Alexandre Guilmant
(geb. Boulogne-sur-Mer, 12. März 1837 — gest. Meudon, 29. März 1911)

Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42
(1878)

I Introduction et Allegro. Largo e maestoso - Allegro - Tempo primo
II Pastorale. Andante quasi allegretto
III Finale. Allegro assai - Andante maestoso - Tempo primo

 

Vorwort
Unter den führenden französischen Organisten-Komponisten der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts wird (Félix) Alexandre Guilmant üblicherweise César Franck und Charles-Marie Widor nachgeordnet. Das hat nichts mit seiner ausserordentlichen technischen und improvisatorischen Begabung zu tun — als Organist war er beiden ebenbürtig, und seine Konzerte wurden mit großer Begeisterung aufgenommen — sondern mit seiner konservativen Einstellung als Komponist: Den Wegweisern werden schliesslich die führenden Stellen in der Musikgeschichte zugewiesen. Doch in den letzten Jahrzehnten nimmt das Interesse an Guilmants Schaffen als Komponist wieder zu, man beachte nur die Neuveröffentlichungen seiner Werke und kritischen Einschätzungen in der Sekundärliteratur. Der vorliegende Nachdruck eines selten gespielten Werks möge als Beitrag zu seiner Wiederentdeckung dienen.
Alexandre Guilmant hatte das Glück, in eine Familie von Organisten und Orgelbauern geboren zu werden. Sein früh erwachtes Interesse an der Musik wurde anfangs nicht sonderlich von seinem Vater ermutigt, der jedoch bald nachgab und wurde sein erster Lehrer wurde. Mit 16 bekam er seine erste Stellung als Organist, und seine ersten Kompositionen — Motetten, Fauxbourdon-Sätze und mindestens vier Messen — erschienen zwischen 1854 und 1859, in denen er auch glänzende Auftritte in Paris absolvierte. Ein kurzes Studium 1860 bei dem Brüsseler Organisten und Bachspezialisten Jaak Nikolaas Lemmens (1823-1881) regte ihn zur Komposition von Orgelwerken an und weckte sein Interesse an alter Musik: Orgelkompositionen aus der französischen Barockzeit erschienen oft auf seinen Konzertprogrammen, und er gab viele solcher Werke heraus. Sein Einsatz für die Musik seiner Zeitgenossen war nicht weniger hingebungsvoll, am bemerkenswertesten für die Orgelwerke von César Franck, die weit fortschrittlicher waren als seine eigenen Werke. 1871 wurde er Organist an La Trinité in Paris, eine Stellung, die er bis 1901 innehatte; von der Orgelbank am Palais du Trocadéro (ab 1878) konnte er durch rege, unermüdliche Konzerttätigkeit ein bisher unübertroffene Verbreitung des Orgelrepertoires bewirken. Er unternahm viele Konzertreisen durch Europa, dreimal sogar nach Amerika. 1894 gründete er zusammen mit Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) und Charles Bordes (1863-1909) die Pariser Schola Cantorum und gab dort ab 1896 Orgelunterricht ; im selben Jahr wurde er Nachfolger von Charles Marie Widor als Orgelprofessor am Conservatoire de Paris. Unter seinen bedeutendsten Studenten waren Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) und Marcel Dupré (1886-1971).

