The concert series “Nikolai-Music on Friday” will once again focus on works by Black composers who worked within the classical music tradition from January to March. Following the success of the series with the opening of the decentralized exhibition “Dekoloniale – what remains?!”, which for the first time focused on Florence Price (USA, 1887–1953), Nathaniel Dett (Canada, 1882–1943), and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Great Britain, 1875–1912), the Museum Nikolaikirche continues this line with a new program. Newly added is Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Guadeloupe/France, 1745–1799), an outstanding violinist, composer, and conductor. His elegant, technically demanding music, including harpsichord sonatas and string quartets, made him one of the central figures of the Parisian music scene in the 18th century.
Florence Price: Innovation and Inspiration
Florence Price, the first African American woman whose works were performed by a major orchestra, remains the focus of the concert series. Her education at the Chicago College of Music included intensive organ studies. She was familiar with the large, orchestral-sounding organs in the USA, which often featured special sounds like the “harp,” which is missing from the organ at the Nikolaikirche. Nevertheless, the Nikolaikirche, with its long reverberation, provides an ideal environment to interpret Price’s music. Her Suite for Organ No. 1, Organ Sonata No. 1, and the Passacaglia are significant works. We are pleased to have found musicians who have specially rehearsed these pieces for the “Nikolai Music on Friday.”
Sonic Encounters with Romanticism
The concerts often combine Price’s works with compositions from the French Romantic period by Louis Vierne, Charles-Marie Widor, and Gabriel Fauré. These works create sonic parallels and refer to Price’s organist training in Chicago, where she was likely familiar with such composers. The programs are complemented by works by J.S. and C.P.E. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and improvisations.
Programme
Florence Price was the first African American woman whose work was performed by a major orchestra in the USA. Her music combines late Romantic traditions with elements of folk music and Black spirituals. The programme on 3 January contrasts her work with Baroque masters such as Buxtehude and Pachelbel, who laid the musical groundwork for Bach, as well as Oley, who followed in Bach’s footsteps. This juxtaposition shows the stylistic development over centuries.
From Florence Price (1887–1953), who studied organ in Chicago during the city’s cultural renaissance, we will hear two characterful and atmospheric organ pieces. Works by Frank Bridge, a near contemporary, and Gabriel Pierné complement the programme with further sonorous Romantic moods and showcase the diversity of the music of their time. The programme concludes with a major work by Max Reger, which takes up the Baroque models of Johann Sebastian Bach. The opening is Bach’s Dorian Toccata. Florence Price’s Passacaglia, which is also clearly inspired by Bach, will be heard in this series on 7 and 14 March.
The organ is a versatile instrument capable of imitating the sounds of other instruments. Thanks to this ability, works originally composed for other ensembles, such as string quartets, can be performed on the organ. Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799), was an outstanding composer and violinist who lived and worked in Paris.
His Opus 1, published in 1773, comprises six string quartets, which are among the earliest examples of this genre in France. These works show the influence of Joseph Haydn, who is considered the father of the string quartet and whose compositions inspired Bologne. In addition to his work as a musician, Bologne served during the French Revolution as commander (Colonel) of the Légion des Américains et du Midi, the only regiment with Black soldiers in Europe at that time.
Furthermore, Bologne was considered for the position of musical director of the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, but his appointment failed – not least due to the prevailing racism of the time..
His Opus 1, published in 1773, comprises six string quartets, which are among the earliest examples of this genre in France. These works show the influence of Joseph Haydn, who is considered the father of the string quartet and whose compositions inspired Bologne. In addition to his work as a musician, Bologne served during the French Revolution as commander (Colonel) of the Légion des Américains et du Midi, the only regiment with Black soldiers in Europe at that time.
Furthermore, Bologne was considered for the position of musical director of the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, but his appointment failed – not least due to the prevailing racism of the time..
