‘Modern’ Organ Style in Karl Straube’s Reger Editions
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David Adams, '‘Modern’ Organ Style in Karl Straube’s Reger Editions', [Thesis], Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 2007Description:
In his seminal Deutsche und Französische Orgelbaukunst und Orgelkunst (1906) Albert Schweitzer wrote that ‘the artistic essence of an organ…is defined by the manner in which one proceeds…from piano…to fortissimo and back again’. A significant part of this study is concerned with the mechanics of dynamic change on the organ, particularly Karl Straube’s treatment of the Swell and the Walze in his 1912 and 1919 editions of organ works by Max Reger. ‘Modern’ (late-Romantic) organ style as codified by Straube in these editions, however, is much more than a mere realisation of the dynamics in Reger’s scores. It is a systematic and unique presentation of post-Wagnerian performance practice on the organ. It covers all aspects of performance, including dynamics, phrasing, touch, texture, registration, tempo and the modification of tempo. In Chapters two to five this study attempts to place the treatment of these parameters both in the immediate context of Reger’s personal experience, and in the wider context of turn-of-the-century Germany. With at least the nominal agreement of the composer for the 1912 edition, Straube imposed a personal system of performance on Reger’s organ music, derived from ‘modern’ mainstream musical practice and from his own experience as a performer – practical, musical and aesthetic. Due to external forces (principally World War I and the organ reform movements that resulted in changing attitudes in organ performance and building) the full flowering of ‘modern’ organ style was short-lived, and Straube’s Reger editions have received scant attention from player and scholar alike. In his later years Straube himself appears to have been somewhat embarrassed by the ‘modern’ organ and its playing techniques with which he was associated throughout his long career (see Chapters six and seven). However, Straube’s ambiguous stance in relation to the survival of ‘modern’ organ style implies a level of regret at its demise that is explored in Chapter six. By means of an examination of these editions this study hopes to rekindle an interest in PostWagnerian performance practice as a contemporaneous approach to Max Reger’s organ works.
Author: Adams, David
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Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamType of material:
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