TRANSFORMATIONS OF HARMONY AND CONSISTENCIES OF FORM IN THE SIX ORGAN SYMPHONIES OF LOUIS VIERNE Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Long, Page Carroll, 1933- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 21:01:35 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/284469 This dissertation has been 63-6725 microfilmed exactly as received LONG, Page Carroll, 1933- TRANSFORMATIONS OF HARMONY AND CON­ SISTENCIES OF FORM IN THE SIX ORGAN SYMPHONIES OF LOUIS VIERNE. University of Arizona, A.Mus.D., 1963 Music University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan TRANSFORMATIONS OF HARMONY AND CONSISTENCIES OF FOFM IN THE SIX ORGAN SYMPHONIES OF LOUIS VIERNE by v Page CiLong A Paper Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1963 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Page G. Long entitled TranaformationB of harmony and consistencies of form in the six organ symphonies of Louis Vierne. be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of A.Mus.D. <==»^Di ssertation Director Date After inspection of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* 6 -3 1 ~ 6, 3 <9.^w. *This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. Please note extensive wrinkling of paper in this thesis due to glue used for illustrations. UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. LOUIS VIERNE AND HIS ORGAN SYMPHONIES Statement by author i Acknowledgement ii Abstract . ............... iii I. Vieme's Life and His Musical Training 1 II. The Organ at Notre Dame .............. 6 III. The Organ Symphony before Vierne 13 IV. Vierne's Six Organ Symphonies 17 II. TRANSFORMATIONS OF HARMONY IN VIERNE'S ORGAN SYMPHONIES I. Vierne's Progressive use of Chromaticism ..... 25 II. Melody in the Vierne Organ Symphonies 26 III. Major-minor Third Conflict and Cross Relations. 31 IV. Chromatic Scale Segments which Obscure Tonality . 35 V. Special Chords and Pedal Points used by Vierne. 37 VI. Isolated Examples of Unusual Harmonic Effects ... 46 VII. Conclusions Regarding Vierne's use of Harmony ... 47 III. CONSISTENCIES OF FORM IN VIERNE'S ORGAN SYMPHONIES I. Vierne, a Master of Sonata-allegro Form 49 II. Vierne's "Sonata-toccata" Movements 52 III. Three-part Form 55 IV. Movements Bnploying "Continuous Expansion" 56 V. Other Forms in the Symphony Movements 58 VI. Cyclic Recurrence of Themes 63 VII. Conclusions Regarding Vierne's use of FOOT. .... 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY 67 APPENDIX A. Theme Index for Symphonies 69 APPENDIX B. Specification for the Notre Dame Organ 77 APPENDIX C. Catalog of tLe Works of Louis Vierne 78 STATEMENT BT AUTHOR This paper has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in The University library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the library. Brief quotations from this paper are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: APPROVAL m MAJOR ADVISOR This paper has been approved on the date shown below: A. W. Buchhauser Date Professor of Music i ACKNOWLEDGMENT The writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation to his faculty advisor and organ instructor, Professor Andrew W. Buchhauser, for his kind assistance in the preparation of this study. He also thanks Assistant Professor Efriia Fruchtman for his valuable advice in planning this paper. ii ABSTRACT Louis Vierne (1870-1937). the organist at Notre Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death in 1937. composed musical works for many- media of performance, including an orchestral symphony and compositions for voice and orchestra, chamber works, and music for the organ. His six organ symphonies for organ solo brought to this instrument much of the spirit and the form of the nineteenth century orchestral symphony. Chapter I of this paper concerns Vierne's life and his musical training. The mechanical and tonal character of the late nineteenth century French organ is described, and its importance in inspiring the creation of symphonic organ music is discussed. This chapter then deals with several representative and significant symphonic organ works which both preceded and followed Vierne's organ symphonies. Special consid­ eration is given to the relationship of Vierne's organ symphonies with those of his teacher, Charles Marie Widor. Chapters II and III attempt to prove the thesis that there is a consistency in the use of formal elements in all six of Vierne's sympho­ nies, but that there is, at the same time, a gradual transformation of his harmonic vocabulary in the numerical order of these compositions. Chapter II, which contains thirty-five musical examples from Vierne's symphony movements, attempts to show the transformations of harmony in these works by tracing Vierne's progressive use of chromat­ icism (major-minor third conflicts, cross relations, chromatic scale iii segments, and special chromatic chords). There is also a discussion in this chapter of the composer's use of melody and rhythm. Chapter III attempts to classify the musical forms of the thirty-one movements of the Vierne symphonies. In nine of these move­ ments Vierne employs classical sonata-allegro form. In five other move­ ments Vieme uses this same form, but superimposes a toccata figuration which pervades the movement. These five movements which appear once in the First, Third, and Fifth symphonies and twice in the Sixth, are called "sonata-toccatas" in this paper. All six of Vierne!s organ symphonies have at least one example of sonata-allegro or sonata-toccata movements. The Second Symphony has three movements with sonata-allegro fonn. The three-part form (ABA) appears three times in the First Sym­ phony, twice in the Third, and once each in the Fourth and Fifth sympho­ nies. The continuous expansion form appears in one movement of the First, Second, Fourth, and Sixth symphonies. Other fonns which appear only once in these movements are the four-part form (ABCA), the rondo (ABACA), the passacaglia, the variation, and the fugue. Both Chapters II and III contain concluding summary paragraphs. There are three appendices at the end of this paper. Appendix A, which contains musical examples numbered 36 through 951 is a theme index for the Vierne organ symphonies. Appendix B shows the specification of the Notre Dame organ (c. 1930)» and Appendix C is a catalog of the works of Louis Vierne. CHAPTER I LOUIS VIERNE AND HIS ORGAN SYMPHONIES I. VIERNE*S LIFE AND HIS MUSICAL TRAINING On June 2, 1937 Louis Vierne, who had been the organist at Notre Dame de Paris since 1900, died there while playing a recital of his own compositions. He had just finished playing his Trlptvoue when he was stricken. Although he was rushed to the hospital* it was too late; his end had cane at the age of sixty-seven. This remarkable French organist and composer was born blind on October 8, 1870 in Poitiers. Nothing was done about his blindness until J November of 1877, when two operations by a Dr. de Wecker of Paris re­ sulted in giving young Louis partial sight, enough vision at least to enable him to recognize people and to read large type at close range. He began lessons in Braille, however, in addition to his lessons in piano and solfege, which he had undertaken two years earlier at the age of five. Vierne*s uncle, Charles Colin, an organist and a professor of oboe at the Paris Conservatoire, recognized his nephew's musical gifts and entered him in the Institute Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for the Young Blind) in 1881» when Louis was eleven* Here Vierne continued his musical training and general studies for nine years. In addition to his lessons in harmony, solfejge, piano, and violin, Vierne began his first serious organ study at the Institute with Louis Lebel, 1 2 who initiated him into the organ works of Bach and the art of improvisa­ tion. VIerne took several first prises in organ and composition during his final years at the Institute* In 1889, during his last year at the Institute, Vierne was ad­ mitted as an auditor to Cesar Franek*s organ class at the Conservatoire. The relationship with Franek, which greatly influenced Vierne's composi­ tional style, did not last long, however, for Franek died as a result of a carriage accident in the fall of 1890, the year in which he wrote his famous Three Chorals for organ. Five of the six weekly hours of Franek1s organ classes were devoted to improvisation, for Franek assumed that his pupils already had received considerable instruction in organ technique and repertory.