Guilmants Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42 und seine 1re Sonate pour l’Orgue, op. 42 sind im Wesentlichen dasselbe Werk. Da er der Ansicht war, die Orgel müsse das Orchester nicht sklavisch nachahmen, sollte es kaum überraschen, dass sich nicht die Sonate, sondern die Symphonie als die Transkription des jeweils anderen Werkes erweist. Seine 1re Sonate pour l’Orgue, op. 42 stammt aus dem Jahre 1874, in der autographen Partitur trägt das Finale das Datum «9bre [November] 1874». (Die meisten Daten zur Werkgeschichte stammen aus dem ersten Band von Wolf Kalipps Bärenreiter-Ausgabe von Guilmants Œuvres choisies pour orgue, Kassel, 2001.) Die Erstausgabe erschien im selben Jahr bei Schott in Paris als Vertreter von Guilmants Selbstverlag; auch die Uraufführung, selbstverständlich durch den Komponisten, erfolgte in diesem Jahr. Anlaß der Uraufführung war die Einweihung der Orgel in der Kirche Notre-Dame de Laeken bei Brüssel. Die Fassung für Orgel und Orchester — die Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42 — stammt aus dem Jahre 1878, mit der Instrumentation war Guilmant nach einem Schlußvermerk in der autographen Partitur im März des Jahres fertig. Die Uraufführung der Symphonie-Fassung fand am 22. August 1878 im Salle des Fêtes du Trocadéro statt. Guilmant spielte die Orgelpartie, begleitet vom Orchestre des Concerts Colonne unter seinem Dirigenten Édouard Colonne. Die Partitur erschien im folgenden Jahr bei Schott in Paris.
In der Orchesterfassung unternahm Guilmant nur wenige Änderungen, die nicht unbedingt auf den erweiterten Klangmöglichkeiten beruhen. Im Wesentlichen handelt es sich um die Tutti-Akkorde in den ersten Takten des Kopfsatzes, die keine Entsprechung in den ersten zwei Ausgaben der Sonate haben (die zweite Ausgabe erschien ca. 1883). Erst in einer zweiten Fassung der Sonate (zugleich ihre dritte Ausgabe, veröffentlicht 1898 von Durand in Paris) hat Guilmant diese Akkorde sozusagen «rückübersetzt». In dieser Fassung ließ er die Registrierungsmöglichkeiten durch die Hinzufügung eines vierten (Solo-) Manuals erweitern, und die Tutti-Akkorde des Orchesters werden erzeugt, indem das Solo-Manual durch eine Pedalkoppel an das Hauptwerk angekoppelt wird. Kurioserweise trägt erst diese Fassung als Untertitel die Bezeichung «Symphonie» — ob als bewußte Anlehnung an die Tradition der französischen Solosymphonie für Orgel oder ob als etwaige Anerkennung der Gleichwertigkeit der Orchesterfassung des Werks, läßt sich nicht mehr feststellen.

An Aufführungen und Aufnahmen der Sonatenfassung des Op. 42 hat es nie gemangelt. Insbesondere der Mittelsatz — ein anmutiger Hirtengesang mit reizenden Choraleinlagen — ist mehrmals getrennt veröffentlicht worden und darf wohl als die beliebteste Komposition unter Guilmants Gesamtschaffen gelten. Erfreulich ist auch die Tatsache, dass die Symphoniefassung mehrmals in der CD-Zeit aufgenommen wurde, am bekanntesten durch Ian Tracey (BBC Philharmonic; Leitung: Yan Pascal Tortelier; Chandos CHAN 9271, 1994), Simon Preston (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra; Leitung: Nicholas Braithwaite; ABC Classics 8.770008, 1990), und Edgar Krapp (Bamberger Symphoniker / Wladimir Fedosejew; Arts Music 47662-2, 2001).

Stephen Luttmann, 2007

Aufführungsmaterial ist von Schott, Mainz zu beziehen. Nachdruck eines Exemplars aus der «La Collection de Daniel Gazon», Brüssel.

 

 

Alexandre Guilmant
(b. Boulogne-sur-Mer, 12. März 1837 — d. Meudon, 29. März 1911)

Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42
(1878)

I Introduction et Allegro. Largo e maestoso - Allegro - Tempo primo
II Pastorale. Andante quasi allegretto
III Finale. Allegro assai - Andante maestoso - Tempo primo

Preface
Among the leading French organist-composers of the latter half of the nineteenth century, (Félix) Alexandre Guilmant is usually assigned a secondary position behind César Franck (1822-1890) and Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937). This has nothing to do with his extraordinary technical and improvisatory gifts — as organist he was second to none, and his concerts always attracted great enthusiasm — but rather with his conservative nature as a composer. After all, it is the pathfinders who are granted the leading positions in music history. In the last couple of decades, however, interest in Guilmant’s work as a composer has been on the rise again, to judge from new publications of his work and critical evaluations of them in the secondary literature. May the current reprint of a seldom-performed work serve as a contribution to that corpus.

Alexandre Guilmant had the good fortune of being born in a family of organists and organ builders. His early interest in music was not especially encouraged by his father at the outset, but he soon gave in and became the boy’s first teacher. At the age of 16 he received his first position as an organist, and his first compositions — motets, fauxbourdon settings, and at least four masses — appeared between 1854 and 1859, the year of his first brilliant performances in Paris, performances that secured his first fame. He studied briefly the following year with the organist and Bach specialist Jaak Nikolaas Lemmens (1823-1881) in Brussels; this inspired him to compose works for organ, and most likely also awakened his interest in the music of earlier ages: Organ works from the French Baroque appeared frequently on his concert programs, and he prepared editions of many of them as well. His engagement on behalf of the music of his contemporaries was no less pronounced, most notably for the works of César Franck, which were, by the way, much more progressive than his own organ works. In 1871 he became organist at La Trinité in Paris, a position he occupied until 1901. From 1878 on he propagated to a hitherto unknown degree the repertoire of music for organ by means of zealous, tireless concertizing at the organ of the Palais du Trocadéro. He undertook numerous concert tours throughout Europe, and three to America as well. Along with Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) and Charles Bordes (1863-1909) he founded the Schola Cantorum of Paris, and taught organ there starting in 1896; in that year he also succeeded Charles-Marie Widor as professor of organ at the Paris Conservatoire. Among his most important pupils were Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) and Marcel Dupré (1886-1971).

Guilmant’s Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42 und seine 1re Sonate pour l’Orgue, op. 42 are essentially the same work. Because he was of the opinion that the organ need not slavishly imitate the orchestra, it should hardly surprise to learn that of these two works, it is not the sonata, but rather the symphony that is the transcription. His 1re Sonate pour l’Orgue, op. 42 is a product of the year 1874; in the autograph score the end of the finale is dated «9bre [November] 1874». (Most of the data concerning the history of the works is taken from the first volume of Wolf Kalipp’s edition of Guilmant’s Œuvres choisies pour orgue, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2001.) The work was published that same year by Schott in Paris as the representative of Guilmant’s own imprint (most of his works were self-published); the premiere, by the composer of course, took place the same year on the occasion of the dedication of the organ in Notre-Dame de Laeken near Brussels. The version for organ and orchestra — the Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42 — is from 1878, the instrumentation completed, according to a note of the composer’s at the end of the autograph score, in March of that year. The premiere of the symphony took place on 22 August 1878 in the hall of the Fêtes du Trocadéro. Guilmant himself was at the organ, accompanied by the Orchestre des concerts Colonne under the direction of Édouard Colonne. The score was published the following year by Schott in Paris.

Guilmant made few changes in producing the orchestra score that are not immediately attributable to the broadened sonic possibilites of the new medium. Most significant among the changes are the tutti chords in the first bars of the first movement, which have no correspondence in the first two editions of the sonata, the second of which appeared in ca. 1883. Only in a second version of the sonata (and thus its third printing, published by Durand in Paris in 1898) did Guilmant «back-translate», as it were, these chords into the sonata. This second version is notable for increasing the registral possibilities by adding a fourth (Solo) manual; the tutti chords are produced by momentarily coupling the Solo to the Great by means of a pedal coupler. Curiously, it is only this edition (or version) that bears the term «Symphonie» as subtitle — whether as a conscious reference to the tradition of the French solo organ symphony, or as some kind of recognition of the equal worthiness of the work’s orchestral version, cannot be determined.

There has been no shortage of performances and recordings of the sonata version of Guilmant’s op. 42. The middle movement in particular — a graceful shepherd’s tune interspersed with rapturous chorale phrases — has been frequently republished on its own, and may well be the most popular thing Guilmant ever write. It is gratifying to note that the the symphony version has also been recorded several times in the CD era, most notably by Ian Tracey (BBC Philharmonic / Yan Pascal Tortelier; Chandos CHAN 9271, 1994), Simon Preston (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Braithwaite; ABC Classics 8.770008, 1990), and Edgar Krapp (Bamberger Symphoniker / Vladimir Fedoseyev; Arts Music 47662-2, 2001).

Stephen Luttmann, 2007

For performance material please contact the publisher Schott, Mainz. Reprint of a copy from «La Collection de Daniel Gazon», Brussels.


Among the leading French organist-composers of the latter half of the nineteenth century, (Félix) Alexandre Guilmant is usually assigned a secondary position behind César Franck (1822-1890) and Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937). This has nothing to do with his extraordinary technical and improvisatory gifts — as organist he was second to none, and his concerts always attracted great enthusiasm — but rather with his conservative nature as a composer. After all, it is the pathfinders who are granted the leading positions in music history. In the last couple of decades, however, interest in Guilmant’s work as a composer has been on the rise again, to judge from new publications of his work and critical evaluations of them in the secondary literature. May the current reprint of a seldom-performed work serve as a contribution to that corpus.

