Search - Ritter, Philippi :: Complete Organ Sonatas

Pitiful This Is Almost Forgotten Music

Avid Reader | Franklin, Tn | 03/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When one turns to Romanticism for the Organ, inevitably one comes upon the genius organ builder, Aristede Coll-Cavaille and the host of French artists that composed for that symphonic instrument: Widor, Franck, Vierne, Dupre, Guilmant, Dubois. There is a great divide between the German and French Romanic Organ in terms of style, composition, instrument and intention.



First, one notices the overwhelming spiritualism of the French school - from Guilmant forward. There's was a conservative, muscular, national Catholicism that has long since departed the Continent but it served as appropriate background for the glory that once was France. Germany, late in uniting into a single state, never had the nationalistic drive that affected her neighbor. But that is not to say there was not a Germanic style or school. It was based, of course, on Bach - his influence too strong to even pretend to ignore. The Romantic German school starts with Mendelssohn, rises throught Lizst, Reubke, the glorious Rheinberger and Reger. Square in the middle of it is Gottfried Ritter encompassing if you will, both worlds.



The First Sonata (A Min) is energetic, ponderous, somewhat bombastic - perfect in other words for the organ lover. The second (D Min) is slightly more complex but the Third (A Min) is in the Lizstian mode, very technically challenging. The Fourth (A Major) surprises because it does not follow further up this path but instead seems to look backward. It is not surprising that Ritter was also a church organist and three of his gentle Chorales separated the Sonatas. The playing was excellent, as much color as one could expect from a German organ which had, by the way, a very trumpetlike sound. This is a good one for your collection."