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An Introduction to the Organ Music 01 Tvillia,.. Albright

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An Introduction to the Organ Music 01 Tvillia,.. Albright THE DIAPASON AN INTEIINATIONAL MONTHLY DEVOTED TO THE ORGAN AND THE INTERESTS OF ORGANISTS SixtY-JourOI r ear, No. 6 - Wllole No. 762-------------- ----MAY,-- 1973-------------------- Subscriptions----- $4.00 fl year - 40 cents a copy Can the organ be regarded as a viable 20th-century instrument. or must it more properly be relegated to the position of an 18th-ceutury museum piece? Skep­ ticism in this regard has been expressed by no less a composer than Stravinsky. Insight into " more a£firmative solu­ An Introduction tion to this existential dilemma can be gained by examining the personal reo sponse of at least onc contemporary compo.5oC t , William Albright; for, as Rob­ To the Organ Music ert Noehrcn. and perhaps others as well. has said, "The Taison d'/ Irt: for any instrument is the music written lor it:' It i!l a frequently cited historical "fact" that few composers since Bach 01 tVillia,.. Albright of any signiricant recognition beyond the mWly walls of the "Ofl?" world" (with the exception of Messiaen) have By Edwin Hantz shown any genuine and lasting mlerest in the organ; that is, until recently. AI­ bdght exemplifies the ren~wed interest on the part of contemporary composers in writing for the organ. As is common among contemporary composers. AI­ bdght is keenly aware of the historical position of his aesthetic stance. He rec­ ognizes that for the organ to become a viable medium for communication to­ day. it mllst be demonstrated that the organ can speak to contemporary can and in the language of the times. Much published writing. in fact, has been given to the expounding of the many innovations (at least in the organ lit­ erature) that are exhibited in Albright's music. Unlike many contemporary com· posers. however. Albright does not tum his back on the specter of tradition. On the contrary, Albright delights in conjuring up the ghosts of the past and granting the rich organ tradition a vital and living share of the present. IL is the balance of the old and the new. and the conflicts inherent in their coexistence. that I find most fascinat­ ing in Albright's organ music; and ac­ cordingly, equal emphasis will be placed on both tlle traditional and novel as­ PCCl'i of the music. Before discussing general questions and problems, descriptions of the works to be considered are o(£ered. Whenever possible, I have let the composer speak for himself. as I generally agree with Albright's own assessments of his works, William Albright and see no point in rewording what Al­ bright has already said. From the ways in which Albri~ht describes his music, one can also gam some insight into his broader attitudes, especially concern­ son (who commissioned it) ; and all of three, (We will dub such a passage a shifts of the "Tremolando Tempestuo­ ing the organ and its literature. the works are perfonned on the four­ " freakom.") The central section is an so: which follows shortly afterwards, is First a word about notation: the no­ manual Frieze Memorial Organ in Hill exposition of the third side of the trill­ a veritable orgy of sOllnd and sighL It tation of Albright's music is for the Auditorium. the University of Michigan. melody·chord triangle. the relationship is a current trend of contemporary mu­ most part self-explanatory. and weU Ann Arbor. All of the compositions also of melody to chord (or harmony) • As a sic to consciously program the visual wi thin the framework of contemporary received their premiere performance on whole. the piece is. with regard to the aspects of performance into a composi­ notation systems. Where necessary. care­ this organ. appropriate parameters. an expanding tion. and Albright, himself. has also ful explanations are gil'en by the com­ Juba (an African-'Vest Indian danCe textural (and dynamic) wedge with an composed so·called "multi· media" works. poser, either in the body of the music tiLle) is a work. "frankly virtuoso, highly interruption (the middle section). The Pneuma explores "points of tangency or in a foreword; so. I will refrain chromatic. but with clements of lyr­ understated ending is an unexpected between a totally chromatic (atonal) from commenting further on the nota­ icism." "The most difficult passages are touch, typical of Albright's wit and mu­ approach and a strongly tonal one. For tions as such. 