, 2013 at age 85. Born in Lima, Ohio, Steiner earned a bachelor’s degree in organ at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a master’s degree in organ performance at the University of Michigan in 1952, where he studied with Robert Noehren and where he began his career as an organ builder, at first working with Noehren. In 1953 with Noehren as consultant, Steiner designed the prototype of an electric-action slider chest. After service in the Army he worked with Fouser Associates in Birmingham, Michigan from 1955 to 1957. He established Steiner Organs Inc. in 1959 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1962 relocated to Louisville, where he was joined in 1966 by Gottfried Reck from Kleuker in Germany. They incorporated in 1968 as Steiner Reck Inc.; Steiner was responsible for tonal matters of more than 90 organs, many of which were mechanical action.
After retiring from Steiner Reck in 1988, he continued pipe organ work on a freelance basis, including working at Webber & Borne Organ Builders, and R.A. Daffer in the Washington, D.C. area while living in Columbia, Maryland. Phares Steiner returned to Louisville in 2003 with his family, where they became members of the Cathedral of the Assumption, home to one of his largest instruments.
A charter member of the American Institute of Organbuilders, Steiner was also an active member of APOBA at Steiner Reck and a member of Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity. He also served as organist at several churches, including St. Louis Catholic Church in Clarkesville, Maryland, and Trinity Catholic Church, Louisville.
Phares L. Steiner is survived by his wife Ellen Heineman Steiner, daughter Adrienne, son Paul, and brother, Donald F. Steiner M.D.
Marianne Webb, 77, of Carbondale, Illinois, died December 7, 2013, at Parkway Manor in Marion, Illinois, from metastatic breast cancer, which she had for the past 20 years. She enjoyed a lengthy and distinguished career as a recitalist and professor of music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC).
Miss Webb was born on October 4, 1936, in Topeka, Kansas where she exhibited an early passion for organ music. While in Topeka, she began her studies with Richard M. Gayhart and continued with Jerald Hamilton at Washburn University, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, in 1958. She obtained the Master of Music degree, with highest distinction, from the University of Michigan (1959), as a scholarship student of Marilyn Mason. Further study was with Max Miller of Boston University and Robert Noehren at the University of Michigan.
After teaching organ and piano at Iowa State University for two years, she continued her studies in Paris as a Fulbright scholar with André Marchal. Further graduate study was with Arthur Poister at Syracuse University and Russell Saunders at the Eastman School of Music.
Marianne Webb taught organ and music theory and served as university organist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 1965 until her retirement in 2001 as professor emerita of music. She continued to serve as visiting professor and distinguished university organist for an additional 11 years. During her tenure, she built a thriving organ department and established, organized, and directed the nationally acclaimed SIUC Organ Festivals (1966–1980), the first of their kind in the country. The school’s 58-rank Reuter pipe organ she sought funding for and designed was named in her honor.
Miss Webb married David N. Bateman on October 3, 1970, in Carbondale. Together they gave the endowment that established in perpetuity the Marianne Webb and David N. Bateman Distinguished Organ Recital Series that presents each year outstanding, well-established concert organists in recital for the residents of southern Illinois.
As a concert artist, Marianne Webb toured extensively throughout the United States, performing for American Guild of Organists (AGO) chapters, churches, colleges and universities. In addition, she maintained an active schedule of workshops, master classes, and seminars for church music conferences. A member of the AGO, she served the guild as a member of the national committees on Educational Resources, Chapter Development, and Membership Development and Chapter Support. Locally, she re-established the Southern Illinois Chapter of the AGO in 1983 and served as its dean for six years. She performed recitals and presented workshops at numerous AGO national and regional conventions. For many years she concertized under the auspices of the Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists. She recorded on the ProOrgano and Pleiades labels and was featured on the nationally syndicated American Public Media program “Pipedreams.”
Miss Webb maintained a balanced career as both performer and teacher. Her students have distinguished themselves by winning local, area, and national competitions. A sought-after adjudicator, Miss Webb was a member of the jury for many of the country’s most prestigious competitions. She also served as an organ consultant to numerous churches in the Midwest.
A special collection, which bears her name, is housed in the University Archives of Morris Library on the SIUC campus. Upon completion, this collection will include all of her professional books, music, recordings, and papers. Her “Collection of Sacred Music” has been appraised as “one of the largest private gatherings of sacred music in the world with a particular emphasis on the pipe organ.”
Among numerous honors during her long and distinguished career, Miss Webb has received the Distinguished Service Award from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, life membership in the Fulbright Association, the AGO’s Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award recognizing her outstanding leadership in the Guild, and the St. Louis AGO Chapter’s Avis Blewett Award, given for outstanding contributions to the field of organ and/or sacred music. From the Theta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota at Washburn University she received the Sword of Honor and the Honor Certificate.
Miss Webb is survived by her twin sister, Peggy Westlund; a niece, Allison Langford; a nephew, Todd Westlund; a godson, R. Kurt Barnhardt, PhD; and her former husband, Dr. David N. Bateman.
Throughout her lifetime Miss Webb was confronted with great adversities, which she overcame to become a nationally recognized organ teacher and recitalist. She leaves an impressive legacy of students holding positions of prominence in colleges and churches throughout the United States. She will be remembered not only for her musical artistry and excellence in teaching, but as a woman of quiet strength, courage, and abiding faith. In gratitude to God for her lifelong career, she established the St. Cecilia Recital Endowment in 2007 to present world-renowned concert organists in recital during the biennial national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.
At a later date, a memorial organ recital played by Paul Jacobs will take place in Shryock Auditorium, Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Memorials may be sent to SIU Foundation to benefit the Distinguished Organ Recital Series Endowment.
—Dennis C. Wendell
Anyone familiar with the biographies of distinguished composers and performers throughout music history can never fail to be amazed at the impressive stories of children exhibiting exceptional talent. Musical ability often manifests itself early in life, and many of these early bloomers go on to significant and sustained achievements in later years. The accounts of their creative childhoods are a source of interest not only to music lovers generally, but also to psychologists who have studied the progress of such individuals in an attempt to understand and explain these extraordinary phenomena. The following survey will chronicle the highlights of the emergence and development of musical talent in a selected group of musical prodigies from the 16th to the 19th centuries whose abilities were later realized in the fields of organ music composition and performance.1 Some concluding generalizations, derived from the writings of psychologists who have studied this fascinating topic, will end the presentation.
