Organ Symphony (Karg-Elert)

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The symphony for organ in F sharp minor [op. 143] is one of the most important compositions from Sigfrid Karg-Elert's late work.

Work history

The composer had planned an organ symphony in E major as early as 1927, but it probably did not reach a sketch stage. Not until 1930 did a new work of this genre take shape. It was completed on December 7th of this year. Karg-Elert initially hesitated in the choice of the title: Initially this should be "Sonata", later "Music for Organ" or "Symphonic Metamorphoses". When the publisher Henri Hinrichsen acquired the work for Edition Peters in January 1931 , it was finally called "Symphony" - the subtitle "Symphonic Fantasy" was later deleted. There is no opus number given for the organ symphony in the autograph or the publisher's contract. That the number 143 was intended for this purpose is only revealed by a list of works probably drawn up in the spring of 1932 by a person close to the composer.

The planned publication could no longer take place during Karg-Elert's lifetime. The defamation of the composer by the National Socialists and a long-lasting disinterest in his works after the Second World War ensured that interest only began to develop in the still unprinted symphony in the 1980s, when Karg-Elert was rediscovered. The first full score edition of the composition was finally published by Edition Peters in 1987.

The work

The fact that the composer thought at length about a suitable title shows that his op. 143 is not a symphony of conventional design. It is composed without interruptions in a movement of 598 bars, whereby this clearly shows a multi-part system corresponding to the traditional design. The harmony, typical of Sigfrid Karg-Elert's late style, is sometimes pushed to the limits of tonality , but due to the treatment of the tonal system according to the polar theory of tonality developed by the composer himself, it always appears transparent and never arbitrarily overloaded. Furthermore, frequent changes of time also within the individual sections are noticeable, which make the metric level of the composition appear very lively. The playing time is approx. 35 minutes.

The work begins with an introduction ( Lento misterioso , F sharp minor , bars 1-20), called "Prologus" by Karg-Elert, in which the basic motivic material is presented. A pentatonic theme emerges particularly prominently at the end , which then recurs at various important points in the piece. This is followed by an Allegro brioso ed energico (F sharp minor, mm. 21-100), which is kept in a concise and concentrated sonata form . The following section (mm. 101–358) is a Scherzo ( Presto demoniaco , D flat minor ), the middle section of which forms a chorale quasi trio (mm. 251–274, E flat major ). The Largo e quieto ( B major , but without the key signature, mm. 359–401) that follows this can be considered the emotional heart of the symphony, which is finally rounded off by a toccata-like Vivace e brioso (F sharp minor, mm. 401–586) becomes. Like the first Allegro, this final movement is a sonata main movement. A "Coda con Cadenza corale" (mm. 587-598) based on the pentatonic theme ends the work with an F sharp major chord reinforced by dissonant additional notes .

literature

  • Günter Hartmann: Sigfrid Karg-Elert and his music for organ . Orpheus-Verlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-922626-98-X .
  1. 2002. XXXV, 526 pp.
  2. 2002. pp. 527-1032.