The Medieval composer Guillaume de Machaut dubbed the pipe organ the “king of instruments” and the nickname stuck. He was probably referring to the instrument’s versatility and power, although the organs of Machaut’s day were no match for the mammoth instruments that dominated in later years.
The organ has always partnered with the orchestra. In the Baroque era it was incorporated into the orchestra as a continuo instrument but it also enjoyed a solo role, notably in concertos by Handel. During the Classical era it was featured more as a solo instrument and while it wasn’t a serious rival to the pianoforte in concerto repertoire, there were some excellent concertos written for the organ. Even Mozart, a composer not closely associated with the instrument, wrote a set of Church Sonatas for organ and orchestra.
During the 19th century the playing field changed as organ-building techniques were modernized and such builders as Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the Casavant brothers and others created state-of-the-art instruments. The organs were well-suited to the demands of composers who took advantage of the tonal color, flexibility and strength of these new instruments that could stand toe to toe with the opulent sounds produced by Romantic era orchestras.
The marriage of organ and orchestra carried into the 20th century. The famous opening of Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra thrills with the low growl of the organ, while Holst’s Planets and Vaughan Williams’s “Sinfonia Antartica” feature strikingly dramatic use of the instrument.
Such 20th century American composers as Barber, Hanson and Piston all wrote music that coupled organ and orchestra. The dean of American music, Aaron Copland brilliantly blended the sounds of organ and orchestra in his Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. Commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the 1925 work was Copland’s break-through onto the American music scene. This timeless recording has one of the great Copland conductors, Leonard Bernstein leading the New York Philharmonic Orchestra with legendary organist E. Power Biggs at the keyboard.
What are your organ and orchestra favorites? Please share with us.
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by Craig Zeichner
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