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CD reviews
Franz Xaver Anton MURSCHHAUSER: Prototypon Longo-Breve Organicum (1703/1707)
Silva Manfrè, organ
rec: May 30 - 31, 2022, Baumgartenberg (A), Stiftskirche
Brilliant Classics - 96707 (© 2023) (81'05")
Liner-notes: E/D
Cover, track-list & booklet
Score
Spotify
[Pars prima]
Intonatio primi toni;
Praeambulum primi toni;
Fuga prima primi toni;
Fuga secunda primi toni;
Fuga finalis primi toni;
Praeambulum primi toni;
Praeambulum secundi toni;
Fuga secundi toni;
Praeambulum aliud secundi toni;
Fuga alia secundi toni;
Fuga secundi toni;
Arpeggiata overo Toccata secundi toni;
Praeambulum tertii toni;
Fuga tertii toni;
Fuga brevissima tertii toni;
Praeambulum tertii toni;
Praeambulum brevissimum tertii toni;
Fuga tertii toni;
Finale septimi toni;
Fuga prima septimi toni;
Praeambulum septimi toni;
Fuga secunda septimi toni
[Pars secunda]
Intonatio octavi toni cum Pedali ad libitum;
Praeambulum octavi toni;
Fuga prima octavi toni;
Fuga secunda octavi toni;
Toccata Arpeggiata octavi toni;
Praeambulum decimi toni;
Fuga decimi toni;
Praeambulum decimi toni cum Pedali ad Libitum;
Fuga decimi toni;
Finale decimi toni cum Pedali ad Libitum;
Toccata undecimi toni pro Pedali;
Fuga brevis undecimi toni;
Fuga sive Canzon prima undecimi toni;
Fuga sive Canzon secunda undecimi toni;
Praeambulum undecimi toni;
Toccata arpeggiata brevis undecimi toni;
Praeambulum duodecimi toni;
Fuga prima duodecimi toni;
Fuga secunda duodecimi toni;
Fuga tertia duodecimi toni;
Fuga quarta duodecimi toni;
Toccata duodecimi toni cum Pedali ad Libitum;
Toccata duodecimi toni;
Toccata duodecimi toni
The label Brilliant Classics has made a name for itself with its many recordings of keyboard music. A substantial part of the repertoire is little-known or not known at all, except maybe to the most knowledgeable lovers of keyboard music, especially of the renaissance and baroque periods. Franz Xaver Anton Murschhauser is one of those names, which only may ring a bell with them; for the music lovers at large, he is certainly a completely unknown quantity. He shares that fate with some other composers of keyboard music from southern Germany and Austria, who seem less well represented on disc than their northern-German counterparts. The best-known of them is Georg Muffat, whose collection Apparatus musico-organisticus is rather well-known and available in various recordings. In comparison, the oeuvre of the likes of Johann Erasmus Kindermann, Sebastian Anton Scherer and Johann Speth are largely escaping the attention of the music world. That even goes for Johann Caspar Kerll, who is in particular relevant to be mentioned here, as he was the main teacher of Murschhauser.
The latter was born at the Alsace; his father was a schoolmaster from Munich, who had moved to the Alsace for a job. He died when Murschhauser was just three years of age, and his mother returned with her son to Munich. There he entered St Peter's parish school, where he learnt singing and playing violin and trombone. He then became a pupil of Kerll, from 1683 to 1693, the year of the latter's death. In the preface to his treatise Academia musico-poetica bipartita, oder Hohe Schul der musicalischen Composition of 1721, Murschhauser paid tribute to his "venerable master Johann Caspar Kerll, from whom I received instruction in high science, as his favorite, although unworthy, disciple, and this for several years until his late death, whence in all gratitude I owe and recognize to him, as well as to God, all that I have acquired and know how to do."
There is a reason that the organ music of the composers just mentioned and of Murschhauser is so seldom played. It is almost exclusively intended for liturgical use. As the reader of this review undoubtedly knows, organists used to improvise during the service or the mass. The art of improvisation was part of their musical education. However, there were many churches that did not have an organist with such skills at their disposal. In such cases, collections as those by Murschhauser were of great use. Prototypon Longo-Breve Organicum - translated: Prototypes for organ pieces, long and short - is a two-volume collection of 46 pieces in eight different tones. The first volume is divided into four sections, written in the first, second, third and seventh tone respectively. Each section consists of praeambula and fugues. The praeambula are written in a free style, and include imitation, pedal points and arpeggio figures; these pieces are firmly rooted in the practice of improvisation. Obviously the fugues follow more strictly a particular pattern and are dominated by counterpoint. The second volume is again comprising four sections; the pieces here are in the eighth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth tone. In addition to praeambula and fugues we find here some pieces called toccata, sometimes with the addition arpeggiata. The arpegggios are rather unusual, as this is basically a technique used on strung keyboard instruments as harpsichord and clavichord.
Most pieces are rather short: one praeambulum takes just 21 seconds in this recording; the longest piece is a fugue of 3:34. The practical purpose of the collection is confirmed by the indication that the longer pieces can be abridged when they are too long for their place in the liturgy. The fact that these pieces are intended for those who don't have enough skills for improvisation also indicates that they are not technically very demanding.
This may well be another reason that they are not often performed or recorded. It makes little sense to include a few items in a programme of organ music. The best way to record them is playing a sequence of pieces in one tone, or to record the entire collection, as Silva Manfrè has done. It is up to the listener to decide whether to play this disc at a stretch or rather to select one or a few sections. I had no problems listening to this disc in one sitting. Murschhauser's music is really good, and Silva Manfrè is a fine organist, who knows how to bring these short pieces to life. Her lively playing, convincing tempi and precise articulation make this a disc that every lover of organ music of the baroque era should add to his collection. She has the help of a beautiful historical organ: it was originally built by Johann Georg Freundt in 1661 and extended and modified in 1780 by Franz Lorenz Richter. The pitch is a=440 Hz, the temperament is unequal (Valotti). The whole is well recorded in pleasant acoustical circumstances.
Johan van Veen (© 2023)
Relevant links:
Silva Manfrè