UCLA

Transcriptions have long been a companion to solo organ literature. Because of the instrument’s rich and diverse sound palette available to the organist’s discretion, organ transcriptions can generally offer an expressive and captivating recreation of the work at hand. The history of transcriptions paints an intriguing picture: transcribers often reworked contemporary pieces of their time. For example, J. S. Bach transcribed works by Antonio Vivaldi, and Theodore Dubois arranged symphonic works by Felix Mendelssohn for the organ. This embellished trend of transcribing contemporary works seems to have broken around the turn of the twentieth century. Transcribers of today are generally continuing to transcribe works from preceding periods, especially nineteenth century symphonies. If transcribers have overlooked mainly twentieth century works, then minimal music is particularly underexplored. This observation brings forth a compelling question: in what direction can organists continue to expand upon the tradition of transcribing works for the organ in the twenty-first century in a productive way? One possibility is recreating minimalist pieces on the organ, as this dissertation demonstrates. The idea of transcribing minimalist works for the organ came after hearing Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna perform Philip Glass’s Mad Rush (1979) on the Glatter-G�tz/Rosales organ at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2019. Her technical endurance, registrations, and expression in her rendition of Glass’s piano piece generated an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience. This enlightening discovery unveiled a strong affinity between audiences and minimalist works be reimagined on the organ, influencing this dissertation study. Chapter 1 will present three case studies of organ transcriptions of various works completed within the last 150 years to generate a wide array of transcription approaches. Philip Glass’s renowned Glassworks (1981-2) will be examined in Chapter 2 to reveal its peripheral appeal to classical and popular music listeners through instrumentation, form, and style. Chapter 3 outlines my process of creating an organ version of Glassworks, addressing any concerning areas that surfaced in the process. Herbert Ellingford’s treatise, The Art of Transcribing for the Organ, and each transcribers’ methods addressed in Chapter 1 are consulted to aid my transcription process. Chapter 4 presents the Glassworks transcription and addresses performance considerations, instrument selection, and registration approaches.