Symposium on Spanish Keyboard Music to take place October 8-10

Larry Palmer is harpsichord editor of THE DIAPASON.

Chris DeBlasio: Dances for
Clavichord
I have been thinking about art and loss in the time of AIDS this winter, especially since my fellow Oberlin Conservatory student and friend Calvin Hampton’s 70th birth anniversary occurred on the final day of 2008. Calvin’s younger colleague, the New York-based composer Chris DeBlasio, would have reached the age of fifty on February 22, 2009, had his life, too, not been cut short in 1993 by AIDS-related illness. The recent publication of this set of five short pieces for clavichord (suitable for the harpsichord, as well) by Wayne Leupold Editions (WL610010) represents a worthy calling card for a lamentably short-lived composer.
It joins the poignant and moving God Is Our Righteousness for guitar and organ and a Serenade for violin and organ as DeBlasio’s published instrumental legacy, and is the only solo keyboard work, thus far. In her comprehensive catalog of 20th-century works for harpsichord and clavichord, Frances Bedford noted two separate sets of pieces: Three Dances (1986) and [Five] Dances (1988), each first performed by Andrew deMasi. When I contacted DeBlasio’s estate executor Harry Huff to ask whether these were all the same pieces, he responded:
. . . I’m quite certain that the set of five that Wayne [Leupold] has published is complete. I suspect that Chris simply added two dances in 1988 to the three already premiered in 1986.
I recommend all of these attractive dances, although I am most excited by number one [Vivo]—an exhilarating study of alternating right and left hand triads presented in rapidly changing asymmetric meters (4/8, 5/8, 3/8, 2/8); number two [Moderato Assai]—a lyrical three-page aria; and the energetic concluding fifth [Allegro Vivace], with its propelling rhythm and frequent hemiolas. These three movements are all appropriately textured to sound well on early keyboard instruments.
The middle two pieces [Andantino and Adagio] seem slightly less satisfying to my hands and ears. Without access to a manuscript source I am unable to determine whether these might be the added pieces. Nor am I able to confirm the lack of several accidentals that seem to be missing, but I suggest that surely the soprano D in the last measure of page 5 should be a D-sharp mimicking the previous statement of the figure four measures earlier; and I suspect that the soprano A in the last measure of page 8 should similarly be an A-sharp, in keeping with the following statement of the same motive, which includes repeated G-sharps.
John Corigliano, one of DeBlasio’s teachers at the Manhattan School of Music, mourned his former student as “a composer who embodied that rarest of all things—a truly original lyric voice.” Acquire these lovely pieces, play them, and do your part to keep alive the legacy of a talented composer whose distinctive music deserves to be heard.
For those of our readers not averse to gritty and graphic words about sexuality or illness, the book Loss Within Loss: Artists in the Age of AIDS (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2001) provides 22 essays edited by Edmund White, produced in cooperation with the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS. Poet Maya Angelou contributed a short appreciation of this project, and William Berger, currently a producer of the Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts, provided an illuminating, caring chronicle of DeBlasio’s final years (pages 153–167).
[Also worthy of further exploration, Calvin Hampton’s organ and choral works are published by Wayne Leupold Editions.]

Short listings of recent harpsichord recordings (and a score)

Antonio Soler Sonatas. Kathleen McIntosh plays her 1994 John Phillips harpsichord after Dumont (1707).
Recorded at Maricam Studio, Santa Fe, New Mexico (2007). A large helping of Soler played with panache by Ms. McIntosh, and available from her at
<[email protected]>.

Soler and Scarlatti in London: A Selection of Blended Sonatas. Luisa Morales plays a harpsichord by Joseph Kirckman (1798). FIMTE, Apdo.212 Garrucha, 04630 Almeria, Spain, <www.fimte.org&gt;.
Recorded on a splendid harpsichord from the collection of the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, with sound realistically captured by recording engineer Peter Nothnagle. Thrilling explorations of sixteen Iberian sonatas played on a large English instrument similar to several that were exported to Spain in the late 18th century. A must-have disc!

Le Clavecin Français: Music from the Borel Manuscript. Davitt Moroney plays the original Nicholas Dumont harpsichord (1707) and a Joannes Ruckers instrument (Antwerp, 1635) from the collection of Karen Flint. Plectra Music PL20801 (2 CDs), <www.plectra.org&gt;.
A splendid opportunity to compare the sound of Phillips’s harpsichord with its original inspiration. Music by d’Anglebert, Thomelin, La Barre, Brochard, la Comtesse de Bieule, Louis Couperin, Chambonnières, Dumont, Bouat, La Pierre, Vincent, De Lorency, Richard, and Rossi from a mid-17th century manuscript now in the University of California, Berkeley Hargrove Music Library.

Jean-Baptiste Lully: Divertissements. David Chung plays a 2001 harpsichord by Bruce Kennedy (after Michael Mietke, Berlin, ca. 1704). Musique sans frontiers MSF 73967, <[email protected]>.
Twenty-three keyboard transcriptions from the Lully operas Atys, Isis, Phaéton, and Armide. A one-man musical entrepreneur, Dr. Chung has also edited the scores, available in: Jean-Baptiste Lully: 27 Opera Pieces transcribed for Keyboard in the 17th and 18th Century. Ut Orpheus Edizioni (Bologna), 2004, <www.utorpheus.com&gt;.

Comments or news items for these pages are always welcome. Please address them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275; <[email protected]>.

John Collins has been playing and researching early keyboard music for over 35 years, with special interests in the English, Italian, and Iberian repertoires. He has contributed many articles and reviews to several American and European journals, including The Diapason, and has been organist at St. George’s, Worthing, West Sussex, England for almost 26 years.

In 2010 there are several composers for organ from the 16th to 18th centuries whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit only some of the dates are certain. Many of the names listed here will not be well known, but their compositions are well worth exploring and many are suitable for both liturgical and recital use. Although the dances and variations were destined primarily for the harpsichord and clavichord, they would have also been played on the domestic chamber organ—even performance on a church organ can sound most effective when using carefully selected stops based on clarity, rather than thick diapasons. From the 16th century onwards, publishers had an eye for commercial exploitation and frequently included multiple instrumental possibilities on the title pages! This list makes no claim to completeness, but the compiler has copies of almost everything here, although it is entirely possible that some items are out of print and would have to be consulted in libraries.

Antonio de Cabezón (1510–66). Leading 16th-century Spanish composer for keyboard. Several of his works (including 14 tientos, some 15 hymns, and two short diferencias or variations) were published in Venegas de Henestrosa’s Libro de Cifra Nueva (1557), which includes important comments on performance practice, including ornaments and fingering; modern edition by Higinio Anglés in two volumes (Groen’s catalogue mentions a reprint in four volumes) for Monumentos de la Música Española. The posthumous Obras de Música para Tecla, Arpa y Vihuela, published by his son Hernando in 1578 (which also includes invaluable comments on performance practice), contains much liturgical music; after four duos and five pieces in three parts headed “for beginners,” there follow 11 hymns, sets of four versos, four fabordones, six (on the second, third and fifth tones) or seven verses on the Magnificats, and four Kyries on each of the eight tones, in addition to 14 tientos, nine diferencias, a setting of Duinsela, and over 40 glosadas (intabulations) in up to six parts, including four by Hernando, one by Juan de Cabezón, and one anonymous. A modern edition in three volumes excluding the glosadas is edited by Anglés and published by Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. A new edition is in preparation, edited by Claudio Astronio for Ut Orpheus. The glosadas have been edited by Maria Ester Sala for Union Musical Ediciones. A few pieces in MS 242 at Coimbra published in Portugaliae Musica Vol. XIX have tentatively been assigned to de Cabezón, although the ascription to A.C. may well have meant Antonio Carreira, the leading Portuguese organist of the 16th century.

Ercole Pasquini (ca. 1560–1620). Organist in Verona and Rome, from which post he was apparently dismissed in 1608. He left over 30 pieces in MSS (none autograph), including six toccatas (some with interesting rhythmic patterns in the note groupings), ten canzonas, one fuga, sets of variations including Ruggiero, two on Romanesca and two Pass è Mezzi, an intabulation of Ancor che co’l partire, a sonata, a gagliarda, and the earliest known examples of two durezze and two correnti. Collected edition by W. Richard Shindle, published by American Institute of Musicology, Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 12.