Saint-Georges’ First Violin Sonata is a work in the tradition of Viennese Classicism, characterized by elegance and clear structure. It allows violinists to create their own embellishments, a practice expected of skilled musicians at the time. The sonata, like his first string quartet, was written around 1771 and published a decade later by the Parisian publishing house Le Duc. Joseph Bologne was employed as a musician by Marie Antoinette of Austria-Lorraine, Queen of France (1755-1793). It is believed that these sonatas were played at her exclusive soirées, with Marie Antoinette herself at the fortepiano.
This concert highlights the stylistic development from the era of Empfindsamkeit to Viennese Classicism and the works of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was compared to Mozart by his contemporaries. The concert begins with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), a leading representative of Empfindsamkeit, often seen as a transitional phase between Baroque and Classicism. Representing Viennese Classicism is a movement from a piano sonata by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791), who significantly shaped this style. Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), adopted this new style early on. His third harpsichord sonata, composed around 1775 and published by Antoine Bailleux, combines the elegance of Viennese Classicism with his own musical language. All three composers were closely connected to the cultural life of the aristocracy or the church. C.P.E. Bach initially worked at the court of Frederick II of Prussia and later as music director of the five main churches in Hamburg. Mozart began his career under the patronage of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus Colloredo, before becoming a freelance composer in Vienna. Saint-Georges led the orchestra of the Duke of Orléans in Paris and was a prominent musician in the circles of the French nobility. Jack Day complements the program with improvisations intended as further developments of all three pieces, each in the musical language of the works.
This concert offers the first of two opportunities to hear Florence Price’s Suite for Organ No. 1 from 1947, played by Dr. Florian Wilkes. The suite consists of four characterful movements (Fantasy, Fughetta, Air, Toccata) and uses the organ’s tonal possibilities in a symphonic manner, impressing with great contrasts and expressiveness. The program is complemented by Léon Boëllmann’s Suite gothique (1895), which also begins in C minor. While Price presents a work with a modern and versatile tonal language, Boëllmann draws on a romantic form inspired by Gothic aesthetics. His suite opens with the majestic Introduction-Choral, followed by the dance-like Menuet gothique and the intimate Prière à Notre-Dame, before the suite concludes with the dramatic Toccata. Both works explore the organ’s tonal diversity in their own way: Price with symphonic breadth, Boëllmann with historicizing and dramatic accents.
This concert presents the monumental and virtuosic Organ Sonata No. 1 by Florence Price. The work impresses with tonal contrasts that remain within a tonal framework but occasionally deliberately exceed it. With a variety of tonal colours and diverse textures, Price succeeds in overcoming the static nature of the organ and bringing the space to life sonically. A narrative framework emerges, inviting listeners to add their own associations. In contrast, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Organ Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 65 No. 4, features a majestic opening movement complemented by a lyrical Andante religioso, before the work culminates in an energetic finale.
The composers of this programme were influenced by very different social and historical contexts, which shaped their music in formative ways. The composers: Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799), gained extraordinary recognition at the French court. His Harpsichord Sonata No. 1 reflects the elegance and virtuosity highly valued in court society. In addition to his work as a musician, Bologne served during the French Revolution as commander (Colonel) of the Légion des Américains et du Midi, the only regiment with Black soldiers in Europe at that time.
Furthermore, Bologne was considered for the position of musical director of the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, but his appointment failed – not least due to the prevailing racism of the time. Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly (1785–1858), organist at Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois in Paris, represents the bourgeois church musician of the 19th century.
His Offertoire in F shows the influence of the classical tradition and combines it with a growing romantic expression. Jean-Claude Touche (1926–1944), an emerging composer and organist, grew up in the intellectual milieu of Paris. His Pastorale, a work of delicate beauty, was created during the turmoil of World War II. Touche, who died in 1944 at the age of only 18, left an impressive, albeit small, legacy.
Florence Price (1887–1953) was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and left the city in 1927 to escape the deeply rooted racism of the South. In Chicago, she found an environment where she could develop as a composer. Nevertheless, her career remained a constant struggle for recognition in a world dominated by male and Eurocentric standards.
Furthermore, Bologne was considered for the position of musical director of the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, but his appointment failed – not least due to the prevailing racism of the time. Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly (1785–1858), organist at Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois in Paris, represents the bourgeois church musician of the 19th century.