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643), the son of a musician in Ferrara, Italy, became one of the greatest organists and keyboard composers of his time. As a boy he possessed a remarkable voice and went from town to town singing, followed by crowds of admirers. Although little is known of his early life, he studied organ with a court organist and occupied his first position as organist at the age of 14. At the age of 25 he went to St. Peters in Rome where he also spent his final years. This prolific composer was later described as "father of the organ style" that prevailed in England and other countries for over a century. His compositions were central to keyboard study as well. Froberger studied with him for several years and J. S. Bach copied out his Fiori musicale (1635), a publication of liturgical organ music.
William Crotch (1775-1847), born in Norwich, England, was a remarkable child prodigy who was able to play at the age of 2 the tune to "God Save Great George Our King" on an organ made by his father, a carpenter. He gave his first concert at the age of 3, played before the royal family at 4, and was exhibited by his mother on tours of England and Scotland until the age of 9. At the age of 10 he played his own harpsichord concerto in London and began composing an oratorio. At the age of 11 he went to Cambridge University where he assisted the professor of music and was organist at two colleges. He transferred to Oxford University at the age of 13 and was appointed organist at Christ Church within two years. He took his D.Mus. at Oxford at the age of 24. Some of his Oxford lectures were published in 1831. While at Oxford he composed the "Westminster Chimes" for a church clock in Cambridge; this tune was used in the Houses of Parliament following 1860. His later years were mainly academic, including various professorships in music as well as a ten-year term as Principal of the Royal College of Music from its founding in 1822. His compositions include organ works, piano pieces, songs, and choral works. He was also a watercolorist of considerable ability.
George Washburne Morgan (1823-1892), whose name is largely unknown today, was believed to be the first famous organist heard in the United States in the late 19th century. Born in Gloucester, England, he exhibited remarkable musical gifts at a very early age, playing his first church service when only 8 years old, later becoming assistant organist at Gloucester Cathedral. Following his arrival in the United States in 1853 his remarkable playing generated much enthusiasm, particularly due to his phenomenal pedal technique. He served as organist in various New York churches and gave many concerts both in New York and throughout the country. His performances of "concert music"--an unknown factor in organ music prior to his arrival--placed him at the head of his profession.
William T. Best (1826-1897) became one of the world's most prominent organ recitalists of the 19th century. The son of a solicitor in Carlisle, England, he studied organ in his home town where he was assistant organist at the local cathedral, followed by a post at Pembroke Chapel at the age of 14. While still in his twenties he occupied a number of prestigious positions in London, moving to Liverpool at the age of 29 to preside at the organ in St. George's Hall. Following several appointments elsewhere he returned to Liverpool where he remained until his resignation in 1895. He performed extensively beyond England, including the inaugural recital on the new Town Hall organ in Sydney, Australia, in 1890 (both the Hall and the Hill & Son's organ were the largest in the world at the time). Best's orchestral use of the organ included many of his own transcriptions along with other original organ works and he edited editions of the works of Bach, Handel, and Mendelssohn. During his own time he was described as the "Prince of Organists."
Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1887) was born into a family of French organists and organbuilders in Boulogne. Although largely self-taught, his first lessons were from his father, substituting for him at the organ of St. Joseph's in Boulogne at the age of 12. There he exhausted several organ blowers during his daily practice sessions, sometimes as long as ten hours. He succeeded his father as organist at the age of 22. Following study with Lemmens in Brussels he began giving recitals in Paris at the age of 25. His later career included European and North American tours, inaugural recitals at many large organ installations, and appointments at the major cathedrals of Paris: St. Sulpice, Notre Dame, and La Trinité. He was one of the founders of the Schola Cantorum and succeeded Widor as professor at the Paris Conservatory where several of his pupils (Bonnet, Boulanger, Jacob, Dupré) achieved fame in their own right. Perhaps the most prolific composer of organ music since Bach, he also published collections of pieces and edited much older organ music. In 1893 the President of the French Republic nominated him a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in recognition of his achievements.
Joseph Rheinberger (1839-1901), born in Vaduz, Lichtenstein, began music lessons at the age of 4. At the age of 7 he played the organ at a local church where a special set of extended pedals were installed to accommodate his short legs. Soon afterwards he composed a three-part mass with organ accompaniment. At the age of 12 he was sent to the Munich Conservatory where he studied until he was 19. Later, at the same institution, he became a noted teacher of organ and composition, becoming one of the most sought-after composition teachers of his time. He was appointed director of the Conservatory at the age of 28 and was also director of church music to the court. During his lifetime he composed in many different genres--operas, masses, symphonies, chamber music--but is most remembered for his organ music, especially two concertos and twenty sonatas.
Auguste Wiegand (1849-1904), born in Liège, Belgium, developed his musical abilities so rapidly that he was appointed organist at a local church by the early age of 7. He entered the Liège Conservatory at the age of 10, winning several prizes and medals for his accomplishments before the age of 20. As professor at that institution he also served as organist in several other cities, travelled to England many times to inaugurate organs there, and performed throughout Europe. He later studied organ at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. His major success was that of the first city organist at the Town Hall, Sydney, Australia, 1891-1900, where he played over 1,000 recitals during that period. His broad-based recital programs on the huge Hill & Son organ included many arrangements and transcriptions; his concerts were received with great enthusiasm by large and appreciative audiences. Following his departure from Sydney he again toured Europe and spent his final years as organist of Oswego, New York. His compositions include a "Storm Idyll," a popular form of organ entertainment at the time.
Clarence Eddy (1851-1937), born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, showed marked musical ability at the age of 5. He held his first church position at the age of 14, then went to Hartford, Connecticut, to study with Dudley Buck at the age of 16. At the age of 20 he studied in Germany with Professor Augustus Haupt, the most prominent teacher in that country, who gave him a written recommendation as "undoubtedly a peer of the greatest living organists." Following a successful European recital tour he settled in Chicago and developed a reputation as a leading American organist. He played more dedicatory recitals than any other organist of his day. While director of the Hershey School of Musical Art he gave a remarkable series of one hundred weekly recitals without repeating a number; he was 25 years old at the time. His many concert tours included playing at various expositions in the United States and abroad. He published two multi-volume organ methods to supplement his teaching activities, in addition to a number of original works. As a founder of the American Guild of Organists, Eddy became affectionately known as the "Dean of American Organists."
