One Hit Wonders

[Graham Powell]

Has anyone mentioned Frank Bridge's Adagio in E yet?

 

Graham

[Brian Childs]

Has anyone mentioned Frank Bridge's Adagio in E yet?

 

Graham

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I do not believe they have but his Allegro Marziale also gets a fair number of airings, at least as a voluntary. As to the Kreiger piece mentioned by Jonspark I wonder whether it qualifies as a hit (irrespective of its quality as a piece of music) if the only place anyone has ever encountered it is on JSW's CD: I certainly have never encountered it anywhere else.

 

BAC

[giwro]

Jonathan - I used to play the whole Suite, and still play the middle two movements from time to time - I'm not so convinced by the outer ones these days. Do you know the recording by Kevin Bowyer at Blackburn? I have a score of Mouvement, supplied on pdf from someone else who plays it, and have played it once or twice. John Scott plays it from time to time. There's also the Berveiller Cadence, of which I also have a copy (now out of print, I think, and also on the KB Blackburn LP).

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I have the Bowyer recording, yes....

 

I agree the outer movements might be less-inspired, but that Adagio can reduce me to a puddle any day of the week Someday I really need to get THAT score, too.

 

I think I have the same PDF you have - John got his copy from me awhile back... it's odd how such a short little piece has created so much interest!

 

Best,

 

Jonathan

[giwro]

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Spooky!

 

I was just mentioning Paul de Maleingreau the other day, when we were talking about the Caleb Jarvis recording at St.George's Hall, Liverpool.

 

On that recording can be heard the Toccata Op.14, from the Suite in E minor, which is really quite good, I think.

 

MM

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The Suite is actually a very fine work - I was in the process of learning it at one point....

 

That Toccata is NOT an easy beast

 

Regards,

 

Jonathan

[giwro]

I'm not sure if one would consider these pieces "hits", since the composers are pretty obscure, but they are both known to me only by a single work:

 

Lazare Auguste Maquaire - Symphonie pour Orgue

 

http://evensongmusic.net/audio/MaquaireSym1mvt1.mp3

http://evensongmusic.net/audio/MaquaireSym1mvt2.mp3

http://evensongmusic.net/audio/MaquaireSym1mv3.mp3

http://evensongmusic.net/audio/MaquaireSym1mvt4.mp3

 

Maurice le Boucher (student of Faure) Symphonie pour orgue

 

http://evensongmusic.net/audio/LeBoucherSymphonieE.mp3

 

In the USA both of these scores are considered to be in the Public Domain, I'm not sure of le Boucher outside of the US, but Maquaire is for sure, as he's been dead nearly 100 years now.

 

There is a commercial recording of the Maquaire out there - think it's on the Aeolus label, but I've NEVER heard another recording of the le Boucher

 

Regards,

 

Jonathan

[James Goldrick]

A.P.F. Boëly's Fantaisie in B flat could merit mention here...

 

as too might Lemmens' Fanfare

[Guest acc]

There is a commercial recording of the Maquaire out there - think it's on the Aeolus label,

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Indeed, the symphony was recorded by Michael Eckerle in Pforzheim, and issued by Unda Maris, a sublabel of Aeolus. But the CD is no longer listed, so I'm afraid it's OOP.

[Guest acc]

The Dubois Toccata might be in there too. I'm not sure how much anyone plays anything else of his.

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Believe it or not, one guy has actually recorded pretty much all of it; see here.

[Guest acc]

I'd submit Paul de Maleingreau....

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The Symphonie de la Passion and the Suite Mariale are probably his only works that have been recorded more than once. Otherwise, I'm aware of a recording of:

• the Symphonie de Noël by François Houtart at Notre-Dame de Laeken, Brussels (a CD with a rather confidential distribution, but it can be bought in the church's souvenir shop);
  
• the Symphonie de l'Agneau Mystique at Antwerp Cathedral; see here (just released a few weeks ago).
  

Both of which are worth having, in my opinion.

[Barry Jordan]

Believe it or not, one guy has actually recorded pretty much all of it; see here.

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yes indeed he has. I know him. He is a strange person.

