The 4th piece in the Touch series was initially composed for a grand instrument commonly associated with the church. Read on!
Franck and the Organ
Mozart once said this, “In my eyes and ears, the organ will forever be the King of Instruments”. This grand instrument has stood through centuries and has influenced some of the world’s greatest musicians. In Singapore, pipe organs were introduced with the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church. As of now, there are only 10 working organs left – as such, live organ playing is something that is rather rarely heard nowadays. Despite its prominence in sacred music – the organ played a large part in liturgy of the Catholic Church – it is also used in secular and imperial court music. Having been taken over by the piano on many occasions (with many organ works transcribed for the piano), organ works also saw many resurgences, such as during mid-19th century Europe. Let us look into the life of a particular organist and composer that was involved with the revival of the organ during this period: Cesar Franck.
Born in Liege, a town in Belgium, Franck studied organ and composition in the Paris Conservatoire for five years. He later went on to work for different churches as an organist, and eventually as an organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. Franck was prolific in his organ works, composing up to a hundred pieces for organ. His music ranged from small works to that intended for liturgical use. His most well-known compositions are his concert organ music, consisting of 12 pieces organized into three cycles:
1. The Six Pièces of 1859-62
2. The Trois Pièces of 1878
3. The Trois Chorales of 1890.
One of his best-known organ works is the Prelude, Fugue & Variation Op. 18. Composed after his last change of organ post where he remained until death, it is known for its intriguing prelude-fugue arrangement; in which the fugue’s theme has no connection with the theme of the prelude. The prelude contains a lyrical and melancholy motif in contrast with the fugue’s stormy theme. Its form is cyclic, as with many of Franck’s works, and was a method used by Franck to achieve unity in this otherwise thematically unrelated work. The overall impression of the piece was described by Tournemire, a French composer and organist, as “almost Bach”, reflecting the controlled and strict sense of form in the piece.
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Interested in listening to popular organ music of that time? Here are some well-loved organ works:
In our concert, we will be performing the piano transcription of Franck’s Prelude, Fugue and Variation in B minor, Op. 18. We hope you will enjoy our performance (: