FRANK MORANA
AmerOrganist 35/8

P.M. HAMEL, B. HUMMEL, P. COGIN, T.D. SCHLEE, J.-P. LEGUAY, J. REVEYRON, S. MARTIN-KOSTAJNSEK, P. EBEN, T. BRANDMÜLLER, Enluminures, 10 Pieces pour Orgue sur un thème donné. Editions Combre (C 05909) (Theodore Presser Co., sole selling agent). $26.95. It is unfortunate that the cult of individualism has tended to preclude the production of many works like this one, in which nine composers have each contributed a collective share. The work was created at the behest of Herbert Bolterauer, organist at the Mariahilf-Kirche, Graz, Austria, upon a dodecaphonic theme furnished by Alexander Schrei. This theme is neutral enough in character that it could have supported a great variety of treatments, but unfortunately, the present result is rather homogeneous. The best pieces are probably the Titelmusik by Peter Michael Hamel, with its Chromhorn ostinati and sustained notes in extreme registers; the Schluss, also by Hamel, with its octotonic sonority; Voile by Thomas Daniel Schlee, with its erudite serialism; and Animato, by Jean-Pierre Leguay, with its witticism, color, and two different endings (one piano, the other, fortissisimo). Elsewhere, the Fantasia by Bertold Hummel is rather conventional, and its sense seems to relate primarily to color, though no registration is indicated. The Cortège by Pierre Cogin contains a nice buildup, but the overall affect is too unremittingly uniform. The Adagio by Joseph Reyveyon is neo-Romantic, but texturally unvaried. Nordiques by Sylvaine Martin-Kostajnsek (with registration by Claudia Kalaus) is too fussy in its registrations, with simplistic textures and epigrammatic pointmaking that seems indulgent and out of place within the small-scale confine. Versione ritmica by Petr Eben is unpretentious, and written in a clear ABAB form. Misterioso by Theo Brandmüller typifies a sound idiom that has been squarely co-opted through cinemagraphic connotation. These compositions serve to provide a good glimpse at some significant 20th century currents, particularly within the atonal orb, and in their brevity, do not overtax the resources of the instrument or player. In the best spirit of the work, however, an ideal approach would be a performance not by one player, but by ten.