“Fantasy of a Sound Regained”: Eighteenth-century German organ continuo practice elucidated by annotations in Georg Philipp Telemann’s sacred cantatas performed in Frankfurt am Main 1721– 1771

Abstract

Since the 1960s, portable continuo organs have been a mainstay of the historically informed performance movement, heard in countless performances and recordings. Designed for ease of transport and tuning, such instruments have proved convenient for the extensive performing, touring, and recording schedules of many ensembles, allowing swathes of repertoire requiring organ to be performed in a multiplicity of venues. But, despite their ubiquity, such continuo organs are a contrivance.

During the eighteenth century, a variety of organs were used for continuo accompaniment in church, varying from large organs with multiple divisions, to small single-manual organs with only a few ranks. Additionally, some churches had more than one organ. Both organs could be used for continuo realisation depending on the circumstances. The use of a larger organ for the accompaniment of figural music is extensively documented in historical written sources. In addition to the greatly increased registrational possibilities afforded by a larger organ, its fixed location and the fact that its pitch and temperament is inflexible challenge the assumptions and customs that have developed in modern continuo and ensemble praxis.

This thesis explores German organ accompaniment practices through the lens of the large church organ. It compares historical practices elucidated in a range of eighteenth-century documentary pedagogical sources with extensive hand-written performance practice annotations and compositional adaptions in a collection of sacred cantatas by Georg Philipp Telemann held in Frankfurt am Main. Moreover, annotations in the organ parts by Telemann’s successors, both corroborate and expand on practices (registration, manual and pedal use) described in written sources. These annotations also reveal practices (for example, the use of the tremulant) which are largely unmentioned in the written sources, providing greater insight into the practices of eighteenth-century organists.