Con moto maestoso (Sonata 3, mvt. 1)

from Sonata 3 (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]

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

Registration and Organs

From Mendelssohn's preface: With the following compositions much depends upon a judicious choice of the stops. But in as much as every organ of which I have cognisance required, in this respect, is own particular treatment owing to the fact that the like-named stops on different instruments do not always produce uniform effects, I have confined myself to prescribing certain limits only, without actually indicating the specific stops to be used. Thus I employ the term FORTISSIMO as suggestive of the full organ (grand jeu) and PIANISSIMO as generally implying a soft 8-foot stop by itself; FORTE as indicative of the full organ without the admixture of any of the fullest stops; PIANO as a combination of several 8-foot stops, and so on. Where the PEDALS are indicated my idea is, even in the PIANISSIMO, that the 8-foot and 16-foot stops should be combined, excepting only where the contrary is especially prescribed (see the sixth Sonata). It is, therefore, left to the discretion of the player himself to select the mixtures of the various stops in a manner suited to the individual pieces, but it is essential to take care that in combining two manuals the one manual shall be distinct from the other as regards tone-quality without, however, producing a harsh contrast in this respect. (Felix Mendelssohn)

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

Replace this text with any specific information on ornamentation

Tempo and Meter

This piece is sectional. Here are the tempo markings found in the Peters edition:

Con moto maestoso quarter note = 72
Un poco meno forte - no tempo indication given
Da questa parte fina al Maggiore poco a poco piu animato e piu forte (sinio al M.M. quarter note = 100)
Ritard al tempo I (during pedal solo before the final section) Quarter note = 72

Scores and Editions

Publication History (extracted from [3])

Leipzig : Breitkopf & Härtel, 1845 (Hofmeister's Monatsbericht (1845), p.189) (also by Coventry & Hollier in London, Maurice Schlesinger of Paris, and Ricordi of Milan, simultaneously) Reprinted Mineola: Dover Publications, 1991, 2004 New York : G. Schirmer, 1896: Compositions for the organ : three preludes and fugues, op. 37; six sonatas, op. 65 / Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Edited and fingered by Samuel P. Warren. Plate 12572 Paris: S. Bornemann, 1948: Oeuvres complètes pour orgue / de Félix Mendelssohn ; revues, annotées et doigtées par Marcel Dupré München : G. Henle Verlag, 1976: Orgelsonaten : opus 65 / Mendelssohn Bartholdy ; nach Eigenschriften, Abschriften und den beiden Erstausgaben hrsg. von Hubert Meister ; Finger- und Pedalsatz von Wolfgang Stockmeier A 3-movement early version of Op.65 no.3 exists in autograph manuscript at SBBerlin.

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Below are the available editions and links to editions currently available for Mendelssohn Organ Sonata III:
Alfred Music - [4] - Digital copy of Sechs Sonaten Op. 65 - Sonata III (11 pages) - can be printed or viewed on devices
Edition Peters - (PE.P01744) - [5] - Solo Organ (3 Preludes and Fugues Op.37 - 6 Sonatas Op.65)
Editions Durand - (HL.50562377) [6] - Contents: Preludes and Fugues Op. 37, Nos. 1-3; Sonatas, Op. 65, Nos. 1-6. Edited by Ch. M. Widor (94 pages)
G. Schirmer - (HL.50253590) [7] Organ Works, Op. 37/65 (Organ Solo). Edited by S Warren. (88 pages)

Free Scores: [8]

Recordings

Free Online

Complete Sonata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogQXd_hkVNw

Movement 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5afj7Ak9T2o

Movement 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfnTAXrhuzc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF0ZIWmJww4

Pay to Listen

http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/17470.html - this website allows subscribers to listen to recordings of the Sonata 3 performed by various composers

http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/home.asp?rurl=%2Fdefault%2Easp - Complete catalogues or selected recordings of over 640 labels such as ARC, Berlin Classics, BIS, Capriccio, Chandos, EMI Classics, Erato, Finlandia, Hänssler Classic, Harmonia Mundi, Hungaroton, Naïve, Naxos, Nonesuch, Nimbus, Ondine, RCA Records, Sony Classical, Teldec, Virgin Classics and Warner Classics - contains a plethora of recordings of Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata III

Other Resources

An analysis of Mendelssohn's organ works; a study of their structural features. For the use of students ([1898]) - [9] p.36-45 contains a musical summary of what is happening in Sonata 3

Cooper, John Michael. "Knowing Mendelssohn: A Challenge from the Primary Sources." Notes. September 2004, Vol 61 Issue 1, p35-96. ISSN 0027-4380

Notes

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