Organ Sonata I

Known as ‘the oratorio sonata’ this first sonata contains associations with Mendelssohn’s writing found in his oratorios ‘Elijah’ and ‘Paulas’ and also his involvement in the revival of Bach’s ‘Saint Matthew Passion’.

The positive use of the calm chorale based on ‘So schlafen unsre Sünden ein’ (What my God wills, may that happen always), in contrast with the opposing negative forces of ‘wordly’ interruptive sections and agitated fugal material for ‘full’ organ, set up a struggle which only becomes resolved when both themes combine. The chorale was used by Bach in his ‘St. Matthew Passion’ (No.25).

The third movement ‘organ recitative’ strongly resembles a dialogue between soloist and orchestra that leads straight into (attacca) the final ‘toccata’- like movement, very much like the pairing in the final movements of ‘Elijah’.