Edwin H. Lemare (1865-1934) was born on the Isle of Wight where his father, the organist of a local church, was his first teacher. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London at the age of 13 and was awarded an Associateship at the end of his studies there. Following graduation he occupied church positions in Sheffield and London. After the death of W. T. Best in 1897 Lemare was acclaimed Best's successor as the greatest living English organist. Following his American tour in 1900 he served as a very highly paid municipal organist in several cities in the United States over a period of thirty years. He had considerable influence on organ playing in America on account of his legendary registration of orchestral compositions and transcriptions of Romantic composers, especially Wagner. His own 126 original compositions ranged from the simple and sentimental to complex concert pieces; the best known of the former type is his "Andantino in D-flat," later arranged as the popular song, "Moonlight and Roses." He had a remarkable musical memory and was a gifted improviser.
Alfred Hollins (1865-1942), born in Hull, Scotland, became blind when still in infancy. Nevertheless, he exhibited exceptional musical abilities, including absolute pitch, from an early age. At the age of 2 he could play tunes on the piano and identify notes or chords played by others; by the age of 6 he could improvise. Following lessons from a family member and at an institute in York, at age 13 he entered the Royal Normal College for the Blind where he developed into a brilliant pianist. He played for Queen Victoria when he was 16 and gave his first public organ recital shortly afterwards. Later he studied piano with Hans von Bülow in Berlin and toured Germany with a repertoire of piano concertos; on one occasion he played three piano concertos in a single concert. He learned his music by listening to his wife play each part through, which he then rapidly committed to memory. His longest church appointment was at St. George's in Edinburgh, which he held for forty-five years. As an active organ recitalist he toured widely throughout the world. In addition to composing fifty-five organ works Hollins also published church music, songs, and piano music. His book, A Blind Organist Looks Back (1936), contains many insights into the life of a touring concert organist in the early 19th century.
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971), was born in Rouen, France, into an intensely musical family; his father and both grandfathers were organists and his mother was a cellist and pianist. Family connections included friendships with the organbuilder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll and organists Charles-Marie Widor and Alexandre Guilmant. He studied with both Widor and Guilmant at the Paris Conservatory where he received many prizes. At the age of 11 he was appointed organist at a church in his home town. At the age of 20 he became Widor's assistant at St. Sulpice in Paris. At the age of 28 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome, the greatest distinction a French musician could attain. In 1920, at the age of 34, Dupré startled the musical world by playing from memory the entire organ works of J. S. Bach in a series of ten concerts. This celebrated performer and improviser performed in various countries over the years. He published a quantity of solo and ensemble music for organ along with works for other instruments. He also wrote several books on organ playing and published editions of Bach, Franck, and others.
* * *
Psychologists who have studied the phenomenon of exceptional musical talent2 have noted a number of distinguishing factors that are exemplified in many of the preceding biographies. The musical abilities referred to may include a variety and range of acoustic and musical capacities: perfect pitch, identifying intervals and chords, reading at sight, playing from memory, playing from a full score, transposing, improvising, and composing (although not to the level of form and harmonization of more mature artists).
Musical prodigies are distinguished by the following childhood characteristics:
* The most obvious feature is that musical ability emerges early in life, usually in the first decade; this, of course, is the definition of a child prodigy. Interpretative talent, including instrumental technique and playing in public, appears first, often before the age of 8, followed by compositional talent somewhat later, except in very rare cases, earlier. As much as ten years of composition experience may be needed for the production of excellent musical works. Musical capacity continues to expand during the third decade of life.
* Heredity above average: parents often make significant contributions to the extraordinary success of their children. The importance of an early home and educational environment, including inspiring social contacts, is prominent in such cases. In fact, ability may be less important than interest, devotion, encouragement, and appropriate educational opportunities. Heredity sets limits, but within these limits and with adequate training, gifted individuals may rise to the stature of outstanding members of the musical profession.
* Unusually high intelligence.3
* Persistence of motive and effort, confidence in their abilities, and great strength or force of character.
* The manifestation of exceptional abilities in infancy is more consistently found among musicians than in other fields. The reason for this lies in the nature of music itself. Music, due to its abstract, formal nature, creates its own material independent of words. It is not fed from the outer world and interaction with others or from external experience and practice. Rather, the subject matter of music is from within, an embodiment of uniquely musical feelings and emotions that are quite independent of other mental qualities.
* * *
There are no grounds for judging whether organists, as a group, exhibited more or less musical ability in their early years than other musicians in the period just surveyed; comparative evidence is lacking. However, mature organists were probably more prominent in the public eye due to the central place the organ played in musical culture at the time. As for prominent organists of recent years, their early musical talents and abilities are not generally publicized. However, musical talent is not just a thing of the past. It is a common characteristic of today's children that must be fostered by constant encouragement, proper atmosphere, and by a combination of expert tuition and appropriate education facilities if they are to become important artists in the future. n
Notes
1. Some explanation should be made for the omission of several major musical figures from the following list. The lifelong career of Johann Sebastian Bach is so well known that it does not need repeating here. The significant fact is that the Bach family was perhaps the most remarkable and important of all time, and the young Bach received a thorough grounding in music from his father and brothers. Although Bach's family life was permeated with music, specific biographical information is lacking on his very early abilities or achievements that would classify him as a "prodigy" as the term is applied to other figures throughout this article.
Biographies of George Frideric Handel reveal that although as a child he had a strong propensity to music, his doctor father opposed his son's inclinations, considering music a lowly occupation, and intended him for the study of law. However, when Handel was 7 an aristocrat heard him play and persuaded the father to allow his son to follow a musical career, which began with lessons in composition from the age of 9 years.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an outstanding example of a musical prodigy, according to tests in sight reading and extemporization administered to him at the age of 8 by Daines Barrington, a scientifically inclined man who reported his findings to the Royal Society in 1779. Mozart's musical memory was most remarkable; at the age of 14, upon hearing in the Sistine Chapel one performance (perhaps more) of a complex choral work, Allegri's Miserere, he wrote it down from memory with only a few errors (Mendelssohn accomplished a similar feat). Although Mozart became an accomplished organist, apart from a few short pieces and seventeen "Church Sonatas" his "organ" works are three pieces written for mechanical clock.
