Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Rochester, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. Bibliography: leaves 83-84. Digitized version available online via the Sibley Music Library, Eastman School of Music http://hdl.handle.net/1802/3038

The alternatim practice is one of the oldest and longest observed liturgical practices in the French Catholic Church. With the gradual addition of the organ to the practice beginning in the fifteenth century, the organ came to play an important liturgical function that exists to this day. Organ improvisations in the liturgy gave rise to composed organ masses such as those of François Couperin (1668-1733). Composition of the Baroque organ mass continued through the Classical period and into the nineteenth century. Liturgical and musical changes through the decades of the nineteenth century, however, led to a gradual cessation of the composition of organ masses. These same changes gave birth to a new type of liturgical mass that, while not performed in the traditional alternatim style, displayed stylistic and liturgical influences from the Baroque organ masses of the preceding centuries. Messe, op. 4, of Camille Saint-Säens (1835-1921) was composed in 1856 in the midst of nineteenth-century changes and reforms. This mass is the pivotal event between the masses of the preceding generation and those that were to follow, notably those of Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) and Louis Vierne (1870-1937). Because the viva-voce presentation of this document featured a performance of Louis Vierne's Messe solennelle, op. 16 using a solo organ edition of the work, Appendix A includes considerations for the work as well as an overview of four solo editions.

Am Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts übernahm das Pariser Conservatoire verschiedene Aspekte der italienischen Lehrmethoden, insbesondere die Partimenti. Diese französische Tradition begann mit dem Traktat Charles-Simon Catels (1802) und entwickelte sich durch die Publikationen von François-Joseph Fétis (1844), Théodore Dubois (1891), und Charles Koechlin (1927–30) weiter. Henri Challans 380 Basses et chants donnés (1960) ist eine der letzten Veröffentlichungen der französischen Partimento-Tradition. Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über Challans Traktat. Challan lehrt unter anderem Kadenz- und Sequenz-Muster, wie sie auch in den Orgelwerken von César Franck, Gabriel Fauré, Alexandre Guilmant und Louis Vierne auftreten. Es lässt sich zeigen, dass solche Satzmodelle wichtige Bestandteile der Improvisationspraxis dieser Organisten-Komponisten waren. Zu den typischsten Stimmführungsmustern des französisch-romantischen Stils gehören Kadenzen, die ich ›plagale Varianten‹ nenne, weil sie von der typischen Plagal-Kadenz abweichen. Manche stilistischen Eigenschaften, die wir heute als charakteristisch für Komponisten dieser Schule verstehen, waren von der Partimento-Tradition am Pariser Conservatoire geprägt. / In the early nineteenth century, the Paris Conservatory adopted various aspects of Italian teaching methods, especially partimenti1891), and Charles Koechlin (1927–30). Henri Challan’s 380 Basses et chants donnés (1960) is one of the last publications of the French partimento tradition. The present article gives an overview of Challan’s treatise. Challan presents various cadences and sequences that also appear in the organ works of César Franck, Gabriel Fauré, Alexandre Guilmant, and Louis Vierne. Such voice-leading models were integral elements of the improvisational practice of these organist-composers. Among the most typical voice-leading patterns of the French-romantic style are cadences that I term »plagal variants,« since they deviate from typical plagal cadences. Many stylistic characteristics typical for composers of this school were influenced by the partimento tradition at the Paris Conservatory.

The purpose of this research is to document how Claude Debussy’s compositional style was used in Louis Vierne’s organ music in the early twentieth century. In addition, this research seeks standard nineteenth-century practices in Vierne’s music. Vierne lived at the same time as Debussy, who largely influenced his music. Nevertheless, his practices were varied on the basis of Vierne’s own musical ideas and development, which were influenced by established nineteenth-century practices. This research focuses on the music of Louis Vierne’s Pièces de fantaisie, Opp. 51, 53, 54, and 55 (1926-1927). In order to examine Debussy’s practices and standard nineteenth-century practices, this project will concentrate on a stylistic analysis that demonstrates innovations in melody, harmony, and mode compared to the existing musical styles.