Peter Philips (ca. 1560–1628). Spent much time in Italy, Spain, France, and Belgium, where he died in Brussels. Left some 34 compositions, including pavans, galliards, three fantasias, 15 intabulations of madrigals, and a set of 10 verses on Veni Sancte Spiritus. Nineteen pieces, mainly dances and intabulations, are to be found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Vol. 1. A further eight pieces, including an almande, pavana, fantasia, four intabulations, and the setting of Veni Sancte Spiritus, are edited by John Harley for Stainer & Bell’s Early Keyboard Music K40. The complete keyboard works, edited by David Smith, are in Musica Britannica, Vol. 75.

Hieronymus Praetorius (1560–1629) was organist of the Jakobikirche in Hamburg. He left a large corpus of organ music in the Visby MS, of which the eight Magnificat cycles bear his name. Ascribed to him with some certainty from the same MSS are 19 hymn cycles (of Latin hymns) and 10 Kyrie cycles as well as four sequence cycles, a setting of Psalm 113, of the German Magnificat using the Tonus Peregrinus, and two recently discovered lengthy chorale fantasias, on Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam and Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist. All of these pieces have been edited by Klaus Beckmann in three volumes for Schott (ED 9581–9583).

Johann Benn (ca. 1590–1660) worked in Messkirch (Baden) and Lucerne, and left seven ricercars and two canzonas in a MS now in the BL. A modern edition by R. Schächer is published by Cornetto Verlag (CP342).

Pedro de Tafalla (1606–1660) was organist at El Escorial, Spain, where his three known compositions for organ are preserved. They include a Tiento lleno on the 2nd Tone, a Medio registro alto on the 2nd Tone, and a Tiento de dos tiples on the 7th Tone. They have been published recently by Ediciones Escurialenses in Música para órgano (siglo XVII) Volume 1-1, which also includes works by Diego de Torrijos and Cristóba1 de San Jerónimo, available from Tritó, Barcelona.

Henri Dumont (1610–84). Born in Belgium, Dumont became organist at St-Paul in Paris and left 17 pieces, including 11 allemandes, one courante, one pavane, and four préludes. Modern edition P. Bonfils, Editions Musicales de la Schola Cantorum et de la Procure Générale de Musique, L’organiste Liturgique 13.

Bernardo Pasquini (1637–1710). Organist in Rome and teacher of Zipoli, Casini, Georg Muffat, composer of over 200 pieces for keyboard conserved in four main MSS, covering all the main genres (17 suites, a few individual dance movements, about 30 short arias, over 35 toccatas, two capriccii, a fantasia, three canzone), one fuga, four ricercari (one of which runs to 345 bars), four sonatas, 22 variations (including four passacagli), and including over 300 versos and 14 sonatas for one and a further 14 for two instruments with just a figured bass. Available in seven volumes, edited by Maurice Brook Haynes, published by American Institute of Musicology, Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 5—this edition is unfortunately very unreliable but does group the works by genres. The far more accurate new Italian edition in seven volumes—which, after volume one that contains an Introduzione and Pastorale, and 60 versetti, all taken from a newly discovered MS in Bologna, follows the haphazard groupings of the (mainly autograph) MSS—is available from Libreria Musicale (www.libreria musicale.com). A facsimile edition of the Landsberg MS has been edited by Emer Buckley in two parts plus CD, published by Anne Fuzeau Classique (www.
editions-classique.com).

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725). Better known for his sacred and secular vocal music, he left many toccatas in MSS, most of which are multi-movement (with some loose fugues as well as dance movements), including lengthy sets of variations on the Folia. Some toccatas are retrospective, others are forward-looking, with many dissonant clashes and lengthy passages of chords to be arpeggiated. An excellent new edition by Andrea Macinanti and Francesco Tasini with a most illuminating introduction on performance is published in five volumes by Ut Orpheus: Alessandro Scarlatti, Complete Works for Keyboard, Vols. 1–5, Ut Orpheus AS 01–AS 05; <www.utorpheus.com&gt;.

Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722) worked in Leipzig and published two sets of seven suites (the first set in major, the second in minor keys, also including a sonata in B-flat), seven sonatas in from three to seven movements, and a set of six sonatas that are multi-movement programmatic pieces entitled Biblical Histories. All are available in facsimile, published by SPES. The edition by Moser for Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst volume 1/4 is out of print, but a new edition in two volumes has been edited by C. Harris in Art of the Keyboard Vol. 6 for Broude Brothers: Johann Kuhnau: The Collected Works for Keyboard, ed. C. David Harris; AOK 6, 2 volumes; Broude Brothers Limited (www.broude.us/Catalogues/EarlyMusic2006.pdf). The Biblical Sonatas are available separately, AOK 6C.

Christian Witte (ca. 1660–1717), organist in Altenburg, left about 20 pieces in MSS, including suites, preludes, fugues, three chorale preludes, and ciaconas; a passacaglia on D-C-Bb-A with 30 variations was formerly attributed to J. S. Bach. A modern edition of 12 pieces has been edited by Laura Cerutti for Armelin (www.armelin.it) in two volumes (AMM 026/053), of which the pieces best suited to organ are in volume 2. Three pieces from the Mylau Tablaturbuch are edited by John R. Shannon for American Institute of Musicology, Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 39. A capriccio in the Andreas Bach Book has been edited by Robert Hill for Harvard University Press: Keyboard Music from the Andreas Bach Book and the Moller Manuscript, ed. Robert Hill; Harvard University Press (www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HILMUS.html).

Georg Leyding (1665–1710) studied with Reincken and Buxtehude and became Jakob Bölsche’s successor at Braunschweig. He left three praeludia, a chorale prelude on Wie schön leucht uns, and a set of six chorale variations on Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, which have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel: Georg Dietrich Leyding, Organ Works (EB 8405) (www.breitkopf.com).

Vicent Rodríguez (1690–1760) was organist at Valencia Cathedral, successor to the great Cabanilles. In MSS he left a Libro de Tocatas (30) for harpsichord and a few pieces for organ including a fantasia, six tocatas (several of these are pieces for the clarines or trumpet stops and are much lighter in style than those by Cabanilles), and a partido. New edition by Águeda Pedrero for Tritó edicions (www.trito.es). Ten versos sobre Pange Lingua have been edited by Vicente Ros and included in Música de Tecla Valenciana Vol. 5.

Thomas Arne (1710–78). Left Six favourite concertos for organ, harpsichord or piano-forte published ca. 1787, which may be performed without the accompanying parts; edited by Robin Langley for OUP; and Gwilym Beechey has edited the organ solos from the concerti for Peters (H 1544). Arne also published a set of Eight Sonatas or Lessons for the harpsichord in 1756, facsimile edition edited by Beechey and Dart for Stainer & Bell K27.

Thomas Gladwin (1710–99). Worked in London, where he published Eight Lessons for the Harpsichord or Organ, three of which have violin accompaniment, in the 1750s. Facsimile edition of these two-movement pieces has been published by Jacks, Pipes and Hammers; <www.
btinteret.com/~edjacksph/pub.htm>.

Giuseppe Paganelli (1710–63). Worked in Venice, Bayreuth, Munich, and Madrid, where he may have succeeded D. Scarlatti. He published XXX Ariae pro organo et cembalo in 1756, facsimile edition in Minkoff, and edited by M. Machella for Armelin AMM163. He also published in 1757 Amusement for the fair sex or Six sonatines for the harpsichord, modern edition by Laura Cerutti for Cornetto Verlag (CP388). Three further sonatas are included in volumes 2, 3, and 4 of the Haffner Raccolta. Facsimile edition of volumes 2 and 3 in Raccolta musicale… Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis IV/56 Bologna.

