The
Organ
by the Consultant, Thomas G Duncan, MA, B.Litt (Oxon)
In
building an organ one aim must be paramount: authentic
sound. Instruments surviving from previous centuries
offer a good idea of how the music of, say, the Baroque
French composers, or of Bach, or of Cesar Franck and
his successors sounded or should sound. Of course,
the quest for "authenticity" can be taken
to extremes. An organ recently built in Oberlin College,
Ohio reproduced a seventeenth century Dutch instrument
not only in specification, in shape of pedal board
and in square, bulky draw-stops, but even in the antique
lettering of the stop-names. (It was not, however,
hand-blown).
Some
players, content to accept modern pedal boards, consoles,
electric stop-actions and pistons (not least 'generals'),
hold resolutely to the view that tracker action is
the sine qua non of a proper instrument. From a player''
point of view a good tracker action is indeed ideal.
It is dishonest to deny, however, that in historic
and modern organs alike, tracker actions vary considerably
and, when less than the best, can prove a barrier
rather than a bond between player and instrument.
To the listener, however, the difference between a
good electric action (as in the present instrument)
and a tracker action is, I believe, minimal, or, indeed,
imperceptible.
The
sound that reaches the listener's ear is of prime
importance, and this is determined by four main factors
- specification, position, layout and voicing. It
will be seen that the specification, the range of
stops of this organ, is such that most of the organ
repertoire may be registered with little difficulty.
The position of the organ in the west gallery could
not be better. In the layout, the various departments
are arranged largely in the classical manner with
the Pedal partly on either side, the Choir, Great
and Swell on separate levels, and with all pipes speaking
directly into the Chapel. The Swell and Choir shutters
open to a full 90º angle - non-existent, in effect,
when fully open. The whole instrument is encased.
Clearly an organ which seeks to be 'comprehensive'
aspires to the impossible: a measure of compromise
in the matter of authentic sound must arise since
the voicing styles of the seventeenth century and
the later nineteenth century were different. In the
present instrument (strings apart) the voicing is
classical; the realisation of the music of Bach and
of the French Baroque masters has been the foremost
consideration. Yet, the listener is invited to judge
whether, be it Franck, Widor, Dupré or Howells
suitable registration does not here too give forth
a satisfactory sound.
Tribute
must be paid to the firm of Harrison and Harrison.
In particular, I wish to thank Mr Kenneth James not
only for the artistry of his voicing but also for
his invaluable advice throughout all the discussion
involved in bringing this instrument into being.
©
T G Duncan, University of St. Andrews, 1978
Programme of the Opening Recital
given by
MISS
GILLIAN WEIR
At
8.15pm on Tuesday 24th October 1978
A
"Bouquet Garni" from the "Golden Age"
of French Music
NICOLAS
de GRIGNY (1671 - 1703) Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux
JEAN GUILAIN (fl. 1702) Récit de tierce en
taille
Basse de trompette
JEAN TITELOUZE (1563 - 1633) Verset on "Ave Maris
Stella"
JEAN-FRANCOIS DANDRIEU (1682 - 1738) Noel: "Joseph
est bien-marié"
FRANCOIS COUPERIN (1668 - 1733) From the Gloria of
"Messe pour les Paroisses"
Plein Jeu: Et in terra pax
Petitte fugue sur le Chromhorne: Benedicimus te
Dialogue en trio du Cornet et de la Tierce: Tu solus
altissimus
LOUIS CLAUDE D'AQUIN (1694 - 1772) Noel Suisse
Happy
70th Birthday, Olivier Messiaen
Olivier
Messiaen (b. 1908) Chants des Oiseaux (from "Livre
d'Orgue")
Combat de la Mort et de la Vie (from "Les Corps
Glorieux")
Joie et Clarté des Corps Glorieux (from "Les
Corps Glorieux")
INTERVAL
OF 15 MINUTES
J
S BACH (1685 - 1750) Prelude and Fugue in D major
BWV 532
Sonata in E flat in major BWV 525 (Allegro: Adagio:
Allegro)
Passcaglia in C minor BWV 582
Programme
Notes
by Lionel J Pike MA, D.Phil, Organist and Choirmaster,
Royal Holloway College
Most
people, if asked to name the greatest of all organ
composers, would undoubtedly choose J S Bach. His
music is so much the basis of any organist's repertoire
that French Conservatories often teach nothing but
Bach in their organ performance classes. But who ranks
next to Bach? There would be a much greater measure
of disagreement over this question. There is much
to be said for naming the contemporary composer Olivier
Messiaen, who belongs to the very flourishing school
of French organ composers which goes back to Cesar
Franck and Saint-Saens, and includes some splendid
(but lesser-known) composers such as Tournemire, Dupré,
Duruflé and Alain. There would certainly also
be a strong lobby for naming a group of composers
- rather than a single name - as ranking next to Bach
in importance. We know this group as the "Classical
(by which is really meant Baroque) French Organ Composers",
and it is with works by some of them that Miss Gillian
Weir is opening her recital tonight.