2. Important studies include:
Carl Emil Seashore, The Psychology of Musical Talent (New York: Silver, Burdett, 1919). His discussion of the musical mind covers various dimensions: pitch, intensity, time, rhythm, timbre, consonance, auditory space, voluntary motor control, musical action, musical imagery and imagination, musical memory, musical intellect, and musical feeling. Even so, he asserted that these do not operate in isolation; the musical mind is a unity that works as an integrated whole.
G. Révész, The Psychology of a Musical Prodigy (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1925). This work, the first of its kind, attempts to portray the early development of a richly endowed pianist, Erwin Nyiregyházi (1903-1987). It covers such topics as the early appearance of musical talent in general, diagnostic tests, elementary acoustic and musical faculties, specific forms of musical ability, compositions, and the progress of the pianist's development as shown in his works. Although some aspects of Erwin's childhood progress resembled Mozart's, his musical career failed to proceed and eventually he worked for film studios in Los Angeles.
Lewis M. Terman, ed., Genetic Studies of Genius (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1926), 5 vols. The volumes in the series deal with the mental and physical traits of gifted children (vol. 1), the early mental traits of three hundred geniuses (vol. 2), follow-up studies of a thousand gifted children (vol. 3), twenty-five years' follow-up of a superior group (vol. 4), and thirty-five years' follow-up of the gifted group at midlife: thirty-five years' follow-up of the superior child (vol. 5). The fields surveyed are extensive; musical ability receives only minor consideration. Perhaps the most relevant volume to this present discussion is Catherine Morris Cox, The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses, which mentions musical prodigies and musicians as a group. In the preface Terman observes: "We are justified in believing that geniuses, so called, are not only characterized in childhood by a superior IQ, but also by traits of interest, energy, will, and character that foreshadow later performance" (ix).
Articles include:
R. A. Henson, "Neurological Aspects of Musical Experience," in Music and the Brain: Studies in the Neurology of Music, ed. Macdonald Critchley and R. A. Henson (Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1977), 3-21.
Tedd Judd, "The Varieties of Musical Talent," in The Exceptional Brain, ed. Loraine K. Obler and Deborah Fein (New York: The Guilford Press, 1988), 127-155. The technical discussion covers the psychology and neuropsychology of musical abilities, relation to other skills, musical memory, and relationships among musical skills.
Donald Scott and Adrienne Moffett, "The Development of Early Musical Talent in Famous Composers: a Biographical Review," in Music and the Brain: Studies in the Neurology of Music, ed. Macdonald Critchley and R. A. Henson (Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1977), 174-201. The focus is on Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, and Bach, along with several other prodigies studied by Daines Barrington, reported in 1781: Charles and Samuel Wesley, William Crotch, and Lord Mornington.
The following summary draws upon some of these sources.
3. For example, Catherine Morris Cox, The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses, vol. 3 of Genetic Studies of Genius, estimated the childhood/young manhood IQs of several eminent composers: Bach, 140/165; Handel, 160/170 Mozart, 160/165, and others.
James B. Hartman specialized in philosophy, psychology, and the aesthetics of music in his doctoral studies at Northwestern University. He is Associate Professor, Continuing Education Division, The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, where he is Senior Academic Editor for publications of the Distance Education Program. He is a frequent contributor of book reviews to The Diapason.
Larry Palmer’s first article for The Diapason in November 1962 was “Hugo Distler: 20 Years Later.” Appointed Harpsichord Editor in 1969, he continues to write, record, play, and teach: since 1970 as Professor of Harpsichord and Organ in the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
Entartete—“degenerate”—was a derogatory term used in Nazi Germany to characterize art works deemed to be “un-German” or “impure.” The word itself originated as a biological term to describe a plant or animal that has changed so much that it no longer belongs to its species.
In 1937 a large exhibition of entartete paintings and graphic arts was mounted in Munich, birthplace of the National Socialist movement. Works by Max Beckmann, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Max Ernst, Oskar Kokoschka, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde and many others were displayed to show the degradation of modern art by artists unacceptable to the regime: Nazi-denounced “Jews, Bolsheviks, persons of color, and perverts.”
As contrast, directly across the plaza, there was another exhibition, many of its pieces chosen by Adolph Hitler himself. This show demonstrated “true German art”—realistic representations of heroic blond Aryan figures by the Führer’s favorite sculptor Arno Breker, and his “court painter” Adolf Ziegler.
That music, too, could be degenerate was a concept put forward as justification for denying performances of works by such contemporary masters as Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, and Kurt Weill. For the most part, the creators of these works were forced to flee Hitler’s oppressive totalitarian regime or face incarceration in concentration camps. To find a score by Distler among those deemed modernist and unfit for German ears seems unimaginable to present-day auditors, but such a travesty did occur.
During October of that same year, 1937, a week-long Festival of German Church Music took place in Berlin. Among a plethora of new music, several of Hugo Distler’s compositions were heard. In addition to the choral and organ music that had secured his reputation as one of the most talented composers of his generation, Distler’s secular magnum opus, the Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings, opus 14, was given a prominent place in a Sunday concert at the Philharmonic Concert Hall, with the composer’s Lübeck colleague, Marien-organist Walter Kraft, as soloist. The conductor was none other than Dr. Peter Raabe, president of the Nazi music regulatory board (the Reichsmusikkammer), so one might have expected that the official press would use only superlatives to praise the concert.
Not so! Here is an excerpt from one of the more scathing reviews:
. . . there was the general aggravation of Hugo Distler’s Concerto for Harpsichord, an “in-your-face” example of degenerate art. The delicate domestic harpsichord was utilized in an unnatural way—like a piano. At the Finale the young composer seemed to be driven by the devil! This motoric noisy music chattered endlessly on . . . Listeners could only laugh. Perhaps it would have been better had they whistled and pondered the biblical quotation: He mocked only himself . . .1
An earlier description of the Concerto’s 1936 premiere in Hamburg, read:
Stuttering rhythms, fractured mood and brutal background sounds fulfill the intellectual aspect of the formal side . . . only to a very limited extent. It appears to be difficult for some people to break loose from the idolatry of an outgrown, stereotypical [Kurt] Weill era. Distler must—in our opinion—change a great deal at the human level in order to properly exploit his considerable abilities.2
Distler’s music degenerate, brutal, diabolic? Possibly, perhaps, to ears deafened by militaristic brass bands or the loud general cacophony of the government propaganda, but otherwise, unlikely.
How did church composer Hugo Distler come to write a major composition for harpsichord, a far from ubiquitous keyboard instrument in the 1930s? As Wanda Landowska remarked (about J. S. Bach), to understand the greatness of a master composer, one needs to place it in the context of music by his contemporaries.
