Helmut WALCHA
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Helmut WALCHA Chorale Preludes • 4 Delbert Disselhorst John Brombaugh Organ, Opus 35, First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois Helmut Walcha (1907–1991) variety of compositional strategies and forms: simple pedal registrations are closely followed, sometimes only taken as Chorale Preludes, Volume 4 points and reiterated ostinatos, motivic melodic organ- suggestions to be reinterpreted on a modern recreation of ization and fugal imitation in the manner of Pachelbel, the classic North-European pipe organ, and in keeping with Helmut Walcha was one of the most influential organists of horizontal contrapuntal approach to performance and Buxtehude, and Bach, together with numerous varieties of the affect of the music usually suggested by the chorale the twentieth century. A native of Leipzig, Germany, son of composition. Many of his students, including Delbert canon at many intervals, no doubt inspired by the nine title and text. a postal worker, he grew up in a musical environment Disselhorst and Wolfgang Rübsam, attended Vespers at canonic chorale preludes in Bachʼs Orgelbüchlein. This Walchaʼs chorale preludes reveal his transformational where he heard the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach the Dreikönigskirche, and attest to the magical spontaneity horizontal, contrapuntal approach often creates a high level influence in twentieth-century organ music and its per- performed weekly at the Thomaskirche, conducted by and variety of his improvisations, played on the 1961 Karl of strong dissonance as well as sweet harmony. Some of formance practice. His ideas on contrapuntal transparency Thomas Kantor Karl Straube. Walchaʼs musical talent was Schuke organ built according to his specifications, the pieces can seem like calculated, intricate desk music, and the vocal quality of earlier organs brought Baroque evident early, and he studied the organ with Günther incorporating the tonal qualities he had experienced in rather than more freely improvisational. music to new life and artistic expression, now current in Ramin, music theory with Sigfrid Karg-Elert, and learned playing the Gottfried Silbermann organs in Rötha, near Altogether Walcha invented a personal style, less thick todayʼs musical world. His creative spark and musical the great organ chorale fantasias of Max Reger, only to turn Leipzig (and which had inspired Felix Mendelssohn over a than the Romantic organ music of his youth, revealed when personality are reflected in his own contemporary style, away from the late-Romantic style midway through his century earlier.) he quoted Goethe to his students: ʻIn its limitations the expanding and enriching the tradition of the Lutheran career in order to advocate the music of the Baroque era, The 25 Chorale Preludes of 1954 were followed by master shows himself.ʼ His musical approach can be chorale prelude with spiritual music in todayʼs culture, in immersing himself in the organ and harpsichord music of Volume II (1963), Volume III (1966), and, responding to compared to his friend Paul Hindemith, to whose music music of fresh expression for the Christian liturgy, built on Johann Sebastian Bach. He was one of the first to play all- encouragement by American students, Volume IV (1979), Walcha returned late in his career. the historic inheritance of the classic Baroque masters. Bach organ recitals. all printed in their familiar pink covers. In an appendix to Walcha specified registrations, often suggesting highly Walcha was a man of wide erudition and learning, as well Soon after World War II Walcha was invited by Volume II he gives a tonal specification and photograph of individual colours rich in added overtones that aim towards as religious sincerity in his knowledge of Lutheran belief, Deutsche Gramophon to record Bachʼs organ music on his Schuke organ, and elaborates on the desire for clarity, leaving behind the symphonic, orchestral inspired allowing him to pursue musical originality and achieve surviving historic organs in Germany, France, and the achieving clear and lively playing of his music. Discussing sonorities of Romanticism. Strong principal choruses creative mastery in the spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach, Netherlands on the Archive label. He taught at the Musik- five basic articulation markings to achieve contrapuntal including mixtures, broad and colourful flutes, and incisive whose motto was also Soli Deo Gloria. hochschule in Frankfurt am Main, where he also began his clarity, whether in slender or elaborately complex musical trumpets rich in overtones, are typical of his sound long tenure as organist of the Dreikönigskirche. He textures, Walcha uses the small comma to indicate a requirements. In these recordings, sometimes Walchaʼs Rudolf Zuiderveld attracted over two hundred organ students, about a quarter natural breath, the tie to bind several notes together, the of them from the United States. At his church he played for vertical wedge for melodic accent, the staccato dot for very Sunday services and Saturday Vespers, mostly improvising short notes, and the horizontal