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710–84). Oldest son of Johann Sebastian, he left relatively few keyboard works, most of which sound best on the clavichord, including eleven sonatas, eight fugues, twelve polonaises, ten fantasias, seven chorale preludes, and eight fugues from isolated MSS, in addition to pieces in the Notebook for W F Bach compiled by Johann Sebastian. The eight fugues have been edited by Paul Simmonds and Mike Daniels (www.paulsimmonds.com/publications/php) and published by themselves. They are also included in volume 1 of the organ works edited by Traugott Fedke for Edition Peters in two volumes (vol. 2 includes the chorale preludes and some more fugues). A new complete edition of the keyboard music in two volumes (vol. 1 just published) is in progress for Carus Verlag (Carus 32.001, 32.002). Best suited to the organ are the fugues and chorale preludes.

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–36) is better known for his operas and sacred music, but three organ sonatas are included in Splendori del ’700 Napoletano Vol 1. and one in Vol. 2, edited by Maurizio Machella for Armelin as AMM 161 and AMM 240 (www.armelin.it). Many pieces formerly attributed to him in 18th-century sources have now been identified as being by other composers—the one certain thing about Pergolesi is that he died young!

Many of the publishers mentioned have their own websites and accept orders from anywhere; the following would supply “one-stop shopping” for orders from more than one publisher, although they themselves would have to order titles from many of the smaller publishers, including the Spanish and Italian.
Jacks Pipes and Hammers: <www.jackspipesandhammers.com&gt;
Saul Groen: <http://saulgroen.nl&gt;
Sheetmusicplus: <www.sheetmusic plus.com>

Other individual publishers’ sites include:
Edicion Tritó: <www.trito.es&gt;; especially useful for Spanish scores
Corpus of Early Keyboard Music: <www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm&gt;. 

This article is a considerably expanded version of a list originally published in British Clavichord Society Newsletter 46.

Vermillion, South Dakota

Larry Palmer is a contributing editor for The Diapason.

In an historic first for the United States, three regional
early keyboard societies (Southeastern, Midwestern, and Western) met for a
joint conference ("Four Centuries of Great Keyboard Instruments: What
They Tell Us") at the National Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota,
May 16-19. Gratifying as it was to participate in this possible first
step toward a national organization, the main attraction of the Vermillion
gathering was the Museum and its superb collection of historic musical
instruments.

150 registrants overfilled the concert venue named for
Museum founder Arne Larson, and the group often spilled from the tearoom into
hallways for breakfast and coffee breaks. Still, the capable and welcoming
staff were able to overcame most difficulties and make all feel
welcome--sometimes rather warmly so! From an elegant buffet reception at
the home of University of South Dakota President Jim Abbott to the closing
party at program co-chair John Koster's rural retreat, physical hungers
and thirsts of the crowd were well served. All other meals, included in the
modest registration fee, were taken together in the University's Coyote
Student Center. Communal dining, a feature of previous gatherings in
Vermillion, was an appreciated convenience in this small Midwestern college
town.

A recital capped each jam-packed day. Two of these proved to
be especially fortuitous partnerships between artist and instrument. Closing
the conference, Andrew Willis played his aptly-chosen program on an
early-19th-century Viennese piano by Anton Martin Thÿm. For the first half
he chose works by Moscheles, Field, Hummel, and the rarely-performed Sonata
in E minor, opus 70 of Carl Maria von
Weber. Following intermission Willis gave transcendent performances of
Schubert's Moments Musicaux
(the fifth, in F minor, will never sound right again without the piano's
Turkish percussion effects) and Beethoven's E Major Sonata
style='font-style:normal'>, opus 109, perhaps the musical highpoint of the
conference. Among several visiting European artists, Miklós
Spányi stood out for his effortless musicality and consistently
interesting playing in a program of sonatas by Johann Eckard, C. P. E. Bach,
and Joseph Haydn, performed on the colorful Spath & Schmahl 1784
Tangentenflügel (using the correct spelling of Spath, without its
ubiquitous umlaut, as discussed by Michael Latcham in an illuminating lecture
on this instrument and its maker).

A concert by Tilman Skowroneck (earnest performances of
works by Louis and François Couperin and Rameau) introduced the resonant
1785 Jacques Germain harpsichord. Luisa Morales gave straightforward readings
of Iberian sonatas, allowing only two of them to be heard on the wiry and
virile José Calisto Portuguese harpsichord of 1780, and playing far too
many more on a beefy 1798 Joseph Kirckman double harpsichord, utilizing the
kaleidoscopic possibilities for registrations available on this instrument.
Morales was joined by Spanish folk dancer Cristóbal Salvador for her two
concluding Scarlatti sonatas, after which Salvador led a post-concert dance
class for those brave enough to participate.

The conference schedule listed an additional (and
overwhelming) 32 lectures or short performances! This attendee, for one, found
it impossible to attend all of them, especially those given late in the afternoons.
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Some memorable programs included: 

* A deeply moving clavichord recital of Bach preludes
and fugues, played by wounded warrior Harvey Hinshaw, who had tripped while
loading his instrument late at night for the trip to Vermillion. Fortunately
neither Harvey nor his fine Lyndon Taylor clavichord sustained permanent
damage, although each showed bruises from the unfortunate altercation.

* Carol lei Breckenridge's Mozart played on two
clavichords from the Museum's collection: a 1770 Swedish instrument and
an 1804 Johann Paul Kraemer & Sons, built in Göttingen.

Three consecutive Sunday afternoon programs dealt with
repertoire from the now-historic 20th century, as well as some new works of the
fledgling 21st:

* Larry Palmer spoke about Herbert Howells' Lambert's
Clavichord, the first published clavichord music of the revival period.
Recorded examples played on clavichord, harpsichord, and piano served as
illustrations. Inferior sound equipment forced an impromptu performance of the
first clavichord example on the Wolf harpsichord.

* Attractively garbed in gold happy coat,
Berkeley-based Sheli Nan presented some of her own harpsichord compositions,
complete with video camera to record her every gesture.

* Calvert Johnson, with understated virtuosity, presented
a superb concert of harpsichord music by Japanese women composers Makiko
Asaoka, Karen Tanaka, and Asako Hirabayashi (now there is a focused
specialization!) on the Museum's 1994 Thomas & Barbara Wolf
harpsichord, an instrument tonally modeled on the Germain instrument, but
tastefully decorated in sober black and red with gold bands, rather than the
18th-century instrument's unfortunate color scheme of raspberry pink and
ultramarine, with a gratuitous 20th-century "French bordello" lid
painting

The original Germain, an exceptionally fine-sounding
instrument, was the most utilized harpsichord of the conference. It was heard
in programs played by Elaine Thornburgh, Paul Boehnke, Nancy Metzger, Nanette
Lunde, and Jillon Stoppels Dupree, who proved to be a passionate advocate for
the far too little-known music of Belgian composer Joseph-Hector Fiocco.

A smaller gem, the Museum's recently-acquired Johann
Heinrich Silbermann spinet (Strasbourg, 1785) was heard in performances by Paul
Boehnke and Asako Hirabayashi.

The "home team" of faculty members from the
University of South Dakota made major contributions:

* Piano professor (and program co-chair) Susanne Skyrm
played appropriate music on the soft, clavichord-like piano by Manuel
Antunes  (Lisbon, 1767) as well as
a much-appreciated traversal ("from the sublime to the ridiculous,"
she noted) of music by Beethoven (three Bagatelles
style='font-style:normal'>), Vorisek, and Herz. This program concluded with the
bellicose Siege of Tripoli: An Historical Naval Sonata
style='font-style:normal'> by Benjamin Carr, for which Professor Skyrm employed
all the "Drums, Bells, and Whistles" available on the Thÿm
piano. Her partner in hilarity was handkerchief-waving narrator, Dr. Matthew
Hardon.

* Organ professor Larry Schou demonstrated the fine
six-stop organ by Christian Dieffenbach (Pennsylvania, 1808) as well as the
1786 Josef Loosser house organ from the Toggenburg Valley of Switzerland.

Virtuoso lectures included:

* Peggy Baird's slide presentation showing
keyboards in a wide variety of paintings ("Music for the Eye and Art for
the Ear"), delivered with her usual irrepressible wit.

