Beukes, Jan Nel
English: In 2010 I was invited to take part in a performance of Fauré’s Requiem (Op. 48) in which the orchestral parts were transcribed for organ by Pawel (2000). From the outset it was apparent that the transcription would not do justice to the original aesthetic spirit of the work. Organ transcriptions are however indispensable in liturgical or concert performance contexts where a performance of the orchestral score is not possible. The availability of recordings poses significant challenges to such a transcription, as audiences, conductors and choristers are so familiar with the work – the Requiem is Fauré’s most popular and well-known piece. Thus a transcription that fails to take into account the original orchestral tonal palette will result in an unsatisfactory performance. It was for this reason that I decided to transcribe the work myself. Before the process of conceptualising a transcription in a responsible manner, one needs consider the task, and speculate upon the research question of whether Fauré himself would have opposed the very idea of an organ transcription, and also whether perhaps an organ duo or duet transcription would better serve the work. In order to answer this question in an academically justifiable manner, it was necessary to contextualise the existing transcription practise in Fauré’s Requiem in more detail. After studying and interpreting relevant literature on the subject, specific contexts pertaining to the work were construed in order to establish a framework and foundation that could support the process of transcription. To this end I focused upon aspects that were illuminated, in a concrete tangible manner, by the context wherein the Requiem gained its origin. These points of departure were, namely, historical, religious-philosophical, and also compositional-philosophical and compositional-pedagogical. This literature study was supplemented by exhaustive study of the scores of editions of Fauré’s Requiem. This framework subsequently served as the raison d’etre for the transcription as a responsible re-interpretation of Fauré’s musical clothing of the words, as a vehicle of expression of the religious text. The literature study brought to light that transcriptions were an integral part of the nineteenth-century musical milieu, and that Fauré and his contemporaries contributed to this practice without reservation, approving only transcriptions faithful to the original work. It also appeared that Fauré, especially in his liturgical music, readily accommodated diverse accompanimental possibilities, according to the instrumental resources available to him on different occasions. Although Fauré wrote no original organ compositions, he made extensive use of the instrument to accompany voices in his liturgical works. It is on this evidence that I concluded that the composer would not have objected to a responsible organ transcription of his Requiem. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Fauré was singulary disindined towards gargantuan orchestral and theatrical effects, and drawn rather to subtle nuances of colour in order to illustrate the text. Also, his liturgical compositions are noticeably shorn of secular influences. Fauré’s personal approach to the Requiem remains true to this premise, and can therefore serve as a model of the Hellenic ideals so dear to him. In order to retain the orchestral colouristic element of the original work and achieve aesthetic satisfaction in a transcription, the medium of the organ duo or duet is rendered essential, as two players are capable of handling more of these colouristic elements. In closing, it should be mentioned that the question of an organ transcription of Fauré’s Requiem (Op. 48) has not been investigated in existing literature. As such a transcription should find an indispensible role in performances of the work in smaller liturgical or concert contexts, this may justify the subject worthy of an academic study. Additionally, neither an organ duo nor an organ duet version exists, and so this study addresses that hiatus, and further contributes to the international corpus of the organ transcription repertoire. The scrupulous documentation of the process of transcription, as well as the performance and recording of this version, affords the study academic credibility, as well as verity of professional authenticity.
