For example, Bannister not only de- scribes the climax of Apparition de l’église éternelle as a musical event (a “crushing use of the Cavaillé-Coll tutti at the work’s C-major climax” to achieve “aural saturation”) but also as a theological one (such “bedazzlement” alludes to “the inbreaking of Divine transcendence into human reality” [p. 178]). The “Cavaillé-Coll tutti,” the “C-major climax,” “bedazzlement,” and “Divine transcendence” are all simulta- neously compelling as instrument, tonality, sheer sound, and metaphorical meaning, each becoming part of a greater whole. Like Anderson’s contri- bution, this essay would make a valu- able resource for undergraduate and graduate organ students and scholars. The shorter chapters that survey the
Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the United States return to the Busch and Herchenroeder coveragemodel. Fidom’s chapter on the Netherlands presents a vivid picture of a lively—and un- usual—organ culture in which 20th- century organists, improvisers, and composers join forces with justly fa- mous 17th- and 18th-century organs. The essay ends with a paradox worth pondering: the outpouring of 20th-cen- tury Dutch organ music was conceived for these older instruments “and strik- ingly enough not for contemporary ones,” and this modern repertoire may be “the first convincing answer to the quest for quality that these instruments have invited since their construction” (p. 214). Jullander addresses the organ music
of five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swe- den—and raises important themes such asmusical nationalismand theembrace of Orgelbewegung ideals, while the ca- reer and compositions of Bengt Ham- braeus serve as a touchstone formodern music in the region. (That composer’s last organ work, Riflessioni, receives a detailed analysis.) Moreover, the roles of performers (Karl-Eric Welin, Alf Lin- der) and recordings in defining an organ culture are not forgotten. The chapter on the organmusic of the
United States is, oddly for an English- language publication, the shortest of these three and is once again stronger when considering more recent reper- toire. Composers active at mid-century and beyond, such as Rorem, Pinkham, and Persichetti, and late-century com- posers such as Bolcom, Albright, and Locklair, among others, receive fulsome accounts that would be sure to enrich many players’ interactions with this music. In essays such as these, gaps are inevitable, yet not tomention a work of the stature of Walter Piston’s Chromatic Study on the Name of Bach seems a loss. What other American organ piece has beenmentioned in the Harvard Dic- tionary of Music? (That the reference
AUGUST 2013 47
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84