The Rise and Fall of Organ Music from the Baroque to the Romantic Eras
By Simon Jacobs

It is well-known that some of the most prominent composers of the Baroque period, such as Bach and Handel, wrote many great works for organ. As the next generation came along, however, figures such as Mozart and Haydn did not turn their attention to writing very much for the instrument, save for a few pieces for mechanical clocks (machines which were very much in vogue in the 18th century, with organs built into them).

By the 19th century, the most prominent composers seemed to have abandoned the organ altogether. For example, Beethoven wrote absolutely nothing for the instrument, and the same with Schubert. This may have been a result of the decline of the organ as a central instrument in culture, with society becoming more secular and the church progressively separated from the state.

While many important composers neglected the instrument, by the mid-19th century the era of the organist-composer was born. Perhaps the most notable of these figures were César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor, the latter of whom invented the genre of the organ symphony. This was in part spurred by the innovative Romantic-style organs of the French builder, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, which allowed the organ to imitate the orchestra: a sort of one-man band.

It should be noted, however, that there are some significant organs works by well-known 19th century composers, in particular Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms. Works of note include Schumann’s Six Fugues on B-A-C-H, a tribute to the great master, and in fact originally written for pedal piano (a curious instrument, with a keyboard for the feet), but very much playable on the organ. One of Liszt’s greatest organ works is the Fantasy and Fugue on the Chorale “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam” based on a chorale from Act I of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera Le Prophète. Brahms’ Eleven Chorale Preludes are intensely beautiful meditations on the nature of death. They were written in 1896, towards the end of the composer’s life, and published posthumously in 1902.

It is interesting to note that many organ works written by prominent 19th-century composers look back to the golden age of Baroque organ music, and particularly to J. S. Bach. This musical historicism paved the way for a revival of great organ works in the 20th century.