Table Of ContentThe Genesis and Development of an
English Organ Sonata
This volume considers the influences and development of the English
organ sonata tradition that began in the 1850s with compositions by
W. T. Best and William Spark. With the expansion of the instrument’s
capabilities came an opportunity for organist–composers to consider
the repertoire anew with many factors reinforcing a desire to elevate
the literature to new heights. This study begins by examining the leg-
acy of the keyboard sonata in Britain and especially the pedagogical
lineage that was to be seen through Mendelssohn and ultimately the
early organ sonatas. The abiding influence of William Crotch’s lec-
tures are studied to illuminate how a culture of conservatism embold-
ened the organist–composers towards compositions that were seen to
represent the ideals of the Classical era but in a contemporary vein.
The veneration of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven is then examined as
composers wrote “portfolio” sonatas, each with a movement in a con-
trasting style to exhibit their compositional prowess while providing
repertoire for the novice and connoisseur alike. Finally the volume
considers how the British organist–composers who studied at the Leip-
zig Conservatorium had a direct bearing on the furtherance of an or-
gan culture at home that, in turn, set the ground for the seminal work
in the genre, Elgar’s Sonata of 1895.
Iain Quinn is Assistant Professor of Organ and Coordinator of
Sacred Music at Florida State University. He holds degrees from the
University of Hartford, Yale University and the University of D urham.
He has been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University and Visiting
Composer in Chapel at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
He is also a Fulbright Scholar and was awarded a fellowship by the
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. Scholarly writings have been
published in Tempo, MLA Notes, Journal of Victorian Culture, Interpreting
Historical Keyboard Music (Ashgate), and in editions of Samuel Barber
(G. Schirmer), Carl Czerny and John Goss (A-R Editions). He is also the
author of The Organist in Victorian Literature (Palgrave Macmillan) and
has recorded thirteen CDs as a soloist or conductor on the Chandos,
Hyperion, Naxos, Paulus, and Regent labels.
ROYAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION MONOGRAPHS
General Editor: Simon P. Keefe
This series is supported by funds made available to the Royal Musi-
cal Association from the estate of Thurston Dart, former King Edward
Professor of Music at the University of London. The editorial board is
the Publications Committee of the Association.
Recent monographs in the series (for a full list, see the end of this book):
The Genesis and Development of an English Organ Sonata
Iain Quinn
Towards a Harmonic Grammar of Grieg’s Late Piano Music
Benedict Taylor
Magister Jacobus de Ispania, author of the Speculum musicae
Margaret Bent
The ‘Ars musica’ Attributed to Magister Lambertus/Aristoteles
Christian Meyer, editor and Karen Desmond, translator
Singing Dante: The Literary Origins of Cinquecento Monody (2014)
Elena Abramov-van Rijk
The Genesis and
Development of
an English Organ
Sonata
IAIN QUINN
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Iain Quinn
The right of Iain Quinn to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without
intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Quinn, Iain, 1973– author.
Title: The genesis and development of an English organ sonata / Iain Quinn.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016035252 | ISBN 9781138203822 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315470658 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sonatas (Organ)—19th century—History and criticism. |
Organ music—England—19th century—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC ML645 .Q56 2017 | DDC 786.5/1830942—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035252
ISBN: 978-1-138-20382-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-47065-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino Linotype
by codeMantra
To Arianne
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Contents
List of figures and tables ix
List of musical examples xi
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Classicism in the English organ sonata tradition 1
2 The earliest English organ sonatas 21
3 The highest walks of Art 45
4 The Leipzig influence and the path to Elgar 67
Bibliography 111
Index 121
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List of figures and tables
Figures
2.1 Spark, William. Sonata [front cover] 33
3.1 The Organ Student, W. T. Best 55
Tables
4.1 Compositions performed at the Leipzig
conservatorium, 1843–1847 74
4.2 The most frequently performed composers at the
Leipzig conservatorium 75
