Joseph Rheinberger - Rheinberger: Works for Organ, Vol.2 [CD]

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Joseph GabrielRheinberger (1839-1901) Organ Works, Volume 2The life, times, and opus of Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901)reflect an almost Hegelian continuum of thesis and antithesis yielding anartistic synthesis. He was, at once, conservative and reformer, circumscribedand famous, mildly anachronistic and expressive of his time. Today, we know himprimarily as a composer of organ music, though his compositions addressvirtually all musical media of his century. Few of us are familiar with his romanticopera The Seven Ravens, or the Florentine Symphony, yet heunderstood the voice very well and was recognised as a skilled conductor.Unhappily, Rheinberger's organ sonatas have not enjoyed unbrokenprominence in recitals, standing stylistically between Mendelssohn and Brahmson one hand and Max Reger on the other. Nonetheless, Reger unhesitatinglydedicated the virtuosic, massive and contrapuntally intricate Fantasy andFugue on B.A.C.H. to none other than Rheinberger. Such a dedication is onlyone among many examples of the high regard in which Rheinberger was held ascomposer, teacher and proponent of the organ. Although he concentrated themajority of his activity in Munich, he was internationally recognised; studentsfrom all parts of the world came to study the organ, counterpoint andcomposition with him. He was also honoured politically and educationally; KingLudwig II of Bavaria made him a Knight of St Michael, he was elevated to'Zivilverdienstorden' (similar to nobility) and, two years prior to his deathin 1901, the Doctor of Philosophy, honoris causa, was conferred on himby the University of Munich.The twenty organ sonatas (in as many keys) reveal a fertilecompositional imagination, unhampered by the strict forms which Rheinberger frequentlychose as frames for his expressive writing. Seventeen sonatas contain fugues,but, with Rheinberger, the fugue is far more a developmental device than a setof rules to be obeyed slavishly. After a rather strict exposition, Rheinbergerusually introduces devices reminiscent of the sonata-allegro form, injectingfully quoted themes from earlier movements, sometimes harmonizing the subjectwith large structures, abandoning the fugal 'voicing' entirely. Within the samesonata, one finds writing reminiscent of 'songs without words', virtuosicpianistic writing and the more severe forms described above. Frequently,Rheinberger, ever the formalist, will 'round off' a sonata by quoting themesfrom the opening movement during the final - or its extended coda.One should not, in my estimation, look overly closely to the stop-listof organs with which Rheinberger was regularly associated, for interpretiveguides. By the same token, the absence of dynamic markings in the sonatasshould not imply a 'neo-classic' approach to playing them. There is strongevidence that crescendos and diminuendos through addition or subtraction ofstops (as evidenced by Johann Schneider of Dresden, for example) were quitenormal in German-speaking Europe at

Sonata No.5 in F sharp major, Op.111

Sonata No.6 in E flat minor, Op.119

Sonata No.7 in F minor, Op.127

Son No.6 in e Flat. Op.119: Praeludium

Son No.6 in e Flat. Op.119: Intermezzo

Son No.6 in e Flat. Op.119: Marcia Religiosa

Son No.6 in e Flat. Op.119: Fuga

Son No.7 in f, Op.127: Allegro

Son No.7 in f, Op.127: Andante

Son No.7 in f, Op.127: Finale