Creating and performing a solo organ transcription of Jacques Offenbach’s Overture to Orphée aux enfers

The art of organ transcription can be traced to the literature for organ surviving from the fourteenth century. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, the development of Romantic-style organ building inspired organ transcriptions that showcased the capabilities of the new Romantic organs. These transcriptions were especially but not exclusively popular in England and America. Because such organ transcriptions are increasingly programmed on twenty-first-century concerts and required in competitions, this DMA project comprises an edition of my original organ transcription of Offenbach’s Overture to Orphée aux enfers with introductory commentary.

The introduction to the edition explains why I embarked on this project in conjunction with the current organ recital scene and outlines the methodology used to transcribe orchestral music for the organ. It further provides a very brief history of organ transcription and its relationship to current programming trends. In the process, it explores organ transcriptions and arrangers, the pedagogical literature devoted to the process, the general principles applicable to adapting orchestral works to the organ, and the creation of small and large ensemble arrangements for the organ. Finally, it provides a brief biography of Jacque Offenbach and a short history of the Overture to Orphée aux enfers, and thereafter summarizes how to apply the principles of the Romantic orchestral style to playing the work and compares previously published organ transcriptions of Offenbach’s Overture to Orphée aux enfers to my own transcription. The complete score of my original performance edition of Offenbach’s Overture to Orphée aux enfers is presented in the Appendix.