Organ and Chant Recital -

M. Jackson Osborn

I've never done this before, but thought that it would be fun to invite suggestions for a recital piece. I have one 'slot' to fill in a recital which I will be playing on a Fisk in Santa Fe next February and repeating in Houston on Low Sunday.

Requirements for the piece are: a) a baroque or renaissance master, b) chant c.f., c) alternatim. (Any Spanish suggestions may not be Cabezon.)

The programme (with blank spot at no. 8) is as follows.

1. Fantasy on Divinum mysterium - Gerre Hancock

2. Veni creator spiritus - Samuel Scheidt
3. Ave maris stella - Nicolas de Grigny

4. Te Deum - Jean Langlais

5. Kyrie - Christe - Kyrie, (pedaliter) from Clavier-ubung III - J.S. Bach

6. Fantasy and ricercar: In nomine - Gregory Hamilton

7. Missa Apostolorum: Gloria - Girolamo Cavazzone
8. _____________________ - ___________

9. Toccata on Victimae paschali laudes - Iain Quinn

The early pieces will have alternatim chant, and the modern ones will be preceded by their respective chants.

The winning entry will receive laudatory mention on the Forum and a gift card to Half-priced Books.

(By the way - Greg Hamilton's piece was composed just for this recital. It is based on the Gloria tibi Trinitas antiphon which Taverner used in his mass of the same name. Because of its prominent use in the 'in nomine' section of Sanctus-Benedictus, such pieces for organ and consort music as quoted Taverner became a genre in early English composition. They are called, variously, In nomine, or Gloria tibi Trinitas. So this piece is a nod to an historic English form. It closes with a 5 voiced ricercar! Greg's organ writing is superb, and I recommend it highly to any and all. He has quite a list of organ, chamber, and choral music to his credit, all of which is excellent.)

(The Quinn piece is very nice, very festive, and would make a fine opening or closing voluntary on Easter Day. Quinn is Welsh, in his mid-30's, and currently teaches at an American university.)

Richard Mix

Hans Buchner's Victimae might or might not qualify, the chant being more paraphrased than CFed; we use the first verse as an intonation at Easter and I've done the whole on a couple of recitals.

M. Jackson Osborn

Richard - that's a beautiful suggestion, which I shall keep in mind. I would, though, prefer not to have the same c.f. twice on the programme - unless I were building the entire programme on a single cantus firmus - which might be a fun thing to do some other time.

kevinf

Check out Gerald Near's collection of pieces based on chants. There are several options not covered in your choice of chants.

Aristotle Esguerra

Manuel Rodrigues Coehlo (Portugal, ca. 1555–1635)

Verses on the [Mode 6] Pange lingua.

PDFs: 1/4 | 2/4 | 3/4 | 4/4

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Coehlo's setting of the Ave Maris Stella is also worth playing. He has four variations, each one of which puts the chant melody in a new voice.

M. Jackson Osborn

Really respectable ideas. Keep them coming.
So far Coehlo's Pange lingua is ahead.

eft94530

Any reason to exclude chant-based organ pieces from the 1800s ?

kevinf

Of course there are the piece terminales from Tournemire's l'Orgue Mystique.

Richard Mix

Fair enough. It might suit your plan to complement Clavierübung with a Sanctus or Agnus by Cavazzoni or Couperin, de Grigny already being represented. Or if it seems better to fill out the church year, Louis Couperin has a pretty good Pange lingua too.

David Andrew

Guilain? I'm particularly fond of his suite for the Mag on the 2me ton.

M. Jackson Osborn

Wonderful ideas. A few comments -

>The 1800s are under-(not)-represented because that era is almost a lacuna in my repertory and preferences. I sort of leap from late mediaval-renaissance-baroque to twentieth century and modern. However, I would entertain a suggestion from that era to fill spot number eight. What do you have in mind, Eft?
>Tournemire I love and have played, but have sort of filled up the 'modern' places on this program.
>Cavazzoni is a superb suggestion. Too, I would favour something Spanish or Portuguese on the program. Cabezon I did on my last recital, so I'd like someone else.
>Guilain is a good suggestion, too! So is Louis Couperin, who is less heard. (And, I still have Attaignat in the back of my mind - even Tallis, who wrote versets for several hymns.)

I have sort of a fetish for architectural patterns and symmetry in my programming. That for this one is turning out to be (with Bach as the keystone, as it were) -
1=modern,
2-3=early alternatim,
4=modern,
5=Bach,
6=modern,
7-8=early alternatim,
9=modern.
I realise that such patterns are an unusual approach to programming, but I seem to be sort of fascinated by them. This is why the vacant 8th spot needs to be early-alternatim.

So far there are modern American, French and English (Welsh) examples, and
German, French, and Italian early examples. One more early alternatim (or XIXth century) would be excellent.

You all are being most helpful and thought-provoking.

CHGiffen

A B A C A B A ... sort of a larger rondo-like structure in your programming. Neat! Of course, I like it also because that's the structure of my Waltz in A Major.