* Ed Kottick's informative and entertaining
"Tales of the Master Builders," amusing vignettes from his
just-published book A History of the Harpsichord (Indiana University Press).
Hermann [Pohl] the Hapless, indeed!

* Sandra Soderlund's well-organized, informative
talk on Muzio Clementi, enriched by musical examples played on a square piano
by John Broadwood, London, circa 1829.

San Francisco's Laurette Goldberg invented some
Goldberg Variants on harpsichord history in an amazing after-dinner ramble
following a memorable vegetable, chicken, or beef Wellington banquet on Monday
evening.

Throughout the meeting several instrument makers displayed
examples of their work. Among these a French double harpsichord by Knight
Vernon featured a splendidly light action; Paul Irvin's 1992 unfretted
clavichord produced a generous volume of sound; and Owen Daly's
Vaudry-copy harpsichord delighted these ears and fingers, as did finely crafted
instruments by Robert Hicks and Douglas Maple.

During her first visit to the United States in the early
1960s, harpsichordist Isolde Ahlgrimm was especially amused by the ubiquitous
pink flamingo representations she saw in many suburban front yards. It was with
a sense of recurring cultural history that my eyes were captivated by the colorful
pink bird statue displayed at the Museum's visitors' desk, visible
through the windows of the Larson Concert Hall. Closer inspection showed it to
be a hand drum, dubbed the "Flabonga," a gift to Museum Director
André Larson.

Because of unavoidable travel difficulties, papers by David
Chung (Hong Kong) and Eva Badura-Skoda (Vienna) were read by Museum staffers.

So what did these examples from four centuries of great
keyboard instruments have to teach us? For this listener they reinforced, once
again, that most music sounds better, and far more interesting, when played on
period instruments tuned in appropriate temperaments. They underscored how vast
the variety of historic keyboards is. They showed how comparatively
monochromatic a tonal range the contemporary piano presents, and how
impoverished it is by its paucity of coloristic devices such as modulators,
bassoon stops, bare wood (or variously-covered) hammers, and Janissary
percussion.

Keyboards from Vermillion's National Music Museum
(formerly known as The Shrine to Music) demonstrated that informed restoration
and constant care permits them to function as superb instruments for music.
Curator John Koster announced early in the proceedings that keeping 1588
strings in tune for the weekend would be a major task! He managed it with grace
and skill, as he did his many other responsibilities during the conference.

It was encouraging to note a number of other visitors to the
Museum during our time there. Many of them were young students, a group
distinctly, and disturbingly, not well represented on the rosters of our
keyboard societies. I would urge each reader to plan a visit to this
outstanding American museum, and, if possible, to make this collection of early
keyboard instruments known to a student. A virtual visit to these holdings is
available through the Museum's website: <www.usd.edu/smm&gt;.

Cicely Winter grew up in the state of Michigan, but has lived in Oaxaca since 1972. She studied piano and harpsichord at Smith College and the University of Michigan, where she obtained a B.A. in music and an M.A. in European history. She later studied piano performance at the post-graduate level in the School of Music at Indiana University. She presents organ, piano, and harpsichord concerts regularly, many of which benefit community service projects. In the year 2000 she co-founded el Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca A.C. (IOHIO) and since then has served as its director. The IOHIO focuses on the protection and promotion of the sixty-nine historic pipe organs known to date in the state of Oaxaca.

The eighth International Organ and Early Music Festival took place October 21–27, 2010 in Oaxaca, Mexico, with the theme, “Celebrating the Bicentennial of the National Independence and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution.” To honor the two most significant events in Mexican political history, the IOHIO (Institute of Historic Organs) presented its grandest festival yet. For the first time, music lovers were able to hear concerts on all seven restored organs, a unique opportunity to appreciate the richness and diversity of Oaxaca’s collection of Baroque instruments.
In addition, there were three all-day field trips to visit 12 unrestored instruments in village churches, most of which are usually inaccessible to the public; two masterclasses with Swiss organist and musicologist Guy Bovet; two choral concerts, one of which presented choral works that have not been heard for centuries from the early 18th-century notebook of Domingo Flores from San Bartolo Yautepec; the opportunity for organists to play the organ in the Basílica de la Soledad; guided tours of two archeological sites; an exhibit of historical material related to the organs from various Oaxacan archives; a talk about the organs and the work of the IOHIO; a view of Oaxaca’s splendid and varied scenery during field trips to the Tlacolula Valley and the Mixteca Alta; and a chance to sample the local cuisine and revel in the fiesta traditions in the villages.

October 21, Thursday
The festival began with the first of two masterclasses in San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya given by Guy Bovet. Thirteen Mexican organists and organ students from Oaxaca, Mexico City, Puebla, Queretaro, Morelia, and Toluca, as well as one from the U.S., played for Bovet and a group of some 20 auditors from Mexico and abroad. Participants benefited immensely from Bovet’s explanation of the fine points of Spanish repertoire and performance practice. He carried out an important survey of Mexican organs in the 1980s and 90s sponsored by UNESCO and Pro Helvetia.
That evening, Mexican artists José Francisco Álvarez (organ) and Juan Carlos Murillo (trombone) offered the first concert of the festival in the Basílica de la Soledad. This is the first time the trombone has been featured in a IOHIO festival, and the sound blended brilliantly with the organ in a varied program based on arrangements by José Francisco. The magnificent polychromed case of the organ has the date 1686 inscribed on the side of the case, making it the oldest extant organ in Oaxaca.

October 22, Friday
The second organ masterclass by Guy Bovet in Tlacochahuaya once again focused on the Iberian repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries. Participants presented works by Correa de Arauxo, Cabanilles, Bruna, Aguilera de Heredia, Cabezón, and Durón.
That afternoon, everyone gathered in the elegant space of the Francisco de Burgoa Library in the former convent of Santo Domingo de Guzman for the inauguration of the eighth festival.
IOHIO director Cicely Winter introduced Ricardo Fuentes and Beatriz Domínguez from the Coordinación Nacional de la Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPN) who spoke about the goals of their institution and future collaborations with the IOHIO. Next, Alberto Compiani and Josefina Benavides from the “Radio Monterrey” station spoke about the weekly radio show “His Majesty the Organ,” which Compiani initiated as a result of his ongoing collaboration with the IOHIO. It is hoped that starting next year these programs may be broadcast in Oaxaca. Cicely Winter then offered a presentation about “The Historic Organs of Oaxaca and the Work of the IOHIO.” Her talk was prefaced by special recognition of the initiative of Don Alfredo Harp Helú in support of the restoration and maintenance of the organs.
This was followed by an exhibit of documents related to organs from various Oaxacan archives, “Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, el órgano oaxaqueño al servicio del altar,” which afforded an excellent overview of Oaxacan organ history. The exhibit was curated and presented by Polish researcher and IOHIO collaborator Ricardo Rodys.
The second concert of the festival took place in the Capilla del Rosario (ex-convento de San Pablo) and featured the Capilla Virreinal de la Nueva España directed by Aurelio Tello in the presentation of “Music from the Domingo Flores Book (18th century) of San Bartolo Yautepec.” This notebook was part of a treasure of manuscripts discovered by the IOHIO in Yautepec in 2001.

