Today I recorded the first two movements of the Mendelssohn Second Organ Sonata, a work I have been pulling together for the last month. I hope to record the last two movements soon.
The Op. 65 Organ Sonatas are not all sonatas in the classical sense (I could argue the fourth sonata is more like a classical sonata), but more like a baroque sonata. They are a collection of shorter works that contrast with one another. The second sonata is a fascinating take on this form. The first two movements are intended to be played without a break (as you will hear here) both in C minor. The third and fourth movement also are intended to be heard without a break, the fugue immediately following the "Minuet" movement (Allegro Maestoso). This creates the sense of two large movements of contrasting sections of continuous music. In the first movement, marked "Grave", is a slow stately and serious piece of music based around large chordal textures against more contrapuntal textures. In most recordings I've heard, there is a reduction down of stops and sound as the movement comes near the end. I began the movement with a large orchestration (Foundations 16', 8', 4', Oboe 8', and Flutes 8', 4'). By the end of the movement, I slowly removed stops, leaving me with only a single 8' flute on the great manual and a soft 16', 8' in the pedals. As the last chord is sounded on the great, the second movement begins with a solo oboe 8' stop sounding on the swell being held while the first movement ends. The second movement is a wonderful piece in a "quartet" rather than "trio" texture (oboe, 2 flutes, and pedals). The oboe keeps most of the melodic material throughout even when it is being sounded in a lower range than the flutes. This being said, the left hand is difficult, often requiring lots of legato double sixths. I didn't quite succeed in the entire recording but I am happy with the results. I hope you enjoy!