M. Jackson Osborn

Richard Mix won me over with his suggestion of Cavazzone. I have put the entire Gloria from his Missa Apostolorum in place of the Frescobaldi, which I wasn't that excited about. This still leaves one vacancy on number eight. Maybe Aristotle's Coelho's Pange lingua. Or maybe David's Guilain's suite du 2me ton.

The Coelho versets are really remarkable virtuosic pieces with a real cf working its way from soprano to bass over the course of four versets. There are, though, only ~~five~~ six stanzas of Pange lingua - so how to fit the four organ versets in is a challenge. What do you do with these, Aristotle? There exists a noticeable kinship between Iberian and English keyboard-organ music of this era. Particularly striking is the similar treatment of the cf in some of the In nomines and Gloria tibi Trinitases to be found in the Mulliner Book and elsewhere, notably by Blitheman. Too, the intricate, very close, counterpoint in Titelouze's writing is not unlike that of some of the English fantasias and voluntaries, all of which, I think, represent a 'swan song' of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic tradition.

The Guilain favoured by David is a fine suite. However, unlike the de Grigny earlier on the program, it doesn't so much as allude to a cf in any of the charming versets. I may do these anyway, with the chant in heavily accented French and a very plein-chant musicale approach, just as I will be doing with the de Grigny.

Aristotle Esguerra

MJO, I might consider:

Verset 1 (Introduction [esp. as the theme may not be as familiar to some as the Mode III melody])
1. Pange lingua
Verset 2 (2. Nobis datus)
3. In supremae
Verset 3 (4. Verbum caro)
5. Tantum ergo
Verset 4 (6. Genitori)

Another possibility might be:

1. Pange lingua
Verset 1 (2. Nobis datus)
3. In supremae
Verset 2 (4. Verbum caro)
5. Tantum ergo
Verset 3 (6. Genitori)
Verset 4 (Coda)

As a relative ignoramus to most organ repertoire, I appreciate your insights!

M. Jackson Osborn

Interesting suggestions, Aristotle. There were rather culturally ingrained procedures for alternatim practice. Actually, in the case of Paris (and probably elsewhere) this manner of performance was strictly governed in diocesan customaries. It was customary for the organ to play the first and remaining odd-numbered stanzas or canticle verses (excepting the incipits to parts of the mass ordinary). Perhaps, if one wished to play all four of these the organ could play 1, 3, 5, and then play the fourth (as an 'amen' sort of) after the sixth stanza has been sung. Too, one might use only three of the versets - except that all four make such a nice set with a very logical continuum. We'll see. These are wonderful pieces and I am grateful that you brought them to my attention.

M. Jackson Osborn

Here is a real problem. Some of us like to imbue our recital performances with as much historically informed 'authenticity' as is feasible and at one's command. Now, here is the problem: some ceremoniales of the XVII and XVIII centuries (notably the Caeremoniale Episcoporum, from Rome around 1604) require that whilst the organ is playing its alternatim verset the text is to be read by someone in an audible voice. Can't you just imagine how tacky that must have been? I'm thinking that I don't want to do this. What say ye?

Richard Mix

First ask: audible to whom? and then, is it a problem?

BruceL

Two things:

1) Westminster Cathedral has made a good case for doing the alternatim with evens, but I suppose they may only do that for the Te Deum (and of course it's not the historical practice.)
2) The Gerald Near books Kevin mentions are fantastic teaching pieces, too. I play the Adoro Te variations at least once a year. I love the way he handles textures, although occasionally his stuff seems a little over-wrought (e.g., Mass setting for MorningStar that I really want to love...)

M. Jackson Osborn

I have felt compelled to lay aside the neat template onto which I had sought to fit the program for this recital. 'Early alternatim' will not be revisited near the end, as had been originally contemplated in my nice symmetrical plan.

Instead, I have adopted David's suggestion of Cavazzone, who will be inserted near the beginning, and have added two (very modern) pieces by Joseph Ahrens near the end. This will make for a more smoothly developing continuum which will feel like it has really gotten off the ground. So, David, if you wish to e-mail me your address I shall send you the Half-priced Books (or B&N's if you wish) gift card as the contributor of the 'winning entry'. I must say that I am sorely disappointed that Aristotle's Coelho's pieces just didn't seem to work out for this program - but I will use them in another because they are terribly fine pieces.

So, here is the revised program - (nos. 2, 3, 4 are alternatim, the others will be preceded by their respective chants):

1. G. Hancock - Fantasy on Divinum mysterium
2. G. Cavazzone - Magnificat quarti toni
3. S. Scheidt - Veni creator
4. N. de Grigny - Ave maris stella
5. J.S. Bach - Kyrie-Christe-Kyrie (pedaliter) from Clavier-ubung
6. J. Langlais - Te Deum
7. G. Hamilton - In nomine: fantasy and ricercar
8. J. Ahrens - two pieces: a. Puer natus, and b. Osteralleluja
9. I. Quinn - Toccata on Victimae paschali laudes

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