Urged by Leipzig professor Hermann Grabner to base his composition studies on music of the past, specifically that of the Baroque, and influenced further by his organ teacher, Günther Ramin, one of Germany’s pioneering harpsichordists during the 1920s,3 Distler was evidently drawn to the instrument. In addition to Ramin’s public performances, there was new music for harpsichord being created during Distler’s student days. In 1927 Carl Orff (who was to become a household name ten years later with his wildly successful choral/orchestral work Carmina Burana) composed a Kleines Konzert nach Lautensätzen for winds, harpsichord, and percussion. Based on lute pieces by Vincentio (Vincenzo) Galilei and Jean-Baptiste Besard, the work is a 13-minute precursor to a similar work by Francis Poulenc, the Suite Française (1935), also based on Renaissance dance music (by Claude Gervaise), and scored for the same instrumental forces.
Forced by economic necessity to leave the conservatory course before completing his degree, Distler auditioned for and won the position of organist at the Jakobikirche in the north German city of Lübeck, a position he assumed on January 1, 1931. There he began a brilliant career as composer of choral and organ music, with the smaller of the church’s two baroque instruments as his special muse and guide.4 Somehow, despite a meager salary, Distler managed to acquire a two-manual Neupert concert harpsichord in November of that same year5 and used it on November 29 for the first performance of his Kleine Adventsmusik, opus 4.6 Through the succeeding years of his tenure at St. Jakobi, Distler frequently employed his harpsichord for a series of vesper concerts, as well as for chamber music in other Lübeck venues.
Distler actually began writing an extended harpsichord concerto during the early 1930s, a fact that went unnoticed until I discovered fair-copy segments of it in a trunk of musical manuscripts recently found and sent from Lübeck, then stored beneath the guest bed at Frau Distler’s post-war home in Bavaria.7 The physical remnants of this work explained a seeming time discrepancy in his letter to Hermann Grabner (dated 17 April 1931): “Work on my harpsichord concerto, which would have soon been finished, was unfortunately interrupted by another task [a Luther Cantata for a Lübeck Reformation Festival] . . .”
In another communication dated 17 August, this one to Gerhard Schwarz, the young composer wrote, “I have also completed a Concerto for Harpsichord and Eleven Solo Instruments that I have given to Professor Ramin to look over; so far as I can tell, he would like to perform it this winter, perhaps even in Berlin. In addition, Frau Mann-Weiss wants to do it in Hamburg for the New Music series, also this winter.”8
However, it was more than additional commissions that prevented the first performance, expected in March of 1933. The presumptive dedicatee and soloist of the Chamber Concerto for Harpsichord and Eleven Solo Instruments, Günther Ramin, did not like the score as it was presented to him, and asked for extensive revisions. In a letter to his fiancée, Waltraut Thienhaus, Distler expressed anger at his former teacher’s request. The work, missing many pages by the time of its rediscovery in 1968, was not performed until 1998. Although it is now available in a performing edition by Michael Töpel, I find it a flawed and unpleasant work.9 Score one for Professor Ramin!
Further annoyance for the young composer may have been triggered by the fact that Ramin DID play a Chamber Concerto for Harpsichord and String Orchestra in the spring of 1933, but it was a work by Distler’s exact contemporary Kurt Hessenberg,10 later to be associated in Frankfurt with another Leipzig fellow student, the blind German organist Helmut Walcha. Although I have not seen a score of Hessenberg’s Concerto, if it holds as much musical charm as several of the Zehn Kleine Präludien für Klavier oder Clavichord, opus 35 (published by Schott in 1949), it may be a work worth searching for.
Hessenberg, too, endured the political idiocy of the 1930s. He recounted,
My Second String Quartet . . . has a special “history”: its premiere by the Lenzewski Quartet was on the program of a concert [sponsored by] the Reichsmusikkammer in Berlin [1937]. However, because I was still very much unknown, the piece was performed before a board from the aforementioned institution in my absence for approval, and provoked the displeasure of that body. So the piece, which in spite of its adherence to tonality reveals the influence of Hindemith, perhaps also of Bartòk, was dropped from the program. This decision was criticized at that time in a music journal, as a result of which more attention was directed toward me than probably would have been the case if a public performance had taken place. The Quartet was premiered soon after in Frankfurt by the Lenzewski Quartet, excellently, and with success, and not much later in an independent concert of this ensemble in Berlin as well.11
Hessenberg apparently had a more sanguine outlook than Distler (whom, he wrote, he had met only twice, despite the fact that both were students at the same time in the same city). Balanced and genial in character as in music, Hessenberg adapted well to pre- and post-war necessities, living until 1984.
Other harpsichord offerings from the Germany of the 1930s include Music for 2 Violins and Cembalo 1932 by Heinrich Kaminski (1886–1946), composed in post-Regerian thick texture by a favorite composer of Thomaskantor Karl Straube, and the appropriately spare 1934 Spinettmusik by Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (1903–1969), composer, pianist and clavichordist of Romanian origin, perhaps historically shunned because he was one of two approved surrogates who wrote pure “Aryan” alternative music to replace the banned Midsummer Night’s Dream music of Felix Mendelssohn (for performance at the 1935 Reichstagung of the Nazi Kulturgemeinde in Düsseldorf).12
Wagner-Régeny’s seven short pieces compare favorably with Distler’s Dreissig Spielstücke of 1938,13 and since Distler, too, joined the Nazi party on May 1, 1933, perhaps one need no longer cast neither aspersions nor stones at either composer for such ancient political miscalculations. At least in Distler’s case, it is evident that he became increasingly unsympathetic with the government authorities, and finally committed the ultimate act of civil disobedience by removing himself from earthly existence altogether.
Unquestionably the compositional high point encountered thus far among examples of Third Reich harpsichord music is Distler’s (Second) Harpsichord Concerto, with its vivacious Stravinskian first movement; hauntingly lovely, lyrical second movement featuring arching solo violin lines above percussive, insistent rhythmic figures from the harpsichord; and culminating with a rollicking third movement based on Samuel Scheidt’s four-part harmonization of the folk song Ei, du feiner Reiter. Distler’s variations on this sturdy German tune certainly display wit and good humor, especially in a solo harpsichord parody of the mechanistic technique-building keyboard exercises of Carl Czerny. Two further keyboard solo variations (six and twelve) show an idiomatic variety of texture. The note C held over by the second violin serves as a breathtaking common tone modulation for the A-flat major return of the theme, set as a phrase by phrase dialog between strings and harpsichord, concluding with a whimsical employment of ever-longer periods of silence, à la Haydn, from which the final expected answer by the harpsichord never occurs at all. This lengthy silence is ended when the exasperated strings plunge, pall-mall, into a repetition of the wildly motoric tenth variation to provide a vigorous finale. Quirky, or even sarcastic, yes, but scarcely degenerate!
