Organ Improvisation Recital by Matthew Koraus, 10-23-16 - Part 1

1. Welcome - Intro Discussion to the Dance Suite 0:00
2. Overture 4:49
3. Courante 9:33
4. Sarabande 11:24
5. Gavotte I and II 14:33
6. Gigue 17:36
An Improvised Organ Recital
Given By MATTHEW KORAUS
on the Glück Pipe Organs, Op. 16 and 17
at the Church of St. Patrick, Huntington
Sunday, October 23rd, 2016, 3:30pm
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM:
Today’s recital is not “traditionally classical” in the sense that it is not a presentation of works by the great composers to showcase the virtuosity of the performer. Prior to the 20th century however, improvisation was always an integral part of the classical musician’s art. Performers of all instruments were expected to improvised publicly, whether as soloists (improvising cadenzas) or as ensemble members (rendering figured bass accompaniments; ornamentation of preexisting melodies). Composers such as Mozart and Beethoven augmented concerts of their own written works with improvised “theme and variations” movements at the piano.
While improvisation became a lost art to the mainstream classical world, it has been sustained and remains as important as ever in the world of organ performance. Organists, often out of necessity, must improvise during a Mass or sacred service, to accompany liturgical action or processions which do not always have a fixed or predictable duration. Many organists from J.S. Bach’s time to our own day have achieved great fame as improvisers, mastering all of the great historical forms, and performing full length concerts such as this one that are entirely improvised.
The program at hand will very much involve audience participation (something very much lacking in most classical performances today). The melodies and movement titles will be selected by the audience throughout. I encourage each of you to submit something; though I cannot guarantee that every melody or title will be used, I will do my best to select a great diversity of material from the audiences choices that will sound interesting when grouped together!
There will be mistakes in this program! It is an unavoidable fact that in making room for experimentation one must also make room for error. It is, however, the improviser’s job is to make mistakes sound intentional, and this only comes with practice and time.
The French Baroque Dance Suite features movements which aurally and on paper are simplest forms on the program, but in terms of improvising them on the spot, they are deceptively difficult. Most of these movements are in binary form with repeats (“AABB”), so the improviser has to remember a great deal of melody and harmony from the first “A” section to make a convincing sounding repeat in the second “A” section. This is also made more complicated by the form’s requirement of regular phrase lengths of 4, 8, and 16 measures, and the differing requirements for meter that change with each dance (described in the program order).
While a Prelude may vary widely in form (usually an up-tempo movement), a Fugue features a more rigorous approach to how the melody is introduced in its’ “exposition” (one voice at a time, with the first moving on to a countermelody while the second voice enters, answering with the original melody transposed to the “dominant” key, five notes “higher” than the first entry, the third voice entering in the original “tonic” key while the second presents the countermelody, and so on) and in its’ development (transformations such as overlapping entrances of the melody called “stretto,” upside-down “inversions” of the melody, augmentation of the melody so that it sounds twice as long, and many more).
Out of all of the forms on the program, the most complex is the Sonata Form, which presents both a primary melody and secondary melody (each in a different key) in the exposition, sets them in competition with one another through rapid key changes in the development, and then returns to the material of the exposition in a recapitulation that maintains the key of the first melody while presenting both melodies....a lot easier said than done!
MK