Alleluia for organ op. 44 (1972)
First
performance: May 2, 1972, Oldenburg, St. Lamberti
Dieter
Weiss
Duration: 7 Minutes
Publisher: N. Simrock Hamburg-London (Boosey & Hawkes) ISMN M-2211-1806-6
The
Alleluia, op. 44, came into being on Easter Monday, 1972 in Salzburg.
The Gregorian Easter Alleluia - quasi as mode - is present in every bar.
A restrained beginning, marked by the presentation of the musical material in
tritone separation, meets with a contrasting sharply accented theme in the pedal.
Passing through an often garland-like set of loose variations, the theme reaches
a bitonal climax (f minor and D Dur simultaneously).
The dramatic
development is repeated, held back by arioso interruptions, until the principle
idea is finally led to a close in dense chords.
In the final chord, all notes
of the theme are heard simultaneously.
Bertold Hummel
In his
Alleluia (1972), notes are clustered into drops of sound, serving
also as background chords for flourishes from the Gregorian chant, short sections
are formed with ostinatos and rapid, wide-ranging running passages over the whole
keyboard. Between, beneath and above, the cantus firmus, often in chords, is heard.
A piece for cathedral organs.
Victor
Lukas (in "Orgelmusikführer" Reclam, Stuttgart,
1963)
Larry D. Crummer: The Solo Organ Works by Bertold Hummel, Dissertation 1983
Press
Mainpost, 19th
May, 1976
As a successful close, crossing the bridge to contemporary composition, Weinberger presented Hummel's "Alleluia" (1972). Starting from the Gregorian Alleluia, an independent, multi-layered world of sound is created. It consists of different complexes of motifs, all of which are related to the original theme, revealing it in manifold and otherwise concealed perspectives. Happily, there is no hint of concessions, in the sense of superficial platitudes, to the purely conventional listener.
www.lucidculture.wordpress.com , 26, January 2010
She
closed with a showstopper, Bertold Hummel’s Alleluja. Messiaen-esque in its
rapt, awestruck, somewhat horrified intensity, it’s a partita featuring a
neat little flute passage over atmospheric pedals midway through, as well as a
theme that borders on the macabre with its severe tonal clusters and recurs with
a portentous triumph at the end. With its breathless staccato contrasting with
big sustained block chords, it’s not easy to play, and Lee nailed it.
See also: Fantasia gregoriana op. 65