Schumann: Six Fugues on the name of ., Op. 60 : D’Arcy Trinkwon

Clara & Robert Schumann devoted their honeymoon to an intensive study of Bach’s ’48’... “Music“, Robert was to declare, “owes as much to Bach as religion to its founder” . Together with his friend Mendelssohn, Schumann made strenuous efforts to resurrect the master’s compositions from the neglect they had suffered following his death in 1685. Having been fascinated by his encounters with historic Silbermann instruments in 1841, Schumann’s interest in studying the organ was fired organ seriously, and he was most enthusiastic in encouraging his friends and students to study the instrument anew. He offered sage all too: “Lose no opportunity of practising on the organ: there is no instrument which takes a swifter revenge on anything unclear of sloppy playing in composition and playing.” His set of six fugues in homage to Bach were composed in 1845 and published three years later. They have been unduly neglected by many organists who have viewed them with either suspicion or have dismissed them as tedious, heavy or uninteresting. I completely disagree with any of these claims – although having heard some very ’worthy’ approaches that have tried to force the music to look back rather than forwards to the development of a more symphonic organ: for me these beautiful pieces are full of the character, colour and passion of other great Schumann works. (One very idiosyncratic performer - much to be admired elsewhere - have made such bizarre assaults on their character that they became caricatures against Schumann’s nature.) I. Langsam II. Lebhaft III. Mit sanften Stimmen IV. Mässig, doch nicht zu langsam V. Lebhaft VI. Mässig, nach und nach Schneller Each of the fugues has an individual and defined nature: 1. Slow and majestic: the music creeps in and builds like a great edifice before us like a vision before receding again. 2. A virtuoso study which builds to a brilliant series of more elevated climaxes. 3. An introspective meditation. 4. A turbulent, twisting and angular harmonically chromatic study which includes some wonderfully unexpected moments, crowned by a towering peak before dying away 5. A joyful, playful scherzo as light air 6. The magnificent summation – from a brooding and ever-darkening darkness, light springs up and out, building the music to a magnificent and grand conclusion. For me this final fugue epitomises Schumann’s edict “To send light into the darkness of men’s’ hearts - such is the duty of the artist.” These fugues occupied him for a whole year and seems to be one for which he felt particular affection, for he wrote that it was “the work which, I believe, will perhaps longest outlive my others”… His prophecy (or hope) was not to be fulfilled, and these magnificent fugues are only infrequently heard today. He once said “Love Your Instrument. Whoever is not in love with his instrument will always feel that he lacks the perfect medium for his artistic revelation“ – words I feel so appropriate applied to these (and so many other!) pieces: I hope others may share my love of these beautiful works and look at them anew. There are many editions - some more truthful than others as is often inevitable when different editors take up their pens, and, fired by their egos, set to work. But all are worth study because they all show different elements and ideas: the original urtexts (Peters, Henle), Dupré, Leupold are good: those by Dallmann, John E. West are heavily edited/alterred. A more recent version by Jean Guillou bears all the hallmarks of his ideas, and greatly out-weighs most of Schumann’s and is best visited as a curiosity! I gave this performance back in 1996.