César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck (1822 –
1890) was a composer, pianist, organist, and music
teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life. He
was born at Liège, in what is now Belgium (though at
the time of his birth it was part of the United Kingdom
of the Netherlands). He gave his first concerts there
in 1834 and studied privately in Paris from 1835, where
his teachers included Anton Reicha. After a brief
return to Belgium, and a disastrous reception to an
early oratorio Ruth...(+)
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck (1822 –
1890) was a composer, pianist, organist, and music
teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life. He
was born at Liège, in what is now Belgium (though at
the time of his birth it was part of the United Kingdom
of the Netherlands). He gave his first concerts there
in 1834 and studied privately in Paris from 1835, where
his teachers included Anton Reicha. After a brief
return to Belgium, and a disastrous reception to an
early oratorio Ruth, he moved to Paris, where he
married and embarked on a career as teacher and
organist. He gained a reputation as a formidable
improviser, and travelled widely in France to
demonstrate new instruments built by Aristide
Cavaillé-Coll.
César Franck was a deeply spiritual man; his
compositions such as Prière (Prayer) in C sharp minor
reflect his true nature. Composed in 1860, during his
25-year characteristically religious period, this work
was written for organ as a personal meditation on
grief, hope, and faith. It stirs up the historical
purpose of this devotional instrument. The work
represents the divine thoughts of an organist
questioning the unfathomable mystery of the hereafter,
overwhelmed by anguish. This masterpiece of lyricism
makes it easy to imagine sound pouring from pipes which
are positioned between heaven and earth, played by a
solitary organist, acting as a mediator between God and
man. This was the role that Franck allowed himself to
occupy when he composed Prière and other religious
works.
Just one of the Six Pièces pour le Grand Orgue
(1860-1862), Prière was dedicated to the remarkable
François Benoist, who taught for years as a professor
of organ at the Paris Conservatoire. In the
composition, Franck uses his much-adored registration
of Foundation stops on the Pédale, Grand Orgue,
Positif, and Récit together with the Hautbois. With
its subtle use of the swell-box, the work reached the
pinnacle of expressive organ writing. The first theme
is an indeterminately long melodic phrase that feels as
though it is springing from itself. It is in strict
five-part harmony, cast in the manner of a chorale
tune. This subject creates the foundation of the entire
work and reappears either in cells, which form
different episodes in the development, or is blended
into one of the second theme's singing phrases. The
composition grows to ecstatic heights of expression
when a Gregorian chant-like solo recitative for the
Trompette of the Récit merges with a restatement of
the opening to close the work on a somber note. Using
the fugal and canonical devices that Franck loved so
much, the composition is rich and lyrical,
straightforward, but profound. The astonishing musical
and spiritual revolution which this piece achieves
distinguishes it from other works of this period.
Alive during a time when the secular music of Mozart,
Gluck, Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann was
celebrated, Franck had an interest in composition that
was an antithesis of the majority of his fellow
Frenchmen; he sought to return the organ to paths of
spirituality and liturgical use. For the mastery of his
instrument and the depth of his works, Franck has been
considered the only true "equal" of Johann Sebastian
Bach as a composer for the organ. His other religious
compositions include Les béatitudes (1869-1879), Ave
Maria (1863), Rédemption (1871-1872), and Les Sermon
sur la Montagne (circa 1846). In short, Franck was a
simple, warm-hearted man who was devoted to his work,
to teaching, to composition, and to his instrument. He
came closer to achieving his goal of restoring the
taste for "pure music" in France, when he composed the
spiritually touching Prière in 1860.
Source: AllMusic
(https://www.allmusic.com/composition/pri%C3%A8re-for-o
rgan-in-c-sharp-minor-op-20-fwv-32-mc0002658020 ).
Although originally created for Pipe Organ, I created
this Interpretation of the Prière in C# Minor (FWV 32
Opus 20) for String Quintet (2 Violins, Biola, Cello &
Bass).
SHEET MUSIC