Organ Works of Rolande Falcinelli (1920-2006)

Zach Klobnak
Crown Center Sheraton Hotel - FREMONT

Parisian organist Rolande Falcinelli is often remembered as a gifted performer and improviser, a devoted pedagogue, and a close friend and former student of Marcel Dupré. However, her legacy as a composer has not yet been given its full due. Falcinelli left an impressive catalogue of works spanning some 74 opus numbers, roughly a dozen works without opus, two pedagogical manuals, and numerous transcriptions and annotated editions of earlier works. Her catalogue contains works for a variety of media: organ, harpsichord, piano, voice, choir, chamber ensemble, and orchestra. She was also interested in increasing the organ’s chamber music repertoire, and she wrote pieces combining organ with piano, violin, viola, flute, cello, voice, and orchestra. Interestingly, her works for solo organ can be divided into five categories that closely reflect her own biography and extra-musical interests: pedagogical works, liturgical works, relational works, literary works, and Persian works. This 25-minute session will examine these five categories, providing an entry point into a survey of Falcinelli’s organ works as well as her life as titulaire organist at Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris, organ professor at the famed Paris Conservatory, a dedicated and lifelong learner, and a faithful mother and friend. The content of this paper stems from my dissertation research and will include a Powerpoint presentation and recorded music.

Friday, July 6
9:00 – 9:45am