At the first performance of this Concerto the work had an additional movement, Allegro spirituoso e scherzando, expanding by more than six minutes a work that already clocked in at more than half an hour! Several critics suggested pruning the composition by deleting this extra movement, and the composer took their advice. Subsequent performances utilized only the three movements described above, and the printed score presents this three-movement version. The additional movement works as a stand-alone piece with strings, the manner in which I played its modern premiere during the 1980 American Guild of Organists national convention in Minneapolis.14
That the composer found the harpsichord to his liking was shown in one further extended work, until recently known only as a reference citation, the Schauspielmusik zu Ritter Blaubart [Theatre Music for Knight Bluebeard]. Parts for this incidental music assembled for a cancelled Berlin production of Ludwig Tieck’s play were among manuscripts turned over to the Bärenreiter-Verlag by Waltraut Distler, a few years after the end of the war. Since there were other items both complete and more marketable to bring into print, the stage music was basically overlooked. Reassembled and organized by Michael Töpel, the score was published, at last, at the turn of the new millennium, and given a first performance in 2002. Now there is a recording (Musicaphon M 56860), issued early in 2008.
Distler recycled quite a lot of his Harpsichord Concerto for this incidental music, with very interesting additions of wind instruments to the original strings. Three short, newly composed vocal insertions have secco harpsichord accompaniments. One movement [War Music] is an orchestral version of two pieces from Distler’s Eleven Piano Pieces, opus 15 [Fanfare; With Drums and Pipes]. Most appealing is the sarabande-like Overture to the Second Act (arranged for harpsichord and strings from the second movement of String Quartet in A minor, opus 20/I), truly one of the loveliest of Distler’s instrumental works. (The recorded performance, however, has the harpsichord consistently anticipating the strings!) A welcome bonus of the recent disc is the digital remastering of the first recording of the opus 14 Concerto, made in 1964 by the superbly musical French harpsichordist Huguette Dreyfus and the Deutsche Bach Solistin, conducted by Martin Stephani.
Concerning his Concerto Distler wrote to a pupil: “It is an angry piece . . . If it is so ‘modern’, then it is not because I wanted to appear really ‘modern’ for once, but because I am such a dislocated puppet.”15 As his last sacred motets demonstrate, he was willing to disregard the government’s strictures against writing new church music. Published after the war as part of his cycle of Sacred Choral Music, opus 12, the two motets conceived as opening and closing choruses for a planned St. John Passion, never to be completed, showed the composer’s increased mastery of form and expanded use of chromatics. (The fugue subject of the last motet, Fürwahr er trug unsere Krankheit [Surely He hath borne our griefs], contains ten of the twelve pitches found in the chromatic scale.)
Five years after the Concerto performance so stigmatized by the Nazi press, the composer’s mounting dread of military conscription fueled his descent into depression, and led him to turn on the gas in the Berlin apartment where he ended his life on November 1, 1942. Ironically, only a few days later his name appeared on the Führerliste—a register of those individuals permanently exempted from the military draft, persons deemed to be more important at home than in the armed forces.
Hitler’s much-vaunted “thousand year Reich” survived Distler by only three years, falling 988 years short of its self-proclaimed longevity. But as we celebrate the composer’s centenary, his music continues increasingly to move and beautify our musical life. Political movements are transient; artistic worth endures.
Hugo Distler’s compositions
for (or with) harpsichord
Opus 4. Kleine Adventsmusik [A Little Advent Music], Breitkopf und Härtel 4967. First performed 28 November 1931, using harpsichord as the keyboard instrument. English edition (Concordia Publishing House).
Opus 6/I. Christ, der du bist der helle Tag [Christ Who Alone Art Light of Day], Bärenreiter 636. First performed 26 Februrary 1933, with harpsichord. English edition (Concordia).
Opus 9/I. An die Natur (1933). First performed 16 August 1933 at the Nationalsozialistischen Musikfest in Bad Pyrmont. Bärenreiter 683.
Opus 11/I. Choralkantate Wo Gott zuhaus nit gibt sein Gunst, harpsichord or organ. Composed 1933, published 1935. Bärenreiter 758.
Opus 14. Konzert für Cembalo und Streichorchester (1935–1936). First performed 29 April 1936, Hamburger Musikhalle, Hugo Distler, harpsichordist, Dr. Hans Hoffmann, conductor. Published October 1936; Bärenreiter 7393. An additional movement, deleted from the original published edition Allegro spirituoso e scherzando is now available as Bärenreiter 7393, edited by Michael Töpfel.
Opus 17. Geistliche Konzerte für eine hohe Singstimme [Three Sacred Concertos for High Voice and Keyboard: Organ, Harpsichord, or Piano]. Composed in 1937, published 1938. Bärenreiter 1231. English edition (Concordia).
Opus 18/I. Dreissig Spielstücke für die Kleinorgel oder andere Tasteninstrumente. 1938. Published June 1938. Bärenreiter 1288.
Opus 21/II. Kleine Sing- und Spielmusik: Variations on “Wo soll ich mich hinkehren?” (Piano or harpsichord). Composed 1941 (doubtful according to Lüdemann), published 1952. Bärenreiter 2046.
Without opus number
Kammerkonzert für Cembalo und elf Soloinstrumente (1932). Mss incomplete. First performed 28 November 1988, Martin Haselböck, harpsichordist and conductor. Published 1988. Bärenreiter 7687.
Ritter Blaubart (1940)—Theatre music for Ludwig Tieck’s play. Chamber orchestra includes harpsichord (prominently). First performed 29 September 2002. Bärenreiter 7711, published 2001.
Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her. Kleines Konzert and Choral. Neue Weihnachtsmusik für Klavier, Orgel, und andere Tasteninstrumente. Bärenreiter Collection (1935), edited by Reinhard Baum.