'Vhat concerns us is a those that reOect the restrained 'rage' sical intuition. The varied timbral reo example. in the fast passages that seem reference problem. Since many of the of the organ - a caged beast bellow­ sources of the organ play an important superficially atonal. the individual ele­ pieces are notated "spatially," i.e., with­ ing in frustration and anger" - an part. also, in the textural buildup and ments arc most often familiar tonal de­ out bar lines, I will refer to page and emotional condition, I might add. in sectional contrasts. Timbre, per se. is vices: major-minor triads. scales and ar­ staff (brace) follows: in a given as which an organist might also find him­ probably less important in Juba than peggios." Albright, here, has illustrated. piece "(10. 2)" is to be read, "page self in the early stages of mastering in some of Albright'S otber composi­ the first of what I believe to be the two 10. second staff." Unfortunately, It is the composition. Juba is in three major tions; however, Albright's registration principle paradoxes with which Pneuma difficult to pinpoint spots any more ac­ settions. each motivated at lC35t in for the piece is given in the front of curately than this. but the specific ref­ deals: what happens to tonality when part by the development of textural the score and examination of this would it occurs either too fast or too slowly erences should be clear from the context Ideas. As will be shown in more detail be an interesting enterprise, in itself. to be easily heard as silch. More will of the discussion. later the manipUlation of texture as a Pneuma (meaning "soul" or "vital be said on this aspect of the piece laler. Albright bas written four major or­ generator of form is one of the central spirit'') has to be seen as well as heard The second paradox concerns the mat­ gan works. In chronological order of ideas of Albright's music (and. in to be fully appreciated. especially as ter of apparent motion, both local and date of composition they are: Juba fact, of a great deal of contemporary perlonned by Miss Mason, or another over longer time· spans. Pneuma, like (1965), Pfleuma (1966), Organbook 1 music). The primary catalyst in Juba organist of her technical and musical ]uba, is a sectional work in which the (1967). and argo.book II (1971). Some is the idea of trilling. The relationship caliber and showmanship. The "down­ sections are distinguished by strong tex­ further specifics are as follows: Juba of trill to chord is shown on pages 2-3 beat" to page 10 is a case in point. tural contrasts. Pneuma is. in fact, a and Pneuma are published by Elkan­ where the mUltiple trills expand into (See Ex. 1.) This follows a general dramatic "rondo" in which the odd­ Vogel. and both Organbooks are pub­ the rapidly broken chord (what we will cancel! The effect of this reminds me numbered sections - pages 1; 3; 5; and lished by Jobert (U.5. representatives, call a "noodle''). and then contract of a particular style of organ playing 10. 1-3 - are contrasted with the "freak.­ Theodore Presser). Organ book 11 has again into a static chord (3, 3) • The re­ in which arrival points are inevitably outs" of pages 2 ("poco 'Scherzetto' been released on Nonesuch H-71260, and lationship of trill to melody is synthe­ delayed, for expressive effect, by the (frantic) .~; 4 ("Furioso'~; 6-9 ("Furl. the other pieces appear on Composers sized in the frantic angular melody performer. What is being arrived at, by 050''); and 10, 4 to the big G minor Recordings. Inc., CRI sn 277; the com­ marked "with furious energy" which the way, is the dominant. (See the dis­ chord of 12. 4 ("Tremolando Tempes- poser perlonns all the pieces except fonns the crescendo at the end of sec· cussion of pitch resources. below.) Also, Prleuma which is played by Marilyn Ma· tion one and comprises all of section a lively perfonnance of the manual (Conlinued, page 4) To the U.S. Postal Service - With Zip THE DIAPASON _ ... 1011Hl11 ScrviCCI arc ncccuary to our present-day qualil)' o( lifc, particularly in our 1cchnologital met)'. Ho,,- our stlTCts arc maintuint'd and lighted, gelling our prbage rnnovcd, police and fi~ protc:ruon, and Rlud. morc, ddcmlin~ bo,,­ livabh: and lolC'r.llblc our em'ironment is. Such a xnicc 0lJ mail dcli\'uy is an Important poart or our life. And we have: a few WOl'Ils ..bom our mail ddh'cl')', S. E. CRIJENSTEIN. PoJoIloh •• 111109·1957) lite U.s. Postal Senicc. During the past yrar, we han been reech'ing inar;uing numben of complaints MAY, 1973 .O".T SCHUNEMAN about the late dclin·ry of THE DIAPASON. Indclu, the complainls are not EoIII .. limited to the dcUvcl)' of the magazine, but tbey arc also ina-casingl)' un oldng the time which it takes to get a lint·class letta dclinred (important to w be­ DOIOlMY' 10SfI FEATURES cause or deadlines). For o::ample: a fmt class tetter from Montreal in January e.,si" ... Ma .....' took 16 days 10 rrodt WI here in ChiClgo. For example: a lint class letter mailed An IntroduetloD to tbe 01"9C11l Music 01 WllilellD Albrlqbt from our oUicc in Chic:ago last Can requirro 12 days to arrin at its d(5tinalion bJ' Edwin Hcmb WULEY vas 20 blodta north or our omce in the same dty.
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