Organum IV

Prelude in C Major by Heinrich Scheidemann from Organum IV vol. 1

Organum IV (sometimes written ORG IV, de: Vierte Riehe) is a series of publications of early organ music edited by Max Seiffert and published by Kistner & Siegel in Leipzig, beginning in 1925.

Despite including additional symbols for practical use that are not present in the source, this series included some progressive/scholarly features such as listing the source for every piece in the preface.

The Organum IV series was an important part of the efforts of german musicologists to expand the published repertoire of the North German Organ School. Within this series, the first editions of many important works were included, including the 13 fantasias by Paul Siefert, the complete extant organ preludes by Franz Tunder, the three preludes by Nicolaus Bruhns including the first edition of the "big" and "small" E-minor preludes, many preludes by Heinrich Scheidemann, and many works anonymous and attributed to lesser-known composers. These lesser-known works were included in compilations as part of a sub-series titled Orgel-meister which was published alongside volumes more focused on certain composers. Notably, many works from the Lynar "B" Tablatures–a brand-new discovery at the time–were published in this series for the first time.

The fourth series of Organum remains a valuable resource for the inclusion of some pieces which have recieved minimal attention since then, such as the anonymous Prelude from D-Lr Mus.ant.pract. K.N. 207/16 in volume 10 no. 5. However, as more scholarly critical editions are published in the modern day, this series has began to lose its value for the current-day performer.

Introduction

The primary purpose of Organum IV was to publish music from the North German Organ School (in addition to some entries from middle and south Germany) from Sweelinck to Buxtehude and to enrich the literature and playing material of this period of music in order to contextualize the music of J. S. Bach. Particularly, music from the Frescobaldi and Johann Jacob Froberger circles were included, and the music of Pachelbel was focused on. By publishing this music, listed according to school and composer, Max Seiffert hoped to bring this music back together and bring it to light, so that it would be played by organists.

Description

The introduction of volume 8, the edition of Nicolaus Bruhns preludes. Here, Max Seiffert includes brief information about what manuscripts the pieces are found in.

A typical volume in this series begins with an introduction in which Max Seiffert sometimes writes biographical information about the composer and always writes what manuscripts each piece is found in.

Editorial Style

Despite the scholarly inclusion of manuscript information, the fourth series of Organum favored the more practical angle. It included editorial markings like tempos and hand indications. Also, Max Seiffert did not include critical notes to list his editorial changes, even though many pieces required them, as he did not want to make these editions needlessly complex.

In the critical editing of the text of the music, it was necessary to pick a way through many writing errors, oversights and omissions in the originals, both of which, by the way, omit to indicate the pedal part. To discuss these in detail would take too much space, the main object being the practical result.

Another interesting editorial decision taken by Max Seiffert was to transcribe almost every piece on three staves, indicating some notes to be played on pedal (however, some manualiter pieces were written on two staves, such as the Toccata by Johann Adam Reincken). This has been criticized in more recent times. For example, the transcription of the Canzon by Marcus Olter in volume 2 is written on three staves, even though modern musicologists including Klaus Beckmann say that it is clearly a manualiter composition.

Contents

For unknown reasons, the Organum IV series only published free organ works (including early praeludiums, but also canzonas, ciaconas, and fugues), except for the Magnificat fugues by Johann Pachelbel. It appears that a large collection of chorale settings was planned for the conclusion of the fourth series, but it is not clear if this was ever completed.

Volumes of Org. IV

#	Contents	Scans	Notes
1	Fünfzehn Präludien und Fugen / Heinrich Scheidemann	urresearch.rochester.edu IMSLP251639
2	Orgel-Meister I. 3 Praeambeln / Jakob Praetorius. 2 Praeambeln / Melchior Schildt. Praeambulum / Johann Decker. Praeludium / D. Meyer. Canzon / Marcus Olter. 2 Praeludium / Christian Flor
3	14 Präludien, Fugen und Toccaten / Matthias Weckmann
4	Fünf Praeludien und Fugen / Georg Böhm	babel.hathitrust.org
5	Orgel-Meister II. Toccata / Jean Adam Reinken. Sonatina / Christian Ritter	babel.hathitrust.org
6	Vier Praeludien / Franz Tunder
7	[Orgel-Meister III] Praeludium / Arnold M. Brunckhorst. [Praeludium und Fuge / Andreas Kneller. 2 Praeludien / Georg Dietrich Leyding]
8	3 Praeludien und Fugen / Nikolaus Bruhns	urresearch.rochester.edu
9	Vier Praeludien und Fugen / Vincent Lübeck
10	6 Praeludien und Fugen / Anonymi der Norddeutschen Schule	babel.hathitrust.org
11	10 Orgelwerke / Johann Jakob Froberger
12	Praeludien, Fantasien und Toccaten / Joh. Pachelbel
13	Ciaconen, Fugen und Ricercari / Joh. Pachelbel
14	Magnificat-Fugen / Joh. Pachelbel	urresearch.rochester.edu
15	Fünf Ausgewählte Orgelstücke / J. Gottfr. Walther
16	Drei Fugen / Fr. Wilh. Zachow	urresearch.rochester.edu
17	Ausgewählte Orgelstücke / Johann Krieger
18	Zwei Doppelfugen / Nik. Adam Strungk
19	Zwei Praeludien mit Fugen und eine Toccata / Johann Kuhnau	urresearch.rochester.edu
20	13 Fantasien à 3 / Paul Sieffert	babel.hathitrust.org
21	Orgel-Meister IV. Toccata / Samuel Scheidt. Praeambulum pedaliter ; Praeludium ex E vel A pedaliter / Andreas Düben. Praeludium ; Praeludium pedaliter / David Äbel. Praeambulum pedaliter / Peter Hasse. Capriccio Gh ; Praeludium quarti Toni ; Fantasia 12. Juli 1664 / Wilhelm Karges. Praeludium ex d fis con pedal / Peter Hasse
22	Acht Toccaten und Fugen / Joseph Seeger.

References

Beckmann, Klaus, Die Norddeutsche Schule. Teil II: Blütezeit und Verfall. Mainz: Schott, 2009.

ORGANUM: usgewählte ältere vokale und instrumentale MEISTERWERKE kritisch durchgesehen und zum praktischen Gebrauch herausgegeben von MAX SEIFFERT. (publisher and year unknown). Introduction by Dr. Walter Lott urresearch.rochester.eduAccessed August 9, 2024. ("Lott")