# Hindemith: Organ Sonatas



## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Paul Hindemith could write for just about any instrument. His œuvre for organ includes:

- Zwei Orgelstücke (1918)
- Kammermusik No. 7 (1927): a concerto for organ and chamber orchestra
- Sonata No. 1 (1937)
- Sonata No. 2 (1937)
- Sonata No. 3 (1940) "über alte Volkslieder"
- Organ Concerto (1962/1963)

The sonatas often present older forms (sonata-allegro form in the first movements of the first two sonatas, as well as a neo-Baroque fugue, a fantasia/toccata, choral prelude, trio sonata, etc.) fleshed out with more modern harmonic language. He never uses a key signature in these sonatas, but there are still clear key centers. There's a good formal analysis of all three sonatas in this PhD dissertation from 1968, if you have access to ProQuest: https://www.proquest.com/docview/302344717 and some good notes about Hindemith and the sonatas here for anyone to read: https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blur...iletype=About this Recording&language=English

The third sonata is based on three songs: "Ach Gott, wem soll ich's klagen, das heimlich Leiden mein," "Wach auf, mein Hort," and "So wünsch ich ihr", which are taken from the _Altdeutsches Liederbuch_ of Franz M. Böhme (Nos. 208, 105, and 435, respectively). The first and second sonatas are not based on any songs.

They seem to be under-recorded. The two recordings I've heard the most are Simon Preston's and Peter Hurford's, which are both very good. I'm aware of the existence of a couple of other recordings, but it seems like few people are interested in listening to this music, so nobody wants to record it. Hindemith is too progressive for the traditionalists, it seems, but not enough for the modernists. His organ music reminds me of Max Reger, except that all the plush Romantic excesses are stripped away to reveal the bare structure of the works.

Any thoughts? Any great recordings? I find these works are a blast to listen to, and they are even better to play. They are a refreshing mixture of the old and the new. I hope other people will enjoy this music which I believe is unjustly overshadowed by other composers, and even by Hindemith's other compositions.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Problem with these pieces is that they're written in a definite Neo-classical style, while employing the symphonic organ style of Reger and Karg-Elert. So you can't perform them successfully on baroque/classical/neobaroque organs, and they sound lousy on romantic symphonic organs with Generalschwellers and the likes.

I respect Hindemith as a composer, but I'll never perform his organ sonatas. I think his contemporary Franz Schmidt had a much more profound understanding of the true nature of the instrument.


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## Ludwig Schon (10 mo ago)

The problem with Hindemeith and all other post-war German genius’ (Zimmerman, Hartmann, Ruzicka, Lachenmann & Rihm), is that they’re stuck in a dark corner playing second fiddle to clown prince from the planet UnSirius…


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

I have had the Simon Preston Argo LP since it was first issued and I own a score to the Sonata #2. They're quite enjoyable works that are more accessible than his earlier works.


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