As
with French music generally, the colour is all-important
to this music. Indeed, so much is the correct tone-quality
essential that most of the 'Classical French' composers
wrote Prefaces to their works, explaining the art
of registration (choosing and combining stops); and
sometimes they likened the organist's art to that
of the chef, for to both the right blend of textures,
tastes and spices and the correct sauce is vital.
Clearly such a tradition of registration must be taught
to present-day players if this music, which relies
so much on colour, is to have its proper impact; and
this art can, of course, only be taught on an organ
which is capable of producing the correct tonal qualities.
It
was with these ideas in mind, and also considering
the organ's use in liturgical services, that the specification
was worked out by Thomas G Duncan and the pipes voiced
by Mr Kenneth James. It is these aspects, too, that
Miss Gillian Weir will be illustrating during the
opening recital.
She
begins with a "Bouquet Garni" from the "Golden
Age" of French Music - that age when organ playing
was likened to the culinary arts. The earliest composer
represented here is Titelouze, often called "the
father of French organ music". His organ works
were published in two volumes, one of settings of
plainsong hymns, the other of plainsong magnificats:
alternate verses only are set, the intermediate ones
being supplied in plainsong by a priest or choir.
This arrangement is typical of the French classical
composers generally: the music is very largely written
for liturgical use, and arranged in collections of
pieces of a similar tonality so that they can easily
be performed in alternation with sung plainsong. It
was, however, only after Titelouze that the art of
French registration settled into the immediately recognisable
patterns which the other composers in this section
of the programme illustrate. Such patterns are the
Grand Jeu, which demonstrates the reed stops; the
Plein Jeu, which shows off the Mixtures; the pieces
with a solo stop (such as the Cromorne) or combination
of stops (such as the Cornet or Tierce), perhaps 'en
taille' (in the tenor part).
Olivier
Messiaen's 70th birthday falls on December 10th, and
the second section of the programme anticipates this
event. Messiaen, too, writes with the church very
much in mind, though on the whole his organ music
is not strictly 'liturgical'. Messiaen has always
been fascinated by bird-song, Hindu rhythms, Catholic
Theology, and 'the colours of the rainbow' - he himself
associates chords and keys vividly with colour. 'Chants
des Oiseaux' comes from Livre d'Orgue of 1951, and
it makes the transition from the Classical French
school to the modern one very neatly in that most
of the earlier organ composers issued their pieces
in collections called "Liver d'Orgue", just
as Messiaen has done here. This piece forms the centre
of the symmetrical, arch-like arrangement of the Livre
d'Orgue, and it is one of Messiaen's many pieces incorporating
bird-song. "Les Corps Glorieux" is a suite
illustrating the life hereafter. The "Combat
de la Mort de la Vie" derives its idea from the
Easter Sequence "Victimae Paschali laudes"
- 'death and life have engaged in a stupendous battle…'.
The "Joie et Clarté" illustrates
the freedom of the risen life, in music which uses
the solo trumpet in a manner which one might consider
a contemporary re-interpretation of the Baroque French
composers' use of that stop.
The
music of Bach closes the recital: here clarity of
part-writing - the bringing out of the logic of the
counterpoint -is of primary importance. Again the
transition to this new area of Miss Gillian Weir's
programme is made smoothly, for the Prelude and Fugue
in D major is by no means a typical Bach work. We
know that he was interested in French organ music,
and this Prelude, for example, has strong indications
of the influence of the styles used in the Grand Jeu
(the opening fanfare-ish passage) and Plein Jeu (the
long 'alla breve' - type section with its inexorable
forward tread emphasised by the use of suspensions).
The fugue is a dazzling show-piece, in which counterpoint
is reduced to a minimum and the Baroque Concerto style
and form are much more clearly in evidence. The Trio
Sonata in E flat, though, well demonstrates the potentialities
of the instrument for producing the clean contrapuntal
lines more characteristic of Bach. The final work,
the Passacaglia, is ideal for demonstrating the organ's
resources, for a Passacaglia is a set of variations
on a recurring bass, and different combinations of
stops can be drawn to suit these variations. A triple
fugue, of which one of the three subjects is that
of the Passacaglia itself, rounds off the work.
©
Lionel J Pike, 1978
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