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A study of two organ chorale preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) transcribed by Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991)Lee, Jung-Ok 01 May 2013 (has links)
Wilhelm Kempff was one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, and his interpretation of Germanic piano literature has been honored in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America by many distinguished musicians and music-lovers. But perhaps because he was already sixty-nine years old at the time of his American debut in New York in 1964, his reputation as a pianist tends to be disregarded in English speaking nations. Even Alfred Brendel acknowledges in his book Me of All People: "I return again and again to Kempff, because he is a pianist who seems frequently underestimated today." Furthermore, Kempff's activities as a transcriber, organist, and composer are even less well known. Thus this paper will introduce Wilhelm Kempff's life and music, and present a study of his solo piano transcriptions of J. S. Bach's chorale preludes for organ.
In Kempff's autobiographical novel, Unter Dem Zimbelstern: Das Werden eines Musikers ("Under the Cymbal Star: The Development of a Musician"), a Bildungsroman ("education novel") published in 1951 when he was fifty-six years old, he describes the environment in which he grew up: an environment steeped in music and Protestantism. Within a strong family tradition of church music organists, he heard Bach's organ repertoire, as well as conversations about Lutheran faith. His father and paternal grandfather were both Lutheran church organists, and Kempff too was an excellent organist. J. S. Bach's organ repertoire, especially his chorale for organ, were deeply ingrained in Kempff's childhood. It is generally very difficult to find sacred music repertoire for the piano; however, Kempff's transcriptions of the chorale preludes represent a small--though important--contribution of sacred literature to the piano repertoire.
In The Pianist's Guide to Transcriptions, Arrangements, and Paraphrases, Maurice Hinson characterizes Kempff's transcriptions as follows: "Kempff makes clear distinctions between the various parts and uses ingenious fingering to create beautiful legato (without relying totally on the pedal). He also seems to enjoy the interplay of tone colors, finding the right register, and establishing the particular timbre of each part in polyphonic writing." This paper will examine: 1) basic transcription techniques; 2) coloration/timbre; 3) fingering to create beautiful legato; 4) pedaling; and 5) pedagogical suggestions.
Kempff transcribed eight of Bach Chorales for solo piano, two of which will be discussed in this paper: 1) Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ ("I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ" BWV639,); 2) Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland ("The Saviour of the Heathen now comes," BWV659a). This paper also will present a brief history of piano transcriptions, followed by a detailed analysis of the two chorales, examining Kempff's methods through comparison with the original works for organ, and demonstrating how Kempff's musicianship as a pianist and organist is reflected in his Bach transcriptions.
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Die Suid-Afrikaanse komponis Hendrik (“Henk”) Temmingh : ’n biografie en ’n katalogus van sy orrelwerke (Afrikaans)Luitingh, Willem Scholtz 12 August 2011 (has links)
AFRIKAANS : Hendrik (“Henk”) Temmingh word vandag gereken as een van Suid-Afrika se mees toonaangewende orrelkomponiste. Hy het sy veelsydigheid bewys en veral gevestig geraak as ’n noemenswaardige figuur op die gebied van musiekwetenskap, improvisasiekuns en orrelmusiek. Die doel van die studie is om aan te toon dat Temmingh se oeuvre ’n volledige katalogus van die orrelwerke regverdig en om so ’n dokument saam te stel. Om ’n volledige en juiste biografie van die komponis op te stel, word ’n verdere leemte gevul. ’n Oorsig van Suid-Afrikaanse orrelmusiek en komponiste gee ’n blik oor hoe, waar en in watter mate Temmingh funksioneer as ’n ware Suid-Afrikaanse komponis, alhoewel hy in Nederland gebore is. Addisionele inligting, veral nuwe data oor Suid- Afrikaanse orrelkomponiste soos geboorte- en sterfdatums, word in die dokument genoem. Suid-Afrikaanse komponiste word volgens herkoms en nasionaliteit in drie groepe ingedeel. Eie terminologie word hieraan toegeken. Min bronne oor Temmingh is beskikbaar. Daarom is hierdie mini-verhandeling grootliks met die hulp van die komponis saamgestel. Die gebrek aan genoeg literatuur oor Suid-Afrikaanse orrelmusiek en -komponiste het ’n uitdaging gebied vir die skrywer. Met behulp van die chronologiese katalogus van Temmingh se orrelwerke kan ’n onmiddellike oorsig van sy bydrae as orrelkomponis verkry word. Dit behoort musiekbiblioteke en orreliste te help om hulle onvolledige versamelings aan te vul. Hierbenewens sal die nuut-toegekende katalogusnommers ’n aanduiding gee van waar die betrokke orrelwerke chronologies by Temmingh se oeuvre inpas. ENGLISH : Hendrik (“Henk”) Temmingh can be regarded as one of South Africa’s leading organ composers. He showed versatility and established himself as a significant figure in the field of musicology, improvisation and organ music. The aim of the mini-dissertation is to show how Temmingh’s oeuvre justifies a complete catalogue of the organ works, and to compile such a document. Putting together an accurate biography of the composer, will fill another gap. A survey of South African organ music and composers indicate how, where and to what extent Temmingh functions as a true South African composer, although he was born in the Netherlands. Additional information, especially new data regarding South African organ composers such as dates of birth and death, is mentioned in the document. South African composers are divided into three groups according to origin and nationality. Own terminology is allocated to these. Few sources concerning Temmingh are available. Therefore this mini-dissertation was mainly compiled with the help of the composer. The scarcity of enough literature on South African organ music and composers was a challenge for the writer. An immediate summary of Temmingh’s contribution as an organ composer can be obtained with the help of the chronological catalogue of Temmingh’s organ works. This will help music libraries and organists to supplement their incomplete collections. Apart from this, newly allocated catalogue numbers will give an indication of where the works concerned fit in chronologically in Temmingh’s oeuvre. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Music / unrestricted
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