FRANK MORANA
AmerOrganist 36/10

ROLLIN SMITH, ed., Organ Music for Manuals Only, 33 Works by Berlioz, Bizet, Franck, Saint-Säens and Others. Dover Publications, Inc. $14.95. Every organist needs to cultivate a repertory of manuals-only music––Bach had his Neumeister Chorales, Vierne had his Pièces en style libre, and Rollin Smith has the present collection. But more precisely, the real object of this volume is to preserve rare, out-of-print works and editions, rather than to create an assemblage of mere “favorites.” Except for two pieces by Mozart and Beethoven, the repertory is solidly 19th- and early-20th-century, and many of the pieces are (like Vierne’s Style libre) designated for harmonium as well as organ. The works by Berlioz and Glière represent the only known organ/harmonium works by these composers, and Reger’s 1904 Romanze is his only harmonium work. At least four of the works are transcriptions: Gounod’s Invocation, originally the Offertoire from the Messe solennelle; Widor’s Andante sostenuto, from Symphony #3 for Organ and Orchestra; and Gigout’s Grand Choeur Dialogue and Guilmant’s Sonata #3 (complete), here redacted for manuals only. Of special value are Franck’s Quasi Marcia, op. 22, Vierne’s Communion, op. 8, and a restless Prelude, Canon, and Improvisation by Nadia Boulanger. Two of the works are perhaps uncharacteristic for their composers: Lemmens, the pioneer of legato technique, is represented by a Fanfare that requires staccato touch throughout; while Rossini, the great theatricalist, is represented by a Prélude religieux––a fugue in F-sharp minor that is, at once, academic and yet poignant. Dover Publications has become an indispensable preservator of the cultural heritage through its longstanding specialization in the production of high-quality yet affordable historical reprint editions such as these, not only in the field of music, but in art, architecture, drama, history, languages, literature, philosophy, religion, and sciences as well, and it is regrettable that such reprints, in their very nature, do not lend themselves to regular review in the manner of completely new publications. But the music world has long recognized what the general public is only beginning to appreciate––that the Dover catalog is a window to history, a “lifeline” to significant publications of the past, and a treasure in its own right.