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Faculty Recital Anita Greenlee, organ THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGAN SONATA
Friday, September 13, 2019 Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center 7:30 PM
PROGRAM Sonata de Clarines .................................................................................................. Antonio Soler (c.1739-1783) Clarines are the Spanish horizontal organ trumpet pipes developed to sound out more clearly than vertical pipes into a huge space; also to be easier to access for tuning, and to discourage excess dust and debris from falling into the pipes.
Sei Sonate per Organo ............................................................................ João Cordeiro da Silva (1735-1808) Allegro This Sonata projects its excitement through various rhythms and contrasting timbres. Da Silva’s Sei Sonate are the only published Portuguese keyboard pieces from this period.
Versetten ............................................................................................................ Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726) Sonata d’Intavolatura per Organo Intavolatura is a method of writing music not using the staff we know today; in this case for a sonata of four movements, exploring different timbres. Some of the timbres you will hear in this piece are from a digital sound module recently installed in this organ. These are sounds to which Zipoli would not have had access. How would he react to these advances in sound technology? The above three pieces, from Spain, Portugal and Italy respectively, all use the term “Sonata” in its earliest meaning, designating a piece “sounded” on an instrument, rather than sung (“cantata”).
Trio Sonata II, BWV 526 ............................................................................................... J.S. Bach (1685-1750) II. Largo Bach’s 6 Trio Sonatas date from about 1727, and are in the then new organ genre using three part contrapuntal writing, for two hands and the feet instead of three instruments. These pieces are speculated to have been written for pedal harpsichord, in which case they could have been practiced at home, instead of on a church organ, needing several people to tread or pump the bellows. The exquisite beauty of this Largo is unmatched in any of the other Trio Sonatas.
Voluntary, Op. 6, No. XI .....................................................................................Samuel Wesley II. Larghetto maestoso
(1766-1837)
The English favored the term “Voluntary” for organ music, regardless of style, and explored the contrasting timbres accessible from different pipe divisions in the several movements of their voluntaries. Samuel Wesley was one of the last prolific voluntary composers in a centuries-long history of English voluntary composing.
Organ Sonata VI, Op. 65...............................................................................Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Choral “Vater unser im Himmelreich” (Our Father who art in Heaven) I. Andante sostenuto (Variationen) In 1844 English publisher, Coventry & Hollier, expecting to continue the English Voluntary tradition, commissioned Mendelssohn to write three Voluntaries for organ. As Mendelssohn proceeded to work on these pieces he realized he was writing Sonatas, not Voluntaries; the publisher with some reluctance agreed to a contract for Six Organ Sonatas. Mendelssohn culled many of the movements from his own compositions, composing only a few new movements to complete the contract. Thus, the wide disparity in thematic correlations and the number of movements per sonata (sonata III has 2; Sonata IV has 4). There is no correlation between these sonatas and Classical piano sonatas.
Organ Sonata VIII, Op. 132 ....................................................................... Joseph Rheinberger (1839-1901) II. Intermezzo Rheinberger composed 20 Sonatas for Organ, the largest compositional output for organ since J. S. Bach. His Sonatas were all composed as Sonatas, not compiled as were Mendelssohn’s; in form they lie somewhere between the Classical keyboard sonata and organ pieces called “Sonata”. Rheinberger’s compositional style became freer and more individualized after 1877 (Op. 132 dates from 1883), and his organ sonatas are considered his finest compositional achievement.
Sonate I für Orgel................................................................................................ Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) I. Mässig schnell Lebhaft Im Zeitmass Sehr ruhig II. Sehr langasm III. Phantasie, frei Ziemlich lebhaft Ruhig bewegt Composed in 1937 in the midst of a neo-Baroque organ revival, this Sonata was performed at Yale during Hindemith’s teaching years there (1940-1953) on an E.M. Skinner organ, which is a larger version of the Skinner organ in Asplundh here at WCU. The timbres are warmer, rounder on an E.M. Skinner than those on the German Neo Baroque organ, whose timbres were thinner, brighter, more strident. Hindemith came to favor the warmer Skinner sound, so many organists play this Sonata today differently from when it was composed. This Sonata is closer to the term’s original meaning of an instrumental piece; movements I and III have several distinct sections, inviting the organist to explore many contrasting timbres. This exploration of contrasting timbres is the hallmark of the organ sonata.
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UPCOMING WELLS SCHOOL OF MUSIC EVENTS For full event details visit wcupa.edu/music or call (610) 436-2739 Monday, September 23, 2019, 7:30 PM Faculty Recital: David Cullen, guitar Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building Thursday, September 26, 2019, 8:15 PM Wind Ensemble & Wind Symphony Concert Andrew Yozviak & M. Gregory Martin, directors Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall Philips Memorial Building Friday, September 27, 2019, 7:30 PM Criterions Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Honors Combo Concert Marc Jacoby, director Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center Monday, September 30, 2019, 7:30 PM Faculty Recital: Karen Dannessa, clarinet Philips Autograph Library Philips Memorial Building Thursday, October 3, 2019, 12:00 PM Madeleine Wing Adler Concert Series: Keyboard Division Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Grand Foyer Performing Arts Center
*Tickets required for this event.
Events at the Wells School of Music are often supported by individual donors and organizations. Contributions to the Wells School of Music may be made out to: WCU Foundation, 202 Carter Drive, West Chester, PA 19382 Please include “School of Music Deans Fund� in the memo line. For further information, please call (610) 436-2868 or visit wcufoundation.org A majority of performances are available to watch via live stream at Facebook.com/ArtsAtWCUPA and LiveStream.com/wcupa. Mr. Robert Rust, Audio & Visual Technician Steinway & Sons Piano Technical, Tuning and Concert Preparations by Gerald P. Cousins, RPT If you do not intend to save your program, please recycle it in the baskets at the exit doors.
The Wells School of Music | West Chester University of Pennsylvania Dr. Christopher Hanning, Dean