Alexandre Guilmant had the good fortune of being born in a family of organists and organ builders. His early interest in music was not especially encouraged by his father at the outset, but he soon gave in and became the boy’s first teacher. At the age of 16 he received his first position as an organist, and his first compositions — motets, fauxbourdon settings, and at least four masses — appeared between 1854 and 1859, the year of his first brilliant performances in Paris, performances that secured his first fame. He studied briefly the following year with the organist and Bach specialist Jaak Nikolaas Lemmens (1823-1881) in Brussels; this inspired him to compose works for organ, and most likely also awakened his interest in the music of earlier ages: Organ works from the French Baroque appeared frequently on his concert programs, and he prepared editions of many of them as well. His engagement on behalf of the music of his contemporaries was no less pronounced, most notably for the works of César Franck, which were, by the way, much more progressive than his own organ works. In 1871 he became organist at La Trinité in Paris, a position he occupied until 1901. From 1878 on he propagated to a hitherto unknown degree the repertoire of music for organ by means of zealous, tireless concertizing at the organ of the Palais du Trocadéro. He undertook numerous concert tours throughout Europe, and three to America as well. Along with Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) and Charles Bordes (1863-1909) he founded the Schola Cantorum of Paris, and taught organ there starting in 1896; in that year he also succeeded Charles-Marie Widor as professor of organ at the Paris Conservatoire. Among his most important pupils were Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) and Marcel Dupré (1886-1971).

Guilmant’s Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42 und seine 1re Sonate pour l’Orgue, op. 42 are essentially the same work. Because he was of the opinion that the organ need not slavishly imitate the orchestra, it should hardly surprise to learn that of these two works, it is not the sonata, but rather the symphony that is the transcription. His 1re Sonate pour l’Orgue, op. 42 is a product of the year 1874; in the autograph score the end of the finale is dated «9bre [November] 1874». (Most of the data concerning the history of the works is taken from the first volume of Wolf Kalipp’s edition of Guilmant’s Œuvres choisies pour orgue, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2001.) The work was published that same year by Schott in Paris as the representative of Guilmant’s own imprint (most of his works were self-published); the premiere, by the composer of course, took place the same year on the occasion of the dedication of the organ in Notre-Dame de Laeken near Brussels. The version for organ and orchestra — the Première symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42 — is from 1878, the instrumentation completed, according to a note of the composer’s at the end of the autograph score, in March of that year. The premiere of the symphony took place on 22 August 1878 in the hall of the Fêtes du Trocadéro. Guilmant himself was at the organ, accompanied by the Orchestre des concerts Colonne under the direction of Édouard Colonne. The score was published the following year by Schott in Paris.

Guilmant made few changes in producing the orchestra score that are not immediately attributable to the broadened sonic possibilites of the new medium. Most significant among the changes are the tutti chords in the first bars of the first movement, which have no correspondence in the first two editions of the sonata, the second of which appeared in ca. 1883. Only in a second version of the sonata (and thus its third printing, published by Durand in Paris in 1898) did Guilmant «back-translate», as it were, these chords into the sonata. This second version is notable for increasing the registral possibilities by adding a fourth (Solo) manual; the tutti chords are produced by momentarily coupling the Solo to the Great by means of a pedal coupler. Curiously, it is only this edition (or version) that bears the term «Symphonie» as subtitle — whether as a conscious reference to the tradition of the French solo organ symphony, or as some kind of recognition of the equal worthiness of the work’s orchestral version, cannot be determined.

There has been no shortage of performances and recordings of the sonata version of Guilmant’s op. 42. The middle movement in particular — a graceful shepherd’s tune interspersed with rapturous chorale phrases — has been frequently republished on its own, and may well be the most popular thing Guilmant ever write. It is gratifying to note that the the symphony version has also been recorded several times in the CD era, most notably by Ian Tracey (BBC Philharmonic / Yan Pascal Tortelier; Chandos CHAN 9271, 1994), Simon Preston (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Braithwaite; ABC Classics 8.770008, 1990), and Edgar Krapp (Bamberger Symphoniker / Vladimir Fedoseyev; Arts Music 47662-2, 2001).

Stephen Luttmann, 2007

For performance material please contact the publisher Schott, Mainz. Reprint of a copy from «La Collection de Daniel Gazon», Brussels.