A basic bibliography
Books
Larry Palmer: Hugo Distler and his Church Music. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1967. (Out of print; often available through Amazon.com or Alibris.com).
The most comprehensive (and recent) book on Distler is available only in German, Winfried Lüdemann: Hugo Distler—Eine musikalische Biographie. Augsburg: Wissner-Verlag, 2002 [ISBN 3-89639-353-7]. An exhaustive biography based on all available letters and archival holdings. Complete listing of Distler’s works, analysis of the music; many photographs and musical examples.
Periodical literature in English
Jan Bender: “Hugo Distler and his Organ Music” [An interview conducted by William Bates], The American Organist, December 1982, 42–43.
Mark Bergass: “Hugo Distler’s First Vespers at St. Jakobi in Lübeck,” The American Organist, April 1982, 174–177.
Larry Palmer: “Hugo Distler’s Harpsichord Concerto,” The Diapason, May 1969, 12–13. “Hugo Distler: Some Influences on His Musical Style,” The American Organist, November 2002, 50–51. “Hugo Distler: 60 Years Later,” The Diapason, November 2002, 22.
Discography
The most satisfactory way to “know” Hugo Distler is through his music. The following compact disc recordings are recommended:
Organ works
Complete Organ Works (two discs, also included are works by Bach, Buxtehude, and Scheidt). John Brock plays two Brombaugh organs. Calcante Recordings, Ltd CD022 (1998).
Of historic interest (primarily for the instruments—Distler’s house organ and the Jakobi instruments, all of which have been changed since Distler played them): Complete Organ Works played by Armin Schoof. Thorofon CTH2293 and CTH2294.
Also of “historic” interest: Larry Palmer plays the large partitas and several smaller chorale works: Musical Heritage Society LP 3943 (out of print). Robert Sipe organ of Zumbro Lutheran Congregation, Rochester, MN (1978).
Choral works
Liturgische Sätze (selections from opus 13, opus 5, opus 11, and opus 6/2). Thorofon CTH 2420.
Choralpassion, opus 7. Kammerchor der Universität Dortmund, conducted by Willi Gundlach. Thorofon CTH2185.
Totentanz, opus 12/2 (same choir and conductor), plus Motet and Organ Partita on Wachet auf. Thorofon CTH 2215.
Die Weihnachtsgeschichte, opus 10. Thomanerchor Leipzig, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch. Berlin Classics 0092462BC.
Totentanz und Mottetten, opus 12 (including the opening and closing choruses for the never-completed St. John Passion). Berliner Vokalensemble, conducted by Bernd Stegmann. Cantate C 58007.
Instrumental works
Harpsichord Concerto, opus 14, and Incidental Music to the Play Ritter Blaubart. Musicaphon M 56860 (issued 2008).
Harpsichord Concertos, Martin Haselböck, harpsichord and conductor, with the Wiener Akademie. Both early and late concerti, plus the deleted movement from opus 14. Thorofon CTH 2403.
Special appreciation to my former organ student Simon Menges (Berlin) for sending the Musicaphon compact disc before it became available in the United States.
Jan-Piet Knijff teaches organ, historical keyboard instruments, and chamber music and is organist-in-residence at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College/CUNY. He holds the DMA from The City University of New York as well as the Artist Diploma from the Conservatory of Amsterdam and is an Associate of the AGO. He won both the Grand Prix Bach de Lausanne and the Audience Prize at the Concours Bach de Lausanne 1997. His organ teachers have included Piet Kee, Ewald Kooiman, and Christoph Wolff. Visit JP’s website at
Like so many musicians—including organists—old Sebastian Bach liked jokes and puns. And it was, presumably, the Thomas Cantor himself who came up with the famous one-liner stating his student Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780) was “the only crayfish (Krebs) caught in this great brook (Bach).” Strictly speaking, this was actually not true: Johann Ludwig’s father, Johann Tobias Krebs, had been a Bach student in Weimar in the 1710s, and, having married into an affluent family in 1723, he was able to send not only Johann Ludwig but also his two other sons to school in Leipzig. One of them, Tobias Jr., had, at age 13, “a good strong voice” according to the Thomas Cantor. The other, Johann Carl, was at St. Thomas in the 1740s and eventually succeeded Tobias Sr. as organist at Buttstädt. Johann Ludwig studied with Bach for no fewer than nine years, from 1726 till 1735. The reference letter that Bach wrote for him in August of that year is very good indeed: We learn that Krebs was not only an able organist and harpsichord player, but also excelled as a violinist, lute player, and composer. Earlier, Krebs had applied (along with his father and C.P.E. Bach) for the position of organist at St. Wenzel’s Church in Naumburg. Krebs Sr. withdrew, but neither Jr. nor Carl Philipp got the job. Johann Ludwig stayed in Leipzig for a few more years, completing his education by attending lectures in philosophy and law at Leipzig University until he got his first position as organist in Zwickau in 1737. In 1742, Krebs applied successfully for the position at the Silbermann organ in the Frauenkirche in Dresden, but apparently didn’t accept the post, perhaps because the compensation package left something to be desired. Instead, he took a position at the castle in Zeitz in 1744. From there, he twice applied—unsuccessfully—for the Leipzig Thomas cantorate: first after Bach’s death in 1750 and again five years later when Bach’s successor Harrer had died. Finally, in 1756, Krebs became organist at the Altenburg castle, where he played the fine, large two-manual Trost organ still extant today. Although Krebs had been an avowed admirer of Silbermann organs, he loved the Trost organ very much and looked after it “like a father” (as one organ builder Schramm complained after being denied access to the instrument by the organist). Krebs stayed in Altenburg till his death, though—like his father—he had to pass on his responsibilities to his son Christian Traugott in 1776 due to health trouble.
Krebs’s impressive corpus of organ music is so high in quality that it has long been uncertain whether, for example, the famous Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott with double pedal was actually written by him or his venerable teacher. (I think Krebs is the more likely candidate.) But he was also a fine composer of other instrumental music, including concertos for the lute and a “duo for two keyboards” that received such high acclaim in Dresden that it evoked the envy of all the court musicians. Eighteenth-century writers describe Krebs as a virtuoso organist and his organ music as the best of his œuvre. Though Krebs was never really forgotten (a first “complete” edition of the organ works appeared in 1847–49), it seems to me that both the “free works” and chorale preludes are performed less than they deserve to be these days. One reason may be that the works are available in a fine though fairly expensive complete edition: the four volumes edited by German organist Gerhard Weinberger and published as Sämtliche Orgelwerke by Breitkopf. But the nice thing with Krebs is that there are quite a few small-scale pieces that are ideally suited for students but are equally attractive to seasoned professionals. (In fact, both Johann Ludwig and his dad have been considered candidates for the authorship of the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues, though this seems somewhat unlikely for stylistic reasons.) One of those little gems, a Prelude in F Major, is the subject of this article.
