Mendelssohn and the Organ

Although Mendelssohn was most famous during his lifetime as a composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor, he also enjoyed an enviable reputation as a highly skilled organist. The instrument had fascinated - one might almost say mesmerized - him from earliest youth, but aside from a year or so of formal training at the age of about twelve or thirteen, he was entirely self-taught. He never held a position as church organist, and he never had any organ pupils. Nevertheless, the instrument played a uniquely important role in his personal life. In the course of his many travels, whether in major cities or tiny villages, he invariably gravitated to the organ loft, where he might spend hours playing the works of Bach or simply improvising. Although the piano clearly served Mendelssohn as an eminently practical instrument, the organ seems to have been his instrument of choice. He searched out an organ loft, not because he had to, but because he wanted to, because on the organ he could find catharsis. Indeed, as he once exclaimed to his parents, after reading a portion of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, "I must rush off to the monastery and work off my excitement on the organ!"
Mendelssohn's public performance on the organ in Germany was rare, and he gave but one public recital - in the Thomas-Kirche in Leipzig in 1840. In England, however, he evidently felt more comfortable on the organ bench and played there often before large crowds. Indeed, he performed as Guest Organist twice at the Birmingham Music Festivals, in 1837 and 1842.
Given Mendelssohn's profound affinity for the organ, it is remarkable that he composed but relatively little for the instrument, and assigned an Opus number to only two works - his Three Preludes and Fugues for Organ (Op. 37) and his Six Sonatas for the Organ (Op. 65). A small number of organ works, plus sketches and drafts, were scattered among his musical papers; most of these only gradually found their way into print, and it was not until the late twentieth century that an edition of his complete organ works was finally published. This volume is intended as a companion to that edition.

Professor of German and Music Emeritus, University of Virginia and editor, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Complete Works for the Organ, 5 Volumes (Novello, 1987-1990)

- Part I: History and Biography
- 1.: The Organ Scene in Berlin -- ca. 1770-ca. 1820
- 2.: Mendelssohn - The Formative Years - 1820-1838
- 3.: Mendelssohn - The Mature Years - 1839-1847
- 4.: Mendelssohn as Organist - Performance Characteristics
- 5.: Mendelssohn as Organ Improviser
- 6.: Mendelssohn's Organ Repertoire
- 7.: Mendelssohn as Editor of Bach's Organ Music
- 8.: Mendelssohn's Organ Parts to His Oratorios and Choral Works
- 9.: Mendelssohn's Organ Parts to Handel's Oratorios
- 10.: Mendelssohn and the German Organ Community - 1820-1847
- Part II: Mendelssohn's Organ Works in Chronological Order
- 11.: Organ Works: 1820-1835
- 12.: Organ Works: 1836-1837 - Three Preludes and Fugues for Organ (Op. 37)
- Opus 37 - Genesis
- Opus 37 - Commentary
- Opus 37 - Reception
- 13.: Organ Works: 1838-1843 - Miscellaneous, Lost Works, Misattributions, and
- Uncertainties
- Six Sonatas for the Organ (Opus 65): 1844-1845
- 14.: Genesis and Chronology
- 15.: Manuscript Sources, Printed Editions, Registration, Slurs, Tempo
- 16.: Commentary
- 17.: Reception
- Appendices
- A. Organ Atlas: Organs played by Mendelssohn
- B. Mendelssohn's Organ Library
- C. Major Editions and Comparative Tempo Charts for Mendelssohn's Organ Works
- D. Mendelssohn's Appeal for Subscribers to His Bach Recital in 1840
- E. Robert Schumann's Review of Mendelssohn's Recital in the Thomas-Kirche
- F. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Charles Coventry: Correspondence
- End Notes
- Bibliography
- Index