Rhythmic Freedom in Mendelssohn's Six Organ Sonatas

Abstract

German performer and composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) represents one of the most popular and well-known musicians from the Romantic era. In November of 1820 at age 11, Mendelssohn started composing for the organ. His organ works range in difficulty from moderate to advanced, and the Six Organ Sonatas, Opus 65, call for considerable virtuosity. Although a vast amount of information exists on Mendelssohn’s Six Organ Sonatas, the research mainly focuses on categorization or theoretical components. The study at hand, however, provides a stylistic guide to rhythm in Mendelssohn’s Six Organ Sonatas. A basic introduction to Mendelssohn’s association with the organ as a performer, improviser, and composer unfolds in the first chapter of the study, while the second chapter investigates rhythmic ideologies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that affect performance practice of Romantic works. The third chapter analyses the distinct features of Mendelssohn’s Six Organ Sonatas and provides suggestions for performance. With understanding of irregular rhythmic trends that developed in the mid-nineteenth century as well as information from and about Mendelssohn, a more historically accurate way of performing his Six Organ Sonatas incorporates rhythmic freedom. Further, rhythmic freedom allows a performer to add rhythmic nuances even when not specified in the score. The rhythmic insertions may include a ritardando at a cadential point, an accelerando at a harmonically climatic moment, or a fermata at the end of a phrase for emphasis. During the mid-nineteenth century, composers and performers, including Mendelssohn, utilized heightened degrees of rhythmic irregularity. Additionally, research clearly reveals Mendelssohn’s expressive approach to playing organ repertoire and a direct correlation between his improvisations and movements within the Six Organ Sonatas.