This piece is found in Vol. 2 of the Sämtliche Orgelwerke on pp. 16–17. In addition, I have prepared an edition of this and a few other short preludes, which will be available from me (e-mail me at
The opening measures (mm. 1–4) will pose no problem to beginning organists with a reasonable keyboard background, yet there is one little trick that will make these measures sound much better right away: the quarter-note chords (pedal and left hand) are best played a little bit shorter—something like dotted eighths or even generous eighth notes, depending on the acoustics. In any event, avoid full-length quarter notes. The broken chords in the right hand are best played slightly non-legato. Before embarking on the slightly trickier middle section, try playing the beginning and the end: mm. 1–4 and 26–28 (or, in fact, mm. 22–28!). It is important to get the hand division right; in my edition, I have done this for you, but if you use the Breitkopf edition, make sure to mark the Cs in m. 1/22 and the Ds in m. 2/23 in the left hand; it will make life much easier. In the middle of m. 4/25, play the first f’ light and relatively short to allow for the left hand to take over; you may even want to take a bit of extra time here to make things clearer (and easier). The shape of the figure in m. 4 is happily different from the broken chords in mm. 1–3; I think it sounds nice if you underline that by playing the sixteenths f’’-e’’-f’’ (and later f’-e’-f’) a little more legato. You could also consider lingering a little on the downbeat a’ (just be careful not to do this always in the same way). The dramatic chords in the last few measures can be divided between the hands in different ways; my suggestion is to add a nice cadential trill on the e’’ in m. 27 (Example 3).
Nothing in this piece will create major problems for the beginning organist with a decent keyboard background. Yet there is one fingering, in m. 15, that people seem to miss out on, but which, I believe, will make life easier for you (and, as a bonus, it will sound better too). Every student with whom I worked on this piece chose the fingering in Example 4a; Example 4b offers my own suggestion. First, the two pinkies on a’’–g’’ ensure that these two notes are nicely articulated (after all, the g’’ is part of a new chord, and that relatively fast harmonic rhythm is one of the exciting things in this measure). My fingering avoids the slight turn of the hand necessary to put your thumb on the b-flat’ (and then turning back to put the thumb on the a’ again) and the awkward and unnecessary silent substitution on the b-flat’. Using the 5-2 option on the eighth notes means that the two consecutive sixths c’’–a’’ (“hidden” in the group of sixteenths) and b-flat’–g’’ are played with the same fingering, which somehow feels natural. Finally, putting a little finger on the g’’ fits nicely with the left hand, which undoubtedly uses a little finger at the same moment (the index finger on b-flat’ also coincides with the index in the left hand). Not that this is a “proof” of any kind for my suggested fingering; I just find it nice how these fingerings seem to “rhyme,” particularly in a piece that is obviously meant for beginning organists. Even a beginner on the pedals should be able to deal with the pedal part in our piece: the repeated F constitutes the pedal part for almost half the piece, and for what is left, you don’t need much wizardry either. While some teachers may recommend a heel in m. 9, it sounds just as good (and is just as easy to play) with toes only, as shown in Example 5. In mm. 11–14, make sure that your left foot is guided by your (left) knee; as in walking, the knee moves out, as it were, over the foot. (I know this is the complete opposite of the “knees-together doctrine” that so many of us have grown up with; I will deal with this in a separate article.) In m. 15, some teachers might recommend silent substitution on the cs, but in the overall non-legato style of playing this is hardly necessary. Leap with whatever foot you like; it doesn’t really matter. Example 6 offers my pedaling suggestion for mm. 16–17. I personally like putting a left foot on the strong, long B-flat in mm. 20–21, but this may be a matter of taste.
Mm. 16–19 are undoubtedly the trickiest part of the piece. Here’s how I would deal with them. First, get comfortable with the pedals. The best thing is to sing along as you’re playing. (If this embarrasses you too much, you can always “sing in your head,” but I do find that singing aloud works better.) Then, add one hand; perhaps the left and keep singing (it doesn’t really matter whether you still sing the pedal part or the left hand, as long as you’re singing). Next, pedal and the other hand (keep singing!). Finally, try both hands and pedals together and keep singing. Very important: Try not to stop for mistakes. Play the fragment at a speed that sounds reasonable to you (or a little slower) and simply get as many as the notes as you get—don’t worry if half of them are wrong. Try another time, and you’ll probably do better already. As you get to know the music better (and singing helps a lot with that), you’ll make fewer and fewer mistakes. If there’s a spot that keeps bothering you, consider different fingering options. Even when playing slowly, try to find a tempo that makes musical sense. Avoid losing track of the music and getting lost in learning “just notes.”
To my mind, there are basically three ways to perform the trill in m. 21, as I have shown in Example 7. I don’t see too many opportunities in the piece for adding extra ornaments, except perhaps at the very end: The rests between those dramatic chords over the chromatically descending bass could be filled out a bit. I’m not sure that I would do this or necessarily recommend it to students, but many people seem to like this kind of thing, and it’s always good to have as many arrows on your bow as possible. So Example 8 shows what I might do in a concert after a good glass of German wine (or after a service with lots of incense).
The piece is intended for organo pleno, as indicated in the title. A big pleno registration—Principals 16’, 8’, 4’, 22⁄3’, 2’, Mixtures and optional Sesquialtera on all manuals, reinforced in the Pedal by Posaune 16’ and Trompete 8’—will work very well, but a smaller registration—say, Principals 8’, 4’, 2’, with a 16’ in the Pedal—can be equally fitting, depending on the situation. One may be inclined to take the tempo a little slower with the big pleno sound and a touch faster with a smaller registration; likewise, one will probably take a bit more time in a big church with cathedral acoustics than in a small hall with little reverberation. Try to find a tempo that works well for all “sections” of the piece: the broken chords in the beginning, the “canonic” section in the middle, and the dramatic chords of the coda.
Event: Kurt-Ludwig Forg
Date: August 2, 2012
Host: Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Time: 12:15 pm