His Offertoire in F shows the influence of the classical tradition and combines it with a growing romantic expression. Jean-Claude Touche (1926–1944), an emerging composer and organist, grew up in the intellectual milieu of Paris. His Pastorale, a work of delicate beauty, was created during the turmoil of World War II. Touche, who died in 1944 at the age of only 18, left an impressive, albeit small, legacy.
Florence Price (1887–1953) was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and left the city in 1927 to escape the deeply rooted racism of the South. In Chicago, she found an environment where she could develop as a composer. Nevertheless, her career remained a constant struggle for recognition in a world dominated by male and Eurocentric standards.
Vladimir Magalashvilli presents a second performance of Florence Price’s Suite for Organ No. 1 (1947). The work impresses with tonal contrasts, varied structures, and influences from jazz harmonies. In the last three movements, there are melodies reminiscent of spirituals and folk songs, without direct quotations. The suite also features rhythmic elements like the character of the Juba dance and a harmonic language strongly influenced by jazz, reflecting Price’s diverse musical output and work as a silent film organist.
The programme is complemented by other suites, each fascinating in its own way.
Florence Price, a trained concert organist, studied in Chicago and at the New England Conservatory, where she developed her love for organ music. Her suite is intriguingly connected with Louis Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster, celebrating the magnificent French organ tradition, and Gabriel Fauré’s Sicilienne, which enchants with its elegant melody and lightness. All three pieces use the organ to tell special stories with romantic harmonies and expressive tonal colours – a wonderful opportunity to explore the diversity of the suite genre.
The programme is complemented by other suites, each fascinating in its own way.
Florence Price, a trained concert organist, studied in Chicago and at the New England Conservatory, where she developed her love for organ music. Her suite is intriguingly connected with Louis Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster, celebrating the magnificent French organ tradition, and Gabriel Fauré’s Sicilienne, which enchants with its elegant melody and lightness. All three pieces use the organ to tell special stories with romantic harmonies and expressive tonal colours – a wonderful opportunity to explore the diversity of the suite genre.
Florence Price’s Passacaglia demonstrates her mastery of the art of variation and stands in dialogue with Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous Passacaglia in C minor.
Florence Price and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy are two composers whose works have a deep connection to the tradition of Johann Sebastian Bach. This concert highlights the stylistic parallels and individual expressiveness of these masters.
This concert programme explores Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s musical world and places his works in dialogue with the ideas and approaches of other composers who may have inspired him. It also references Antonín Dvořák, Johannes Brahms, and Edward Elgar, whose music can be seen as contextual inspiration for Coleridge-Taylor’s work. The programme is complemented by improvisational contributions from Jack Day, who picks up on Coleridge-Taylor’s musical themes.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) was a British composer from London who combined European compositional styles with influences from African American traditions. Antonín Dvořák, who explored local musical traditions in his Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” (1893), is often cited as an inspiration for Coleridge-Taylor, even though Dvořák’s music is not performed here. The harmonic density and lyrical design in Coleridge-Taylor’s works sometimes recall Johannes Brahms, while Edward Elgar served as a model for him in melodic expression and orchestral colours. Coleridge-Taylor gained great recognition in England with his Hiawatha Trilogy, based on Longfellow’s poem.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) was a British composer from London who combined European compositional styles with influences from African American traditions. Antonín Dvořák, who explored local musical traditions in his Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” (1893), is often cited as an inspiration for Coleridge-Taylor, even though Dvořák’s music is not performed here. The harmonic density and lyrical design in Coleridge-Taylor’s works sometimes recall Johannes Brahms, while Edward Elgar served as a model for him in melodic expression and orchestral colours. Coleridge-Taylor gained great recognition in England with his Hiawatha Trilogy, based on Longfellow’s poem.
Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist, and choir director known for his innovative fusion of African American spirituals with classical forms. Dett studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music and received numerous awards. His works, including the famous Magnolia Suite and In the Bottoms, demonstrate deep musical virtuosity. Dett dedicated his life to African American musical traditions and had a lasting impact on 20th-century classical music.
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