October 23, Saturday
The all-day field trip to the Mixteca Alta began with the third concert of the festival in Santa María de la Natividad. Barbara Owen opened the program with Baroque dance pieces. Later Guy Bovet improvised a sonata on a Mexican patriotic tune in the style of Sor María Clara and played a Fandango with guitarist Vladimir Ibarra. Gabriela Edith Pérez Díaz enchanted the audience with several pieces by J. S. Bach on the marimba. The Ibarra/Díaz duo then closed their program with a piece for marimba and guitar. At the end of the concert, each of the two IOHIO organ scholarship students from the community played a piece. We did not know that the Pan American Races would take place that day and that the highway was blocked. We were waved through by a police car but did not find out until the end of the day that the friends who drove their own cars to the concert were not allowed to pass.
The fourth concert of the festival in Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán was especially important because this organ has not been played for years due to ongoing restoration work in the church. The audience was transported by the combination of the program “The Splendor of the Cathedrals of Mexico in the 17th century,” presented by the Capilla Virreinal de la Nueva España directed by Aurelio Tello, the setting in one of Mexico’s most magnificent 16th-century Baroque churches, and the acoustics in the vaulted stone space. The renowned Uruguayan organist Cristina García Banegas accompanied the choir and enhanced the program with several magnificent 17th-century solo works.
Thanks to the ongoing support of the Federal Road and Bridge Commission, a special entrance was opened from the super highway, allowing us direct access to San Andrés Zautla and saving us over an hour of travel time. The fiesta and concert in Zautla are always a highlight of the festival. We were received in the atrium of the church by the local band with noisy fireworks, mezcal, and dancing, with the elderly women of the town dressed in their traditional skirts and blouses. We enjoyed a delicious stew with squash seed sauce, a special local recipe, served in the patio behind the church. After dinner, we filed into the church to hear the fifth concert of the festival, presented by organist Cristina García Banegas in alternation with Gabriela Edith Pérez Díaz, percussion, and Vladimir Ibarra, guitar. Banegas’s program combined light 18th-century dances with more modern works, including one of her own compositions, while Díaz and Ibarra offered modern works for guitar and complete percussion ensemble. The case decoration of this 4′ table organ (1726) is among the most elaborate in all of Mexico.

October 24, Sunday
This day was dedicated to visiting unrestored organs in the Tlacolula Valley. Our first stop was in San Matías Jalatlaco, located just on the edge of the historic center of Oaxaca City. This lovely 8′ organ, painted blue, was built in 1866 by Pedro Nibra and though missing some pipes, is quite restorable.
We continued on to San Andrés Huayapam and its lovely country church with a splendid gilded altarpiece. The 4′ table organ (1772) is in nearly perfect condition and would require little to make it playable. We were refreshed by a drink of tejate, a specialty of this community.
We made a brief stop at the famous tree in Santa María del Tule before proceeding to Santa María Tlacolula. It was market day and a local saint was also being celebrated, so the streets were packed and it was difficult to get one’s bearings because of the tall tents and rides. First we viewed the little 2′ 18th-century processional organ, the smallest in Oaxaca, which was built for a small chapel. Then we climbed up to the choir loft to see the 8′ organ in the choir loft. Dating presumably from the mid-18th century, this stately organ is nearly complete and has the most elaborately painted façade pipes in all of Mexico.
We were all set to proceed to Mitla for lunch, but a police car was blocking our vans and it took at least a half hour to track down the driver and convince him to move. As a result we had to rush through the rest of the day. After our midday meal in Mitla, we zoomed to San Dionisio Ocotepec to view one of Oaxaca’s earliest and most important organs (1721). This 4′ stationary instrument, though missing its pipes and keyboard, is the closest relative to the Tlacochahuaya organ. Its doors, which were removed from the organ, framed, and hung in the sacristy, were brought to the choir loft for viewing. One of them depicts King David playing his harp and the other, Santa Cecilia playing the Ocotepec organ, showing the bellows behind and the original façade decoration.
We arrived in San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya just in time for the sixth concert of the festival. Guy Bovet offered an elegant program combining serious works of the Spanish repertoire with lighter pieces such as verses from the Sor María Clara notebook. His program ended with an improvisation on the Oaxacan tune “Amor Juvenil,” with Antonio de Jesús Hernández, the 15-year-old son of the sacristan on the trombone. This organ (ca. 1735) is the jewel in the Oaxacan crown. Its gorgeously decorated case and façade pipes make it a work of art in its own right and it synchronizes perfectly with the acoustics and exuberantly painted decoration of the church.

October 25, Monday
Participants had the choice of playing the organ in La Soledad or going on a guided tour of archeological site of Monte Albán with Marcus Winter of the INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia). There was free time for the rest of the day until the seventh concert of the festival presented that evening in the Oaxaca Cathedral by Cristina García Banegas. Her concert was varied and exciting, and included pieces from the Jesuit mission in Chiquitos, Bolivia. There was an excellent turnout for this concert.

October 26, Tuesday
We departed early in the morning for our two-day journey through the Mixteca Alta. This was only the second time that a concert had been programmed on the organ in Santa María Tlaxiaco, because its three-hour distance from Oaxaca City requires an overnight stay.
Our first stop was in Santa María Tinú. This small stone church houses an organ (1828) that is disproportionately large for the interior space. The organ, completely intact and played just a generation ago, still grunts and wheezes when the bellows located in the loft above are pumped. It is possible that it could be made to play again with just an overall cleaning and patching of the winding system.
We proceeded to San Mateo Yucucuí. The organ (1743) was never painted but is richly carved. The floor of the high side balcony on which the organ sits is much deteriorated, but the custodian had laid down some planks so that participants could get a closer look at the organ. The situation has been evaluated by the INAH and a repair project is under consideration.
Santa María Tiltepec is one of several extant organs located near Yanhuitlan. Appreciated by art historians for its richly carved façade, this 17th-century church houses one of Oaxaca’s oldest organs (1703), unique in both its construction technique and whimsical carved and painted decoration.
After lunch in Teposcolula, we ascended up through the pine forest to Santa María Tlaxiaco. Guy Bovet’s presentation of the eighth and final concert of the festival included some of the most stirring pieces of the 17th-century repertoire and ended with an improvisation on the “Canción Mixteca.” This beautiful 8′ organ, the only 19th-century restored instrument in Oaxaca, offers a broad palette of sound possibilities, which resounded throughout the beautiful church.

October 27, Wednesday
After breakfast, we departed for the late pre-classic and classic Mixtec archeological site of San Martín Huamelulpan for a guided tour by Marcus Winter of the INAH and a visit to the community museum.
From there we went to the nearby village of San Pedro Mártir Yucuxaco. The table organ here (1740) is complete and in excellent condition, even though its bellows no longer exist. It closely resembles the organ in Zautla, though without the painted decoration, the carved pipeshades include faces in profile, and the keyboard is one of Oaxaca’s most exquisite.
The open chapel, church, and ex-convent in San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula comprise one of the most amazing 16th-century Dominican complexes in Mexico. A project is nearing conclusion to gild the carved decoration of the 18th-century monumental organ in areas where there was no evidence of former gilding. The IOHIO was not notified of this project and it is being investigated. The organ has a similar profile to that of Yanhuitlan but was painted a cream color rather than polychromed, probably because of lack of funds at the time of the construction.
After lunch, we continued on to Santiago Teotongo, where we could admire the organ as part of one of the most splendid Baroque churches in Mexico. The organ seems to date from the mid-18th century because of the resemblance of its profile to the organ in San Mateo Yucucuí (1743). Even though it lost all its pipes and keyboard during the Mexican Revolution, the magnificent gilded and polychromed case still exists.
Our Mixtec tour culminated with a visit to the church and organ of Santiago Tejupan. This lovely polychromed organ (1776) is the last extant Oaxacan instrument to exhibit religious imagery on the case. Even though it no longer has its pipes or keyboard, the community is most interested in having it reconstructed some day. The name of the donor, cost of the organ, and date of construction appear inscribed on decorative medallions on the façade. Just before getting in to the vans to return to Oaxaca City, Cicely Winter announced that she had a surprise for everyone . . . a visit to one more organ! (just kidding!)

Everyone agreed that the Eighth Festival was spectacular. All the planning and organizational work beforehand really paid off and there were no major glitches, at least within our control. For the first time, we set up a screen and projected the concerts in the church below so that the audience could see the organist and the rest of the activity in the choir loft—this proved to be enormously successful. Three of the organ concerts included pieces from the notebook of the Oaxacan nun Sor María Clara del Santísimo Sacramento. The group of participants could not have been more congenial and included organists, organbuilders, organ students, anthropologists, academics, musicians, teachers, restorers, cultural promoters, and other professionals. It will be a pleasure to maintain contact with these wonderful new members of our growing IOHIO community. During the coming year we look forward to presenting more concerts, producing more CDs, continuing our documentation and conservation project, and writing a book about the Oaxaca organs. So when we organize our Ninth Festival sometime in 2012 we will have a lot to celebrate! 

