Louis Vierne
Synopsis
French organist and composer
- 1870 born in Poitiers, France
- 1892-1900 served as assistant to Charles-Marie Widor at Sainte-Sulpice in Paris
- 1900-1937 served as organist at Notre-Dame de Paris
- ?year of event? ?city of event? ?short description of event?
- 1937 died in Paris
For details, see the Wikipedia article on Louis Vierne.
List of Pieces
Vingt-quatre Pièces en style libre
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Background and General Perspectives on Performing Vierne Organ Works
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Registration and Organs
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See the footnote in the "Notes" section at the bottom of the page. [1]
Fingering and Pedaling
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Articulation and Phrasing
Touch
"Legato playing is best suited to the organ for, by the very nature of the instrument, the evenness of all notes in the same register quite naturally calls for precisely connecting these notes one after the other."[2]
Vierne stressed to make certain that the inner voices are legato and that the pedal be played legato as well. He advised "playing the black keys 'on the very edge to facilitate, when practical, sliding onto the naturals.'"[3]
Repeated Notes
According to Henri Doyen, Vierne's student, Vierne taught the practice of Widor and Guilmant of "repeated notes losing one half of their value in moderate tempi and one fourth or one eighth in slower tempos. In ternary rhythms, cut by one one third, one sixth, or any fraction divisible by three."[4]
As for the treatment of chords, they should be "struck and released absolutely together. 'The great conductor brings in and cuts off his instrumentalists sharply; the great organist should do the same.'"[5]
Common Notes
Any common notes must be held, except when clarity dictates otherwise. [6]
Ritards
In Vierne's recordings the pieces generally end in "long, drawn-out ritards."[7]
Rubato
Vierne taught that "real music is never mechanical. It is...rubber!"[8]
Fermata Over A Rest
Movements are often separated with pauses which not only indicate a new section, but also allow for the room reverberation to subside.[9]
The rests should be counted metronomically, but in drier accoustics, the amount of silence may need to be reduced.[10]
Ornamentation
Trills
Generally, use upper note trills. However, if the previous note is an upper neighbor, then the trill should begin on the main note.[11]
"When the trill is over a dotted note, it should be stopped exactly on the dot."[12]
"When a trill is over a note without a dot, it should end exactly on the beginning of the second half of that value."[13]
Tempo and Meter
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Scores and Editions
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Recordings
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Free Online
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Pay to Listen
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Other Resources
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Notes
- ↑ This footnote was entered in the "Registration and Organs" article
- ↑ Louis Vierne,"Renseignements Généraux pour l'Interpretation de l'CEuvre d'Orgue de J.S. Bach," CEuvres pour Orgue de Bach (Paris: Éditions Maurice Senart, 1924) v.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 571. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 571-72. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 572. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 572-73. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 574. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 574. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 578. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 578. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 576. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Rollin Smith, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, 577. The Complete Organ No. 3. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- ↑ Vierne, "Renseignements Généraux," p. xx.
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