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Ennis Fruhauf

Hymns  for  All  Seasons  
A Collection of Settings for Organ
(40  pages)

Notes

The collection title,  Hymns for all Seasons,  hints of  hymn tunes  new  and old.  Some of the melodies celebrate varied seasons of  the year  –  whether holidays, feasts  and  festivals or  occasions  sacred  and secular.  Three  of  them,  A la venue de Noel, Picardie, and Sicilian Mariners, are drawn from folk and popular airs of an earlier era. Martin Luther's tune for Ein feste Burg in its original isorhythmic setting is imbued with jaunty dance-like rhythms that display unique cultural traits. The collection is a  pot-pourri  in terms of  the numerous origins, nationalities,  and  adaptations  of  source tunes; it  also offers a wide variety of stylistic traits, formal structures, and crafted settings into which five familiar tunes have been woven.

A Baroque Partita on  Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott   is a set of  four variations on a hymn tune written by Martin Luther (circa 1530). The original isorhythmic form of the melody is known to have appeared in Kirchegesang, Nurnberg, in 1531; the more familiar measured version was first published in Johann König’s 1738 Harmonischer Lieder-Schatz. The opening variation is written in the manner of a motet, with subsequent phrases of the chorale presented in points of imitation and developed contrapuntally, then sounded as an augmented cantus firmus in  the pedal.  The second variation, in  triple meter,  presents  the  chorale melody in the soprano voice, highly ornamented and accompanied by the left hand, underpinned by an active pedal bass line.  The third variation, in a dancing dotted-note triple meter, offers points of imitation similar to the first movement,  each one based  on  subsequent  phrases  of  the  chorale,  underlaid by  an  active  bass  line played in the left hand. The augmented values of a cantus firmus hymn tune are in the tenor register, although actually played by the pedal at unison pitch; midway the cantus firmus moves up an octave, then returns to its original range for the final phrase.  In the fourth variation, the chorale is presented in duple meter in the soprano, harmonized boldly and freely by lower voices. Between each phrase of the chorale, improvisatory passaggio interpolations emerge in marked contrast to the dramatically harmonized hymn tune.  In keeping with traditions of late Baroque performance practice, few interpretive instructions are provided. Dynamic markings delineate solo lines and accompanimental voices, and tempo markings are of a general nature only. Registrational concerns will be determined by specific instru-ments and performer preferences.

Processional  on  Kremser,  a  hymn  tune  from  The  Netherlands,  converts  the original  triple  meter  to  quadruple,  creating  shifted  beats,  accents,  and  syncopations  that  generate  a  new  musical  personality. The  processional  appears as the  refrain  of  a   Baroque  rondeau  that  is  repeated  accumulatively:  with each  restatement  a  new voice  is  added.  A  contrasting  couplet – or  verse –  intervenes,  then a restatement of  the  refrain  creates  a  simple  rondo  structure.

Epilogue  on  Picardy  is  a  brief  but  stirring  postlude on  a  familiar  French hymn  tune.  In  marked contrast  to  the  often  associated   text,  "Let  all  mortal  flesh  keep  silence … ,"  Epilogue  is  a  stirring toccata  that  offers  great  contrasts of  rhythm  and  texture,  along  with  melodic  statements  migrating between  voices.   Its neo-contemporary  harmonies  are  bold,  and  the nature  of  the  setting  seeks  to  por-tray  the  brilliance of  the  Epiphany  spirit,  the  church  season  that  celebrates  the bringing  of  light,  or ‘enlightenment.’

Intermezzo  on  Sicilian  Mariners  is  a breezy diversion for organ, displaying  gentle airs and a flowing vitality often found in the classical tradition of an intermezzo,  or  ‘interlude.’  The  hymn  tune,  of  nonspecific  European  origin,  dates  from  the  latter  18th  century.   It  is  heard  in  the  soprano  after  a brief   introduction,  accompanied by  flowing  triplet  figurations,  then  followed  by  a  soulful  mid-section reemergence,  again  in  the  soprano  but  this  time  against  a  slowly  rocking  synco-pated  accompaniment. For  its  recapitulatory  statement,  a  counter-melody  is gently  woven around  the  hymn  tune  in  duet.   A brief  codetta  recalls  Sicilian  Mariner's  mid-section  appearance.

Seven Variations on a  Noel  [A la venue de Noel ]  is modeled after some of the less familiar repertoire of Cesar Franck's two volumes of L’Organiste. This set of variations offers a restrained display of chromatic harmonies and countrapuntal devices;  it  was  conceived originally  as  a  set  of  'miniatures'  in  the 19th Century French Romantic tradition of  period  pieces written for harmonium or choir organ  (l'orgue du choeur).  Franck's  Prelude,  Fugue,  et Variation  also figured  inevitably in  its overall design, as becomes apparent in the fugato and seventh var-iation. The source melody, “A la venue de Noel,” has been restructured into repeated phrases [ab ab cc], an element that holds constant in all but the fourth and sixth variations. Following a gentle and introspective first appearance of the theme, the second variation makes use of bold and animated imitation between contrapuntal voices.  In the third variation, the carol migrates between the bass (pedal) and soprano lines.  The fourth movement presents the tune in canon (at the interval of a fifth) between tenor and bass voices, with an ornamentally filigreed accompaniment shared between soprano and alto lines.  The fifth variation is strongly reminiscent of the third but without pedal, and a repeat of the final phrase migrates to the alto. The Fugato alternates rhythmically displaced statements of its subject with ones that adhere to the original form. A motivically arpeggiated counter-subject accompanies the fugue subject as it moves from one voice to another, weaving its way toward a final appearance in the pedal.  The seventh movement loosely parallels Franck's above mentioned Variation with its flowing current of sixteenth notes as accompaniment to the carol.  Following intensified development and a dramatic pause, an extended coda reprises the opening variation's introspective mood, waxes grandly and eloquently, then settles into a  gently pastoral conclusion.   

Copyright © 2010  Ennis Fruhauf

                All  rights  are  reserved.  No part of  this publication  may  be  reproduced,  stored  in  a  retrieval  system, or transmitted  in any  form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without  the  prior  written  permission  of  Ennis  Fruhauf.  
 

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