Afrikaans: In 2010 is ek genader om aan ʼn uitvoering van Fauré se Requiem (Op. 48) deel te neem waar die orkespartituur met ʼn orreltranskripsie deur Pawel (2000) vervang is. Selfs met die eerste oogopslag was dit duidelik dat hierdie transkripsie nie die oorspronklike estetiese gees van die orkesweergawe getrou weergee nie. Orreltranskripsies is egter onontbeerlik in liturgiese- of konsertkontekste waar ʼn uitvoering van die orkesweergawe nie moontlik is nie. Die beskikbaarheid van opnames stel so ʼn transkripsie nietemin voor talle uitdagings aangesien gehore, dirigente en koorlede vandag goed vertroud is met verskeie bekende realiserings van die werk – die Requiem word allerweë as Fauré se mees populêre en bekendste werk beskou. ʼn Transkripsie wat nie die oorspronklike orkesklankbeeld dien nie, sal dus ʼn onbevredigende uitvoering tot gevolg hê. Om hierdie rede het ek besluit om self ʼn transkripsie van die werk aan te pak. Voordat daar met ʼn verantwoordbare transkripsie-proses begin kon word, moes die spekulatiewe navorsingsvrae of Fauré nie besware teen die gebruik van ʼn orreltranskripsie sou gehad het nie, en of ‘n duo- of duet-orreltranskripsie, die oorspronklike komposisie moontlik beter sou dien, beantwoord word. Om hierdie vrae op ʼn akademies gefundeerde wyse te beantwoord, was dit nodig om die bestaande transkripsiepraktyk van Fauré se Requiem op ʼn meer gedetailleerde wyse te kontekstualiseer. Nadat relevante literatuur oor die onderwerp bestudeer en geïnterpreteer is, is spesifieke kontekste relevant tot die werk gekonstrueer ten einde ʼn raamwerk en begronding vir die transkripsieproses daar te stel. In hierdie verband het ek veral gefokus op aspekte wat op ʼn konkrete wyse onderliggend was aan die konteks waarbinne die Requiem gestalte verkry het – naamlik historiese, religieus-filosofiese, asook kompositories-filosofiese en kompositories-pedagogiese uitgangpunte. Hierdie literatuurnavorsing is aangevul deur ʼn intensiewe partituurstudie van weergawes van die Fauré Requiem. Dié raamwerk het vervolgens as die vertrekpunt gedien om die transkripsie as ʼn verantwoorde her-interpretasie van Fauré se musikale inkleding van die religieuse teks aan te bied. Die literatuurstudie het aan die lig gebring dat transkripsies integraal deel was van die neëntiende-eeuse musikale milieu, en dat Fauré en sy tydgenote sonder besware an hierdie praktyk meegedoen het. Slegs transkripsies wat die oorspronklike komposisie getrou kon dien, het hul goedkeuring egter weggedra. Verder het dit geblyk dat Fauré in (veral) sy liturgiese werke aanpassings gemaak het om die begeleidingsmoontlikhede tot sy beskikking vir ‘n bepaalde geleentheid te akkommodeer. Hoewel Fauré geen oorspronklike orrelkomposisies geskryf het nie, maak hy geredelik van die instrument gebruik as begeleidingsmedium in sy liturgiese werke. Gevolglik kon die afleiding gemaak word dat Fauré geen probleem met ʼn verantwoordbare orreltranskripsie van sy Requiem sou gehad het nie. Fauré, anders as meeste van sy tydgenote, het geen voorkeur vir grootse orkestrasie en teatergebaseerde effekte getoon nie en hy het hom eerder tot subtiele kleurnuanses gewend om sy woordteks te dien. Ook was sy liturgiese komposisies van sekulêre invloede gestroop. Fauré se persoonlike verklanking van die Requiem is juis op hierdie beginsel geskoei, en kan daarom as ʼn toonbeeld van die hellenistiese ideale wat hy nagestreef het beskou word. Om die orkestrale kleur-elemente van die oorspronklike werk getrou en esteties bevredigend in ʼn transkripsie te dien, maak die gebruik van ʼn orrelduo- of orrelduetweergawe essensieël, aangesien twee spelers meer kleurelemente kan hanteer. Ten slotte kan daar opgemerk word dat die vraagstuk van ʼn orreltranskripsie van Fauré se Requiem (Op. 48) nog nie binne bestaande literatuur oor die werk aangespreek is nie. Aangesien so ʼn transkripsie ʼn onontbeerlike deel van uitvoerings van die werk in kleiner liturgiese of konsert-kontekste sou wees, regverdig die onderwerp ʼn akademies gefundeerde ondersoek. ʼn Orrelduet- of orrelduo-weergawe van die werk bestaan ook nog nie, en ʼn deeglik beredeneerde daarstelling hiervan sal hierdie tekort aanspreek, en tot die internasionale orreltranskripsie-repertorium kan bydra. Die noukeurige dokumentering van die transkripsieproses, asook die uitvoering en opname daarvan, verleen aan die studie ʼn akademiese begronding, asook ʼn waarmerk van professionele outentisiteit.