Five Overtures by George Frederick Handel; C. S. LangReview by: Luther NossNotes, Second Series, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Sep., 1953), p. 686Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/893822 .

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a contrasting section or two. As it reads now, the whole piece is done with in a minute, which is hardly long enough for any reasonable purpose. George Frederick Handel: Five Over- tures. Arranged for organ by C. S. Lang. London: Novello [U. S. agent: H. W. Gray, New York], 1952. [34 p.; 5s. 6d., $2.00]

These are excellent transcriptions of the rarely-heard overtures to five Handel operas: Sassarme, Ptolemy, Richard I, Porus, and Theseus. They have been arranged for the organ with utmost care for practical detail and can be made to sound most effectively. Each follows the traditional slow-fast pattern: a short, majestic introduction leading to an ener- getic, tuneful, fugal allegro. They offer exciting "new" material for concert use and should not be overlooked because they are transcriptions. The usual objec- tions do not apply in this instance nor will they until such time as these pieces become a part of the popular orchestral literature when they can be more widely heard in their original scoring. In the meantime, organists have their oppor- tunity and it is recommended that they take advantage of it. Libraries lacking these scores in the original would also find this edition useful. Jan Meyerowitz: Fantasy and Finale on Themes by J. F. Hal6vy, for organ. New York: E. B. Marks, 1953. [11 p.; $1.00]

The two Hal6vy themes used here are unidentified as to specific source. They may possibly be of special interest to Hal6vy cognoscenti, but it must be added that their intrinsic musical values are exceedingly limited. Meyerowitz has found a doleful tune to use in the Fan- tasy (andante grave) much in the man- ner of a ground. It begins quietly, rises to the inevitable tutti fff and tapers off at the close. The dissonant chromaticism is impressive and effective at the start, promising much, but as the texture thickens the tonal values become obscure and are mostly lost in the resulting con- fusion. The Finale (molto vivace) is based on a simple, fast dance-tune in minor, and exploits the dotted figure of

the rhythm throughout. The texture is thinner here and the chromatic sonori- ties fare better, although, played at the fast tempo indicated, they would lose much of their meaning. Most of the writing is unidiomatic and the player encounters needless difficulties (e.g., to open the crescendo pedal while both feet are busy playing a pedal solo), some of which might possibly have been adjusted without damage to the score. Unfamil- iarity with the instrument is further dem- onstrated in the registration suggestions, most of which are either impractical or just not good (e.g., gambas drawn with doppel flutes). An editor would have done a service to the English-speaking public by preventing the use of "sts" as an abbreviation for the word "stops"; someone should have known that there is none such, nor is any needed.

Ned Rorem: Pastorale for Organ (with Hammond organ registration). New York: Southern Music Publishing Co., 1953. [6 p., $.65]

The Andantino from Symphony No. 1, written by Rorem in 1949, has been arranged for organ by the composer and appears now under the title Pastorale. Simple diatonic melodies and gently shifting diatonic seventh harmonies, both fitted into regular 6/8 metrical patterns, prevail throughout with little or no change in mood or style, and it all makes for easy, pleasant listening. There is, how- ever, too much of it. Lacking the color of the orchestra (for which the organ has never been able to compensate in spite of those bewitching stops named "oboe," "trumpet," "violin," and the like), the musical ideas of the piece, however attractive, wear thin before the end. There are three sections for which repe- titions are indicated, and it would seem that these at least could be disregarded. The adaptation for organ has been well done although the registration indica- tions are confusion confounded, thanks to the publisher's understandable desire to please both electronic and pipe organ players. There is no reasonable objec- tion to this practice, but if it is to be done at all, this haphazard approach should be avoided. LUTHER Noss

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