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Ennis Fruhauf
Seven
Variations on a
Noël
Notes
Variations on a Noël is a work for organ solo that displays the influence of César Franck (1822-1890), and draws from the rich harmonic palette of the French Romantic organ school. Although inspired in part by the lesser known repertoire of L’Organiste, Franck’s Pr
élude, Fugue, et Variation figures prominently in the stylistic and architectural makeup of these variations. The melody, "A la venue de Noël," has been reformatted into repeated phrases [ab ab cc], which holds constant in the structure of all but the fourth and sixth variations.Following a gentle and introspective presentation of the Christmas tune, the second variation makes use of bold and animated imitation between the voices of its contrapuntal texture. In the third variation, the melody migrates between the bass (or pedal) and the soprano lines. The fourth movement, the ‘mystery variation ,’ presents the tune in canon (at the fifth) in the tenor and bass voices, with ornamental filigree shared between the soprano and alto lines. The fifth variation is strongly reminiscent of the third, but without pedal, and the repeat of the final phrase moves into the alto voice.
The Fugato alternates rhythmically displaced statements of its subject with ones that adhere to the original rhythm, accompanied by a motivically arpeggiated countersubject, as the the theme migrates through the voices to its final appearance in the pedal. The seventh movement is similar to the Variation in the Franck work cited above, in its use of a flowing current of sixteenth notes to accompany the solo lines that present the carol. Following a buildup and dramatic pause, a brief coda reprises the introspective mood of the opening variation, first in major, then returning to the original minor modality, until the closing measure, where the chromatic uptilt of a ‘tierce de Picardie’ inflects the final chord back to major.
Copyright © 2004 Ennis Fruhauf
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