In 2016 the anniversaries of several composers can be commemorated, albeit some of their dates are not known for certain. Some names need no introduction but there are also several lesser-known names here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness. Some composers with only a small number of surviving pieces have not been included, and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print; there may also be editions by other publishers. A search of online booksellers for copies may be worthwhile. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications or manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printing errors) to modern versions of works, can be found on various free download websites, most notably IMSLP. However, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be used with caution. 

Antonio de Cabezón (1510–66) was organist to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and one of the most important Spanish composers of the 16th century. Some 41 pieces of the 138 included in Venegas de Henestrosa’s 1557 anthology Libro de Cifra nueva were attributed to him, including 16 Tientos, six settings each of the Pange Lingua and the Ave Maris Stella, other hymn settings, and a few miscellaneous pieces. In 1578, his son Hernando published Obras de Musica, also in Spanish number tablature, a compilation of his father’s works plus five of his own and one by his uncle Juan (who also died in 1566). This large compendium includes nine Duos for beginners, hymn settings in two, three, and four voices, three Kyries in three voices, eight sets of four-voice Versos, Fabordones, Kyries, and Magnificats, 12 Tientos, 15 Canciones glosadas in four voices, 23 in five voices, six in six voices, two Fugas, and ten sets of Diferencias. The non-canción pieces have been edited by Higinio Anglés in three volumes for the Instituto Español de Musicología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, with the Canciones edited by Maria Ester Sala for Unión Musical Ediciones (S.L. 21945). The Tientos and Fugas have been edited by M. S. Kastner for Schott (4948). A new edition in four volumes (a fifth volume will offer a facsimile and a sixth studies) edited by several eminent Spanish scholars was published in 2010 by the Institución Fernando el Católico. The Venegas print has been edited by Higinio Anglés as volume two of the series Monumentos de la Música Española for the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona, in two volumes. The first is a study of the music at the court; the second volume, containing a transcription of the pieces, has now been reprinted in four volumes by The Well-Tempered Press, Boca Raton, Florida (an imprint of Kalmus). An excellent anthology in four volumes containing pieces selected from the two prints has been edited by Gerhard Doderer and Miguel Bernal Ripoll for Bärenreiter (BA 9261–4). Charles Jacobs has edited the collected works in five volumes, for the Institute of Mediaeval Music, mixing pieces from the two prints in volumes 1–4, and in volume five including only the incipits of the Canciones as well as about 16 pieces from Portuguese sources, which he attributes to Cabezón instead of to Antonio Carreira. Numerous pieces have appeared in anthologies, the quality of editing being of a somewhat variable standard. 

Johann Steffens (1559 or 1560–1616), organist in Luneburg, published some instrumental pieces, and his son published some of his father’s vocal music. Steffens left three chorale settings and a lengthy Fantasia on the Fourth Tone that have survived in various manuscripts and have been edited by Klaus Beckmann, published by Schott as Volume IV of the series Masters of the North German School for Organ (ED9584). 

Paul Siefert (1586–1666), a pupil of Sweelinck, became organist in Danzig (Gdansk), with spells at Konigsberg and Warsaw. He published vocal and theoretical works as well as a few keyboard compositions that have survived in manuscripts, including a setting of John Dowland’s Paduana La mia Barbara, which is included in Dowland keyboard music edited by Christopher Hogwood for Edition HH and also in Lied und Tanz variationen der Sweelinck-Schule, edited by Werner Breig for Edition Schott (6030), and sets of variations on Nun komm der Heiden Heiland and Puer Natus in Bethlehem, a setting of the motet Benedicat Dominum by Lassus, a Fantasia a 5 and 13 Fantasias a 3 (tentatively ascribed to Siefert by Max Seiffert), all of which have been edited by Klaus Beckmann as Volume XX in the series Masters of the North German School for Organ (ED20518). The two chorale variation sets have been edited by Hans Moser and Traugott Fedtke in Choralbearbeitungen und freie Orgelstücke der deutschen Sweelinck-Schule aus der Lübbenauer Tabulatur, Band 1, published by Bärenreiter (BA2815).

Johann Erasmus Kindermann (1616–55) was an organist in Nuremberg; he published vocal and instrumental works, including Harmonia Organica in 1645. One of the last two prints in German organ tablature (the other being Christian Michael’s Tabulatura also printed in 1645), its 25 pieces comprise 14 praeambula in the church tones (which are also included in the Brasov Tablature) arranged in six pairs (each praeambulum serving two tones), then repeated transposed up a fourth, followed by two more transposed praeambula, five chorale preludes (four of which are fugal including one based on three Passiontide/Easter chorales), four fugues, and two Magnificat settings, one of which is an intonation with one verse, the other on the eighth tone having five verses (one is in echo format requiring two manuals). A modern edition by Rudolf Walter was published as Volume IX of the series Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock by Musikverlag Alfred Coppenrath. A set of 30 dances has survived in manuscript, edited by Felix Schreiber and Bertha Wallner and included in Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern XXI-XXIV, vol.30, published by Gesellschaft für Bäyerische Musikgeschichte.

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–67). Froberger spent much time as court organist in Vienna and can be regarded as the most influential keyboard composer of the second half of the 17th century. His travels took him to France, England, and Italy. His large output comprises free-form and contrapuntal pieces as well as over 50 dance suites, surviving in many sources including four autograph volumes (a recently discovered one is not accessible, and two have been lost). The three surviving autographs of 1649, 1656, and 1658 contain 12 toccatas, 12 ricercars, 12 capricci, six fantasias, six canzonas, and 12 suites of dance movements, with several more pieces in each category as well as single dances, tombeaux, and lamentations from other manuscripts being reliably attributed to the canon. Pieces were included in publications from 1693 onwards, but many contain a corrupt and unreliable presentation of the text. Siegbert Rampe has edited the keyboard pieces in six volumes, of which the first is devoted to the 1649 autograph, the second to the 1656 and 1658 autographs, volumes 3 and 4 to partitas (suites) from copied sources, volume 5 to toccatas and polyphonic works from copied sources, and volume 6 to new readings and new pieces from newly discovered sources (volumes 3–6 are each in two parts) for Bärenreiter. A seventh volume includes the vocal music and a catalogue of Froberger’s output. 

Matthias Weckmann (1616–74)studied with Heinrich Schütz in Dresden and with Jacob Praetorius and Heinrich Scheidemann in Hamburg, where he became organist. His surviving works include much vocal, some chamber, and some keyboard music. He left eight sets of chorale variations ranging from three to seven verses each and a Magnificat on the 2nd Tone with four verses, which have been edited by Werner Breig and published by Bärenreiter (BA6211). His free-form pieces comprise a Praeambulum a 5, a fantasia, and a Fuga on the 1st Tone, each of which has a pedal part, and six toccatas and five variation canzonas (one in C minor), for manuals. Preserved in manuscripts are six partitas of dance movements and one set of variations. It is now accepted that Weckmann compiled the Hintze manuscript, which contains a further 28 dance movements, 16 of which are anonymous. Composers represented in this manuscript include Tresure, Chambonnières, Froberger, La Barre, Erben, and Cousteaux. A set of variations on Lucidor hat einst ein Schaf included as an appendix is of dubious attribution. The free-form pieces have all been edited by Siegbert Rampe as Sämtliche Freie Orgel- und Clavierwerke and published by Bärenreiter (BA8189). Hans Davidsson edited the free works as A practical edition of the free organ works for Gehrmans Musikförlag, which included a doubtfully attributed Praeluium a 5 in G.

Sebastian Durón (1660–1716), a pupil of Andrés de Sola and organist at Seville, Burgo de Osma, and the Chapel Royal at Madrid, composed much sacred and secular music, but left only three organ pieces, all for divided keyboard. Two treat the same subject, one with the solo in the left hand, one in the right hand; the third piece, Gaitilla, has lively writing in the left hand. All have been edited by Lothar Siemens-Hernandez and published by Scola Cantorum as volume 74 in the series Orgue et Liturgie, which also contains the three tientos composed by his teacher Andrés de Sola. Gaitilla has been edited by Gerhard Doderer and included in the volume dedicated to Spain in the Vox Humana series, published by Bärenreiter (BA8233). 

