Download Tzu-I Chen Graduate Recital Saturday, March 18th, 2017 3:00PM

Tzu-I Chen Graduate Recital
Saturday, March 18th, 2017 3:00PM
Program
Fanfare
John Cook
(1918-1984)
Prelude and Fugue in e minor, BWV 548
J. S. Bach
(1685-1750)
Romantic Pieces for Organ
Moderato
Largo
Elizabeth Stirling
(1819-1895)
Präludium und Fuge über B-A-C-H für Orgel
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
Recollection (Soliloquy No. 2)
David Conte
(b. 1955)
Rondo alla latina for Organ
Hans-André Stamm
(b. 1958)
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This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Master of Music degree in Organ Performance
Studio of Dr. Ellis
John Cook was born in Maldon, England. His compositions include at least a dozen solo organ
works, an organ concerto, choral and orchestral works, chamber music, music for theater, and solo
songs. Fanfare was Cook's first and probably best-known organ work. During the time Fanfare was
composed, he was an organist at Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Fanfare was inspired
by Psalm 81, verses 1-3:
1
Sing with joy to God our strength and raise a loud shout to the
God of Jacob. 2Raise a song and sound the timbrel, the merry harp,
and the lyre. 3Blow the ram's horn at the new moon, the day of our
feast.
The piece opens with a magnificent solo melody on festival trumpet and is accompanied by rich
sounds reminiscent of a brass ensemble. Cook employs mixtures for strong chords to extend the loud
volume from the opening. In the middle section of the work, Cook not only changes the registration
to a soft sound, but the melody's articulation becomes short and staccato. Cook brings the mixtures
back when the opening melody returns. The end of the piece regains the volume of the opening.
The Prelude and Fugue in e minor was composed in 1727-1736 while J.S. Bach was a Kantor
at the Thomaskirche Church in Leipzig. This prelude is composed in "concerto- ritornello form"
characterized by a main theme (the tutti section) that recurs throughout the piece. The tutti section, a
steady four measure melody, is contrasted by three solo (concertino sections), creating a debate and
struggle between the two groups.
In the prelude, the four measure tutti is punctuated by chords resulting in a heavy and majestic
sound. This material is presented in different keys and voices throughout in the work. For the solo
(concertino) sections, Bach employs question- and- answer phraseology and sequential scales. At the
end of the prelude, the tutti returns in the tonic key.
The accompanying fugue is often called "the Wedge" due to the shape of its melodically
diverging fugal subject. This piece is written in three sections: an exposition, a development, and
recapitulation. The exposition presents the subject in four voices in the order of tenor, alto, soprano
and bass/pedal, and includes a countersubject. The development has seven episodes, each having a
different character: melodic sequence developing above a striding bass, thin texture for manual only,
violinistic fiqurations, and scalar development. The subject is subtly introduced in the alto voice
bringing back a nearly exact repeat of the full exposition, the only difference being the addition of a
Picardy 3rd on the final chord.
Elizabeth Stirling was born in Greenwich, London, and studied piano and organ at the Royal
Academy of Music in London. One of the few women in the Romantic period that wrote for the
organ, she often performed the organ works of J.S. Bach in recitals. She published two grand
voluntaries: Six Pedal Fugues and Eight Slow Movements and other small organ pieces, over fifty
songs and duets, and arrangements of the organ works of Bach, Mozart and Handel.
Largo and Moderato are from Stirling's collection entitled Eight Slow Movements. This
collection includes multiple pieces and most are named by their tempo designations: Andante, Largo,
Larghetto, Maestoso and three with the title Moderato. The majority of the pieces are composed in
simple ternary form (ABA) and many end with a short coda. For this collection, Sterling often
employed a simple cadence at the end of each piece, such as plagal cadence (IV-I) and perfect
authentic cadence (V-I). The pieces ending with a plagal cadence are strongly reminiscent of a
hymn's "Amen".
