Andante (Sonata 5, mvt. 1)

from Sonata 5 (Op. 65) by Felix Mendelssohn

Background

"Mendelssohn was one of the finest organists of his day. The Three Preludes and Fugues op.37, dedicated to Mozart's pupil Thomas Attwood, form a pendant to op.35. The Six Organ Sonatas op.65 (1845), teeming with artful fugues and chorales, summarize and epitomize Mendelssohn's rediscovery of Bach, and may have inspired Schumann's six fugues on B–A–C–H op.60." - Grove Music Online: "Mendelssohn, Felix, §10: Keyboard music" [1]

Although there are three movements, it originally had four movements.

This movement is in a chorale style.

Visit the Wikipedia page on the Organ Works of Felix Mendelssohn for additional information - [2]

Registration and Organs

Mendelssohn gives registration instructions in his preface to Op. 65. In this movement, a mezzo forte dynamic is indicated. Mendelssohn didn't indicate how to achieve a mezzo forte dynamic, but it can be deduced according to his specifications below. Where the PEDALS are indicated, the 8-foot and 16-foot stops should be combined.

FORTISSIMO = full organ (grand jeu) PIANISSIMO = a soft 8-foot stop by itself FORTE = full organ without the admixture of any of the fullest stops PIANO = a combination of several 8-foot stops

See the footnote in the "Notes" section at the bottom of the page.

Fingering and Pedaling

Both the Peters and Dupre Editions of Mendelssohn's Organ Works contain fingering suggestions. Refer to both to see what fingerings/pedalings work for you. The Novello contains no fingering or pedaling.

Articulation and Phrasing

Different editions contain different phrasing marks in the score. The Novello edition has a system that shows which phrase marks are used in what editions. Refer to that edition to compare phrasing as you make your own musical decisions.

Ornamentation

There is no ornamentation in this movement.

Tempo and Meter

Andante

M.M. half note = 100

Cut Time

Scores and Editions

Refer to general Mendelssohn page for info on scores and editions[3]

Recordings

Refer to general Mendelssohn page[4] for info on recordings

Free Online

Refer to general Mendelssohn page[5] for info on free recordings

Pay to Listen

Refer to general Mendelssohn page[6] for info on recordings available for a fee

Other Resources

Mendelssohn and the Organ by Wm. A. Little (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010)
An Analysis of Mendelssohn's Organ Works; A Study of their Structural Features. For the use of students ([1898]) - [7] p.61-68 contains a musical summary of what is happening in Sonata 5.

Notes

This space is for automatic insertion of footnotes. To enter a footnote from anywhere in the article, start by typing the tag <ref> and then enter the text, and type the tag </ref> to end the footnote. The footnote will then appear in this "Notes" section automatically.