Johann Heinrich Buttstedt (1666–1727) was an organist in Erfurt and, according to Walther’s Lexicon, published three sets of pieces, of which the 1705 and 1706 sets of chorale variations have not survived; however, manuscript copies by Walther have come down to us. Fortunately copies of the far more extensive Musicalische Clavier-Kunst und Vorraths-Kammer of 1713 have survived. This collection contains seven groups of pieces including four praeludia. The groups are coupled with, respectively, a capriccio, a ricercar in three stanzas, a fuga, and a canzona in six parts followed by two minuets, an aria with 12 variations, and two suites of dances in D major and F major. Attributed to Buttstedt in manuscript sources are four fugues in C, D, E minor, and G minor, and a Praeludium et Fuga in G. Two fugues in G minor are tentatively ascribed to him by Beckmann, one of which is generally accepted as being by Jan Adam Reincken. An extensive collection of some 28 chorale preludes and variations specifically marked with Buttstedt’s name has survived, and an additional 16 chorale-based pieces have tentatively been ascribed to him by Klaus Beckmann, whose modern edition has been published by Schott as volumes 3 (non-chorale-based works) and 4 (chorale-based works) of the series Middle German Organ Masters (ED9923/4).

Nicolaus Vetter (1666–1734) was an organist in Erfurt and Rudolandstadt after studying with Georg Wecker and Johann Pachelbel. Some 28 pieces have been definitely attributed to him in the modern edition, with a further eight chorale preludes and variation sets tentatively assigned to him from anonymously transmitted works. His pieces comprise 13 chorale preludes and variations including a set of 17 variations on Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’ and seven variations on Jesu, meine Freude. Nine fugues and a parthie, which is actually a set of six alternating praeludia and fugues in B-flat (including one fugue by Wecker and one by Pachelbel), complete the contents. A modern edition by Klaus Beckmann has been published by Schott as volume 5 of the series Middle German Organ Masters (ED9925). 

Thomas Roseingrave (1690–1766), organist of St. George’s, Hanover Square, London, from 1725, was rendered incapable of playing by an unfortunate love affair (John Keeble was appointed in 1744). In the 1750s he went to live with his family in Dublin. He published 12 Solos for the Flute, and his keyboard pieces include Eight Suits of Lessons for the harpsichord or spinnet (1725), a Celebrated Concerto for solo organ published in 1770, a set of Voluntarys and Fugues made on purpose for the organ or harpsichord (1728), which show the influence of his friend Scarlatti (whom he met in Rome), and six Double Fugues to which is added Sig. Domenico Scarlatti’s Celebrated Lesson, hpd, with addns by Roseingrave (1750), which show Handel’s influence. The complete keyboard music, edited by H. Diack Johnstone and Richard Platt, has been published as volume 84 in the Stainer & Bell series Musica Britannica. Individual editions include the Concerto edited by Laura Cerutti, published by Armelin (CM038), the Voluntarys and Fugues edited by Greg Lewin for Greg Lewin Music (OM117), and the Double Fugues (omitting the Scarlatti lesson) edited by David Patrick for Fitzjohn Music. There are facsimiles by Broude Europa in the Performers’ Facsimiles series of the Voluntaries (PF5) and Double Fugues (PF105).

Giovanni Battista Pescetti (1704–66) was born in Venice and collaborated with Galuppi in writing operas. In 1736 he became director of Covent Garden and King’s Theatre in London where he published a set of 10 Sonate per gravicembalo in 1739 in two to four movements; its final piece was an arrangement of the overture to his opera La Conquista del vello d’oro. The complete volume has been published in facsimile by Arnaldo Forni, and the nine sonatas have been edited by Francesco Dilaghi and published in the series Maestri italiani della tastiera by Ricordi (133412). Dilaghi has also edited a further six sonatas from manuscript sources also published by Ricordi (133083). Many of the movements, especially the loosely fugal forms, sound well on the organ. Four sonatas specifically marked da Organo are included in the extensive anthology Musiche per gli organi della Serenissima edited by Maurizio Machella and published by Armelin AMMXCII, and have also been edited by David Patrick for Fitzjohn Music. 

Josef Norbert Seger (1716–82) studied organ with B. M. Černohorský and counterpoint with Jan Zach and František Tůma. He was appointed organist of the Týn Church (c. 1741) and the Crusaders’ Church (1745) in Prague. The most prolific Czech composer of keyboard music of his time (one manuscript’s title is 148 Praeludien, Fantasien und Fugen, though at least 28 are by other authors), none of his many preludes, toccatas, and fugues were published in his lifetime.  Some manuscripts and 19th-century printed editions ascribe the same piece to different composers, rendering a reliable list of his compositions even more difficult. Available modern editions include two volumes edited by Vratislav Belsky for the series Musica Antiqua Bohemica, Editio Supraphon, Prague. Volume 51 contains 34 pieces including the eight toccatas and fugues published by Türk in 1793, 20 preambulae and six fugas, volume 56 contains a further 21 pieces (16 preludes and fugues, three preambulae, and two chant settings). Three fugues and two praeambulae are included in volume 12 of this series alongside pieces by other Czech composers. These editions have arbitrarily consigned the bass voice to a third stave. Nicolas Gorenstein has edited 47 pieces in two volumes for Editions Chanvrelin, Paris. A scholarly modern edition of this excellent music in which all sources have been fully evaluated and the music restored to two staves, while indicating the pedal as the source does, is very much needed.

Rafael Anglés (1730–1816) succeeded Vicente Rodriguez as organist of the cathedral of Valencia. A complete edition of his surviving keyboard works is still lacking, but his Salmodia, a collection of 33 versos (four are on Tones 1–7 and five on Tone 8), has been edited by Dionisio Preciado for Unión Musical Española (22320). A set of five pasos has been edited by Jose Climent, published as Serie B: Musica de Camera, 12 by the Instituto Español de Musicología Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; a collection of 20 one-movement, binary-form sonatas has been edited by Climent and published by the Real Academia de Cultura Valenciana Seccion de Musicologia as volume 3. Two one-movement sonatas in E minor and F have been edited by Climent and published by Unión Musical Española. A further nine sonatas and a pastorela have been edited by Dionisio Preciado and included in his excellent anthology Doce Compositores Aragoneses de tecla (s. XVIII) published by Editora Nacional, Madrid. 

Samuel Wesley (1766–1837) composed a large amount of sacred and secular vocal music and also chamber and orchestral pieces, in addition to a large corpus of keyboard music for organ, and for pianoforte or harpsichord. Very little of the latter has been made available in other modern editions. A great admirer of J. S. Bach, Wesley made arrangements for piano or harpsichord of the Well-Tempered Clavier as well as organ works. His organ works from both published and manuscript sources have been edited by Geoffrey Atkinson and published by Fagus Music in 12 volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 contain the 12 published voluntaries of op. 6, volumes 3–8 include sets of voluntaries in manuscripts, apart from the six fugues in volume 5, volume 9 contains the 12 short pieces with a full voluntary and three sets of variations, volume 10 contains 34 short pieces, volume 11 contains 12 miscellaneous longer voluntaries, and volume 12 contains the Grand Duet. 

Basilio de Sesse (1756–1816), the son of Juan de Sesse y Balaguer (whose 1773 set of fugues were the first keyboard pieces published in Spain after Correa’s Facultad Organica), served as organist of the cathedral of Toledo. He left 12 pieces in manuscripts, including two pasos, seven intentos with a length of a mere 82 bars up to 346 bars (the fourth is an extended treatment of the hymn Ave Maris Stella, the fifth and seventh open with a preludio, the seventh has two subjects worked separately and then combined), and three piezas (the second is a light rondo and the third is a shorter sonata with passages for crossed hands), which have been edited by Patricia Rejas Suarez and published as volume XIII of the series Tecla Aragonesa by the Institución Fernando el Católico.

