Simon Johnson plays Franck, Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18

César Franck (1822 – 1890) Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 Simon Johnson, organ Recorded live in the Cathedral of the Madeleine Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Eccles Organ Festival, 29th Season 16 October 2022 Watch the entire recital here: @ecclesorganfestival In 1866 Liszt heard Franck play and declared that Franck’s works bore comparison with those of Bach. Franck was born 200 years ago in Liège, Belgium, but he became a French citizen and spent most of his life in Paris. In 1858 he was appointed as organist at the newly completed church of Sainte-Clotilde where he played the rest of his life. The “exquisite” (in the words of Bizet) Prélude, Fugue et Variation was originally a piano-harmonium duet which Franck subsequently arranged as an organ solo and dedicated to Camille Saint-Saëns. It was included as the third of Six Pièces first performed by Franck November 17, 1864 at Sainte-Clotilde and later published in 1868. It now stands as Franck’s most popular organ work. The Prélude’s opening melancholy melody in B minor is repeated three times, and following a second theme, it returns to close the movement in the dominant. A short Lento using four-part homophony transitions into the Fugue. After a classic tenor, alto, soprano, bass exposition, the Fugue eventually ends on a dominant pedal to segue directly into the Variation’s elegant pianistic 16th-note accompaniment which combines with a verbatim reprise of the B minor melody and pedal parts from the Prélude. (From the concert program notes, by Dr. Kenneth Udy)