Organists and Organ Playing in Nineteenth-century France and Belgium - Hardcover

Ochse, O

4

5 ratings by Goodreads

9780253341617: Organists and Organ Playing in Nineteenth-century France and Belgium

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253341612 ISBN 13: 9780253341617

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 1994

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

An account of the rise of professional organists in France and Belgium in the 19th century. This period is significant not only as a slice of history but also because of its influence on organ playing in other countries to the present day.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"Highly recommended ... the story of a remarkable renaissance." -Choice "Orpha Ochse has ... concentrated more on the personalities, the institutions, or the relations between the Church and its employees than on the music itself. The choice is perfectly justifiable, and one simply must recommend this highly coherent and well-illustrated book... --L'Orgue "Even the well-informed reader will find a number of surprises. Who knows, for example, that Fryderyk Chopin played the organ for a funeral service and that Lefebrure-Wely, in turn, played the great pianist and composer's Preludes for his funeral at the Madeleine? The abundance of details, we should add, does nothing to obscure the architectural clarity of this book." --Ton van Eck in La Flute harmonique "Now Ms. Ochse has succeeded in producing still another landmark work... Although the work is extraordinarily well documented, the prose retains a narrative quality througout, at times even taking on the character of good storytelling." --Agnes Armstrong in The American Organist "This book is a success story from beginning to end, both from the point of view of the subject matter ... and in the manner of its presentation." --James B. Hartman in The Diapason " ... in Organists and Organ Playing in Nineteenth-Century France and Belgium, the American musicoligist Orpha Ochse provides not just an authoritative and thorough survey of the period, ... but also shows how the changing fortunes of organists and their newly built instruments relfected the social and political upheavals of the time... an absorbing achievement."--Times Literary Supplement, 26 April, 02

From the Back Cover:

The art of the organist in nineteenth-century France and Belgium is a rags-to-riches story full of extraordinary problems and changes. Devastated by the French Revolution, the organ profession rose from desperate circumstances to a period of remarkable brilliance. By the end of the nineteenth century, organ playing was enthusiastically applauded and had been thoroughly integrated in the musical life of Paris. This account is not just a record of stellar events and famous names: it includes failures, all-but-forgotten musicians, and unexpected encounters. In a carefully documented study that is both scholarly and engaging. Orpha Ochse traces three major aspects of the organist's art: the development of the secular recital, the organist as church musician, and the education of organists. In addition to presenting a comprehensive view of the organ profession in France and Belgium throughout the period, she offers a new perspective on nineteenth-century music in general.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.