Publishers’ websites 

Associated Board of the Royal School of Music:

http://gb.abrsm.org/en/home

American Institute of Musicology—CEKM series:
www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm.htm&nbsp;

Armelin Musica: www.armelin.it

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com  

Broude Bros: www.broude.us&nbsp;

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com&nbsp;

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas:

www.csic.es

Doblinger Verlag: www.doblinger-verlag.at

Fitzjohn: www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic

Greg Lewin Music: www.greglewin.co.uk

IMSLP: www.imslp.org

Institute of Medieval Music: http://medievalmusic.ca/english/index.htm

Institución Fernando el Católico: http://ifc.dpz.es/&nbsp;

Institute Medieval Music: http://medievalmusic.ca/english/index.htm

Kalmus: www.efkalmus.com

Real Academia de Cultura Valenciana:

www.racv.es

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com&nbsp;

Stainer & Bell: www.stainer.co.uk&nbsp;

Unión Musical Española: www.musicsalesclassical.com/companies/unionmusicalediciones

In the second half of July, leading figures from the international organ world gathered again in Haarlem, the Netherlands, for the 49th edition of the Haarlem International Organ Festival

Stephen Taylor was a chorister at Bristol Cathedral and organ scholar of Jesus College, Oxford. In the Netherlands he studied with Ewald Kooiman, Nico van den Hooven, and Jan Welmers, and was awarded the Prix d’Excellence in 1977. He was organist of the Nicolaïkerk in Utrecht for more than twenty years and is active as a soloist and continuo player and as an author and translator. Taylor joined the Haarlem Festival organization in 2007. His translation of Ton de Leeuw’s Music of the Twentieth Century was published by Amsterdam University Press. In 2006 he was awarded the St. Martin Medal of the city of Utrecht for his contribution to its cultural life. His three-volume tutor on practical harmonization, The Lost Chord, has recently been published for the first time in English.

In the second half of July, leading figures from the international organ world gathered again in Haarlem, the Netherlands, for the 49th edition of the Haarlem International Organ Festival. It was here, in this wonderfully picturesque town very near Amsterdam, that the first Haarlem improvisation competition was held in 1951. Four years later, in 1955, the summer academy was launched, and the two events were held annually until 1986, and thereafter biennially. 

Improvisation competition

The competition is unique in its focus on contemporary improvisation. In each round, after an hour’s preparation with pencil and paper only, competitors offer a 10-minute concert improvisation. Eight participants from France, Poland, the USA (Jason Roberts, Connecticut), and Holland were selected in the spring of 2012 by means of submitted recorded improvisations on short motifs by Louis Maillié (Lyon and Paris). In the first two rounds, all eight selected competitors showed their skills first on the monumental Müller organ in St. Bavo’s and then on the Cavaillé-Coll instrument in the Philharmonie Concert Hall. The theme in Round 1 was a melody from the 16th-century Antwerp Liedboek. Round 2 was something of a surprise: instead of a musical idea, a semi-abstract, 90-second film served to inspire the competitors! The three finalists were presented with the following theme from the hand of the Viennese organist (and Haarlem veteran!) Peter Planyavsky. 

The five-member jury (Lionel Rogg, Wolfgang Seifen, Naji Hakim, Joost Langeveld, and the Dutch composer Klaas de Vries) reflected different schools of thought. Winner of the 2012 competition was the Frenchman Paul Goussot, who competed in the grand finale against French colleague Noël Hazebroucq and the Polish organist Edyta Müller (at last, a female improviser!). The Dutch national daily De Volkskrant wrote: 

Although the three finalists were a good match, Goussot achieved the most convincing balance between the virtues of ‘organistic’ freedom and the binding power of the theme. He employed lucid rhythms, well-sounding harmonies, and did not shy away from adventurous harmonic progressions. Just before the end, chords erupted from the pipes like flashes of fire, but then he suddenly slowed, finishing his improvisation in a whispering coda. This winner of the 49th improvisation competition is a man who combines musical instinct and craftsmanship with a sense of theatre. 

Another leading national daily added: “With the Haarlem International Organ Improvisation Competition many great organ careers have been launched . . . ” 

The International
Summer Academy

The Haarlem Summer Academy 2012 offered an 11-day program of masterclasses plus a two-day symposium. In daily two-hour sessions, capita selecta from more than four centuries of organ repertory were discussed in depth. Center stage in the academy is the Müller organ in St. Bavo’s (where the gallery fortunately accommodates up to 30!) But other important historic and modern instruments in the town are also used, all within walking distance. 

Teachers at the 2012 summer academy were Harald Vogel on Sweelinck, Margaret Phillips on early English music, Ton Koopman, Jean-Claude Zehnder, Jacques van Oortmerssen and James David Christie on J. S. Bach, Olivier Latry and Louis Robilliard on French and German Romantics, Martin Sander on Max Reger, Roman Summereder on contemporary ‘keystones’, Zsigmond Szathmáry (working with young composers), Jos van der Kooy and Peter Planyavsky on improvisation, and Leo van Doeselaar on repertory for organ and strings.

This year’s academy was attended by 85 students from 27 countries and five continents. In addition to a group of young Russian players (regular guests for some years), a new group of Chinese students included young teachers from Beijing and Shanghai. Previously officially a postgraduate program, the academy now accepts undergraduate music students, reflecting the festival’s policy to attract the very best young players. Daily lectures and discussions allowed both students and the general public to meet and hear all the academy teachers. 

Festival symposium

Midway between the two academy weeks, the festival symposium “From Sweelinck to Bach” took the entire academy to the famous organs at Oosthuizen and Edam and to Amsterdam (Oude and Nieuwe Kerk), where lectures and recitals were given by Harald Vogel, Margaret Phillips, Jean-Claude Zehnder, and Christoph Wolff, among others. 

Young talents

For the second time, the Haarlem summer academy included a six-day course for young talents aged 13 to 18. After an international call, six players were selected on the basis of a written recommendation from their teachers and a submitted recording (a fast movement from a Bach trio sonata and a Pièce de Fantaisie by Vierne). In six two-hour sessions, the young players (from Holland, Germany, France, Croatia, Ireland, Portugal, and the USA) were coached by Olivier Latry and Margaret Phillips. These young organists made good use of the opportunity to attend all festival activities and to visit other masterclasses. No fewer than three of the young talents from the 2010 course returned to Haarlem to take part in other masterclasses—the Haarlem disease is highly contagious!

Young composers

The Haarlem young composers’ course took place again under the inspirational direction of the Hungarian-German Ligeti pupil Zsigmond Szathmáry. After an international call, three new organ pieces by young Dutch and German composers were selected for discussion during the six-session masterclass. Important considerations in the selection process were composition technique, originality, and whether a work was idiomatically suited to the organ. The new works were discussed with the composers (two of whom performed their own works) and presented to the public during a festival recital in St. Bavo’s. 

For the second time, the Leipzig Summer Academy will include this concert and a preparatory course under Szathmáry in its 2013 program. Thus young composers are assured of repeat performances of their new works at prominent international venues. 

New music

The festival concert programs featured many premieres: Zsigmond Szathmáry’s Fukushima Requiem was broadcast live on Dutch national radio; Dutch premieres included EOOS for organ and panpipes by Klaas de Vries, Radulescu’s Madrigali, Kagel’s Phantasie für Orgel mit Obbligati for organ and tape, Der Dom und das Meer for organ and tape by Mesías Maiguashca, and Szathmáry’s Leichte Brise—grosser Orkan. In a spectacular closing recital, Olivier Latry and Shin-Young Lee performed Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. 

50th anniversary

The 50th edition of the Haarlem International Organ Festival will take place July 11–26, 2014. Newcomers to the festival—and Haarlem veterans—will be warmly welcomed!

Note

Many of the items referred to in this article, including competition themes (and film), academy repertoire, and audio and video recordings of recitals and concerts (including Fukushima Requiem and The Rite of Spring), are available through www.organfestival.nl, where news of the 2014 festival will appear in the coming months.