Both the Largo and Moderato are composed in this simple ternary form, and use flute and
diapasons for registration most of the time. Both pieces offer a clean and simple melody played on
the right hand with a light accompaniment played in the left hand and pedal. Both movements end
with Stirling's characteristic "Amen" like cadence.
Franz Liszt was a prolific 19th Century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music
teacher, arranger, organist, philanthropist, and author. He transcribed numerous music pieces from
different composers whom he respected, like Berlioz, Beethoven, and J.S. Bach. In fact, the second
piece of this program, Bach's BWV 548, was transcribed by Liszt for piano.
Throughout the history of music, composers have been inspired by "Musical Cryptograms"
which assign the letter names to corresponding notes in their compositions. The motive B-A-C-H,
which honors the last name of J.S. Bach, is one of the most famous examples of this compositional
element. J.S Bach was the first composer to use his own name in his composition, Art of Fugue.1 In
the German musical alphabet B represents B flat and H is B natural, so the letters B-A-C-H represent
the pitches B flat- A- C- B natural.
The Präludium und Fuge über B-A-C-H was intended for the organ inauguration at
Merseburg Cathedral, but the piece was not completed in time for the celebration. The piece was
composed for organ in 1855, and in 1856, Liszt arranged the work for piano.
The piece has three sections: prelude, fugue, and coda. The strong opening pedal solo presents
the B-A-C-H motive, and this motive fills the whole prelude and features the wide range of the organ.
In the fugue, the volume becomes softer than before and is composed mostly for manuals alone.
Triplets, scales, and trills create a new atmosphere. In the coda, the B-A-C-H motive is presented
very cleanly on both manual and pedal by trumpet and mixture chorus. Suddenly, the full volume
reduces and only a flute stop plays the motive. Then the volume returns to full organ to conclude the
piece.
David Conte is currently on the music faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a
composer of over one hundred works. After finishing his first serious composition at the age of
fourteen, he decided to become a teacher. David Conte earned his bachelor's degree from Bowling
1
Malcolm Boyd, "B-A-C-H", in Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed
February 20, 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/01688.
Green State University, where he studied composition with Wallace DePue, and his Master’s and
Doctoral degrees from Cornell University, where he studied with Karel Husa and Steven Stucky.
According to the composer:
The piece was commissioned by St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York for their organist,
William Trafka, a long-time friend of David Conte. Ms. Ty was a member of their parish,
and it was dedicated to her memory…The piece is very influenced by the music of Aaron
Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and a bit Igor Stravinsky…The work is written in a simple,
gently declamatory style. The work is in a loose Rondo form, rising to a climax before the
final statement of the main idea.2
Recollection opens with a single melody performed back and forth on flute and diapasons with
no pedal accompaniment. Later, the single melody is accompanied by a long pedal point. In the
middle section, a small reed, the English Horn, brings in a different sound and the accompaniment
becomes richer through the use of dissonant chords. Unexpectedly, an exclamatory trumpet
harmonique leads to the climax of the piece, but the piece still ends peacefully at a soft volume and
the opening melody returns.
Hans-André Stamm, born in Leverkusen, Germany, started to study organ and piano at the age
of seven. At the age of eleven he started to tour in Germany and abroad as an organ virtuoso. His
first recording was released when he was thirteen. As soon as he turned sixteen he gave a solo recital
at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He obtained the 'Premier Prix avec distinction' and the 'Diplôme
supérieur' upon graduation from the Robert Schumann Conservatory at Düsseldorf in 1976.
Rondo alla latina was composed using rondo form, where contrasting sections use different
textures, keys or timbre for variety. The main melodic material is played with the right hand, while
the left hand and pedal present a rhythmic accompaniment.
The piece is influenced by Latin dance music and is based on Habanera rhythm marked mainly
in the pedal. It includes two different styles of melody, one is a triplet figuration theme, the other one
is a more relaxed cantabile melody. A pedal solo leads to a return of the primary theme. Triplet
figurations bring the work to a climax and a bold statement of the final A section.
2
E-mail.
Conte, David. “Re: Questions about Recollection (Soliloquy No.2).” Message to Tzu-I Chen. 10 February 2017.