 

B

[Guest acc]

yes indeed he has. I know him. He is a strange person.

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Well, I don't know Karras personally, so I can't comment on that. But then - aren't we all strange, each in his own way?

 

Anyway, his playing definitely isn't strange (which, as a listener, is all I really care about). He even manages to make Dubois sound interesting and convincing - not a small feat, I'd say.

 

And, no, there isn't just the Toccata, after all. For example, the Marche des Rois Mages is quite stunning: it does require some serious writing skills to make the piece bearable despite that high note held from start to finish (and a few decades earlier than Jehan Alain's Berceuse sur deux notes qui cornent, too!).

[Vox Humana]

I gather a Prelude and Fugue by Debussy was discovered a few years back - it's listed in the latest edition of Henderson. Don't know anything about it, but it's hardly a typical Debussian form - I'm expecting to learn that it was a student exercise as is so often the case with posthumously published organ pieces by the greatest composers (Dvorak's preludes, for example).

Actually someone - probably me - failed to appreciate that the source of Debussy's Prelude and Fugue is a wonderful series of spoof articles by Trevor Hold - http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2000/01/rrdbussy.htm (Delius's Evening Canticles sound even more enticing!)

 

On the other hand, it looks as if Debussy did indeed write a fugue for organ - it's published by Doblinger. Has anyone seen it? Is it any good? I'll bet it's not or we would have known about it years ago.

[Peter Allison]

I have been a big fan of the Pastoral by Roger Ducasse for many years now, and I have just discovered how much he did write:

 

Stage Works Alcyone Alcyone (1902)

Orphee orphée (1913)

CanteGril Cantegril (pub. 1931)

Orchestral French Suite suite français (1907)

Small Suite petite suite (1900?)

Prelude to a Ballet prélude d'un ballet (1910)

French March marche française (1914)

Spring Nocturne nocturne de printemps (1920)

Wedding Song epithalame (1923)

Chamber Violin Sonata sonate pour vilon et piano (1896)

String Quartet No.1 quatuor à cordes (1909) <2vln, vla, vc>

Pastorale pastorale (1909)

Piano Quartet quartuor pour piano et trio à cordes (1912?)

String Quartet No.2 quatuor à cordes No.2 (1912-1952) <2vln, vla, vc>

Piano Six Preludes six préludes (1907)

Four Etude quatre études (1915)

Etude for Sixth étude en sixtes (1916)

Arabesques arabesques... (1917)

Sketches esquisses (1917)

Rhythms rythmes (1917)

Arabesques No.2 arabesques No.2 (1919)

Sailor's Song No.3 3e barcarolle (1921)

Songs White Hymn hymne blanc (1895)

A Garden of Marguerite au jardin de Marguerite (1901-1905)

Sarabande sarabande (1910)

Ulysse and the Sirens Ulysse et les sirènes (1937)

Unclear Two Rondels of François Villon deux rondels de Villon (1897- )

Pieces of Water pièces d'eau (-)

Christmans of Roses noël de roses (1903)

Sailor's Song barcarolle (1906)

Ave Regina ave regina (1911)

Three Motets trois motets (1911)

Assignment for Taking Scores ecole de la dictée (1910/1937)

 

Regards

Peter

[MusingMuso]

I have been a big fan of the Pastoral by Roger Ducasse for many years now......

 

 

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So have I, in spite of the fact that I claim never to do anything remotely French.

 

I did actually learn this once, but there are some very awkward stretches in parts, which I eventually re-wrote to good effect.

 

Once you get over that, it isn't actually all that difficult to play, and the pedalling is surprisingly easy twoards the end; being quite repetitive and easy under foot.

 

It's a cracking piece, so why doesn't anyone play it at recitals?

 

I think the last performance I heard of it, was played by Jennifer Bate at Halifax PC, and that must be 20+ years ago!!!! (That was one of the finest recitals I can ever remember attending).

 

MM

[pcnd5584]

yes indeed he has. I know him. He is a strange person.

 

B

 

Karras - is he the same person who is the Organist of Bonn Cathedral, Barry?