Felix Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn - The (Rediscovered) Organ Works (III)

…a continuing our exploration of this great early 19th century musician, with first performances of recently discovered manuscripts.

Program Broadcast date:

•April 20, 1987 as Show #8716

•July 30, 1990 as Show #9031

Links and Resources:

• Printable program listings

Featured Organ:

• (1938 Aeolian-Skinner/St. Paul Chapel, Columbia University, New York, NY)

Music played in the program

Part 1

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Organ “Sonata” in F, diverse movements which represent a presumed early version of the later-published Opus 65, number 1

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Organ “Sonata” in B-flat, early version of Opus 65, number 4

Part 2

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: 2 Duet Fugues for Organ

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Organ “Sonata” in D, early version of Opus 65, number 5

Part 3

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Allegro Moderato Maestoso in C

FELIX MENDELSSOHN: Allegro, Chorale and Fugue in d/D

–Thomas Murray, with George Faxon in the duets, plays the 1938 Aeolian-Skinner organ at St. Paul’s Chapel of Columbia University in New York City, recorded November 24, 1986

These heretofore unpublished movements all date from Felix Mendelssohn’s maturity and were written out in his own hand. Their fortuitous discovery was by University of Virginia Professor William A. Little. He and Yale University organist Thomas Murray ‘unscrewed the inscrutable’ while introducing us to these exceptional, unusual scores. Recordings were made on-location at Columbia University by Michael Barone.

Will Crutchfield’s review of the ‘Mendelssohn Premieres’ concert at Columbia University, from which event this program’s performances were drawn, appeared in the New York Times on November 29, 1986.