tenuto to lengthen a note on congregational chorales before they were sung. It was slightly. All these, as well as tempo recommendations given this humble service in Lutheran liturgy that led to the in metronome markings, are to be accommodated to the eventual publication of four volumes of chorale preludes. organ in its acoustical environment, tending towards During the war Walcha lived in the countryside near quicker in dry acoustics and broader in more reverberant Frankfurt, and first began to compose chorale preludes. churches. The Dreikönigskirche, seating about a thousand The first volume of 25 Chorale Preludes was published by people, has a reverberation time of four seconds when C. F. Peters in 1954, and became popular teaching pieces empty. Walcha developed these articulation and tempo for young organists, especially the simpler ostinato and suggestions to achieve expressive clarity using degrees of pedal-point preludes. The more complex preludes in- legato, leggiero, and portato touch, as also recommended corporated the vocal, contrapuntal, motivic and melodic in his organ edition of Bachʼs Art of Fugue (with Walchaʼs style that he found in the earlier masters, to be played on own completion of the final fugue). Not to be dogmatically the rediscovered historic organs and new instruments, applied, Walchaʼs students attest to the flexibility and championing their characteristics, with their clear, colourful, spontaneous quality of his own performances in recital or and singing qualities. His habit of learning music by ear, church service, and in his pedagogy, rather encouraging a since he became blind at the age of seventeen, aided by great range of artistic variety of touch from overlapping his devoted wife Ursula, contributed to the clarity of his legato to sharply articulated staccato (according to his organ textures, since he would sing many of the parts in American student and biographer Paul Jordan). Bachʼs music in his own clear voice, internalizing a Similarly, Walchaʼs chorale preludes reveal a great Delbert Disselhorst The Organ of First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois, USA Delbert Disselhorst is Professor Emeritus of the University The organ at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois, USA, was built by John Brombaugh & Associates of of Iowa. He holds both the bachelor and master of music Eugene, Oregon, USA and was completed in June 2004 as its makerʼs Op. 35. degrees from the University of Illinois. As a recipient of a Great – Manual II Ruckpositive – Manual I Swell – Manual III Pedal Fulbright grant in organ, he studied at the Staatliche Præstant 16 Quintadena 16 Baarpijp 8 Præstant 16 Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Octave 8 Præstant 8 Viola da Gamba 8 Subbass (wood) 16 where he was a student of Helmut Walcha. He earned the Holpipe 8 Gedackt 8 Vox Celeste (tc) 8 Violonbass (wood) 16 Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Octave 4 Octave 4 Principal 4 Octave 8 Michigan. At the University of Michigan he was also awarded the Palmer Christian citation as a distinguished Spitzflöte 4 Rohrflöte 4 Flauto 4 Octave 4 graduate of the organ department. His teachers include Quinte 2²⁄³ Octave 2 Nasard 2²⁄³ Mixture V-VI Jerald Hamilton, Mildred Andrews Boggess, Marilyn Mason Octave 2 Waldflöte 2 Querflöte 2 Contra Posaune 32 Photo: Howard Horan, Iowa City, IA. Photo: Howard Horan, Iowa City, and Russell Saunders. He also coached with Michael Cornet IV Sifflet 1¹⁄³ Tierce (tc) 1³⁄5 (C-B wood, rest from Radulescu in Vienna and with Catharine Crozier in Portland, (descant, includes Holpipe 8) Sesquialter II Scharff III Posaune 16) Oregon. As a concert artist, Disselhorst has performed in Mixture IV–VI Scharff IV–VI Fagot-Oboe 16 Posaune 16 the United States, Canada, Europe, and Korea. He has Cimbel III Dulcian 8 (Dulcian C-fʼ, rest is Oboe Trumpet 8 appeared as a recitalist for several regional conventions and Trumpet 16 Schalmey 4 based on Hook, 1870) Trumpet 4 for the National Convention of the American Guild of Trumpet 8 Trumpet 8 Cornett 2 Organists in Houston, Texas. Tours of Europe have included Trumpet 4 Vox Humana 8 Couplers, etc recitals in Denmark, Germany, and France (Notre Dame in Hautbois 8 Paris). He has been a featured artist for international Ruckpositive-Great festivals and concert series in the cathedrals of Trier and Swell-Great Limburg and the Munster in Freiburg, Germany. His Great-Pedal recordings include works by Rorem and Pinkham for the Ruckpositive-Pedal Arkay label (recorded on the Noack organ at Sacred Heart Swell-Pedal Cathedral in Davenport, Iowa) and Harmonische Seelenlust Cymbelstern of G.F.Kauffman for Pro Organo (recorded on the Brom- Tremulant, adjustable baugh instrument at First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois.) In addition to the University of Iowa, Disselhorst has Keyboard compasses: Manuals, 56 notes: C–gʼʼʼ; Pedal, 30 notes: C–fʼ, flat. taught at Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska, the Mechanical key action is suspended throughout, with no assists. Stop action is electric with an adjustable solid state University of Nebraska, and at the Yale Organ Week.