Franjo Dugan (1874-1948)
Complete Organ Works
Pavao Mašić (organ)
rec. 2018, Zagreb Cathedral and the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Indiocesan Boy’s Seminary, Zagreb, Croatia
Croatia Records 6084562 [2 CDs: 112]

This 2 CD set is my first introduction to the Croatian composer, organist and academic Franjo Dugan. I feel that some background is therefore warranted. His early introduction to the organ came from Vatroslav Kolander, organist in Zagreb Cathedral. Progress was rapid, and at the age of only fifteen he was offered an organist’s post at St. Peter’s Church in Zagreb. Later he became second organist at the city’s cathedral. 1907 was a pivotal year when he travelled to Berlin to study composition under Robert Kahn, conducting under Max Bruch and organ under H. Becker. After graduation he returned to Zagreb where he assumed various posts teaching, becoming director of the State Conservatory of Music in 1922. He was also choirmaster of several choirs, and was an active member of the St. Cecilia Society, editing its journal. After a spell as rector of the Academy of Music in Zagreb, he retired in 1941. I was interested to discover that the ten year old Alfred Brendel met Dugan, who gave him some lessons, which he found very useful.

Dugan’s organ music is cast in the late romantic style, and is heavily reliant on Baroque polyphony. His compositional oeuvre also includes a sonata for violin and piano and some string quartets. As far as I’m aware these have never been recorded. A selection of the organ music has previously been set down on a 1977 Jugoton label LP (LSY-66029) by the composer’s son Čedomil Dugan (1915-1989). I hope I’ll come across it one day.

This recording marks the seventieth anniversary of the composer’s death and coincides with a new published edition of Dugan’s organ works. Several previously unpublished pieces have found their way into the collection. The earliest works are to be found on CD 1. Most of these are brief, lasting less than a minute. The Four Cadences which open the disc are simple harmonized musical phrases, penned by the eighteen year old composer. A year later came two Preludes, the second of which is lost. The one here is in F major and is consolingly lyrical. The twenty-four Versets in all Major and Minor keys are modest, each rarely more than two bars long. Baroque influenced, Dugan occasionally draws on Croatian folk melodies. The four Cadences which follow are performed with harmonium-sounding combinations, imitating those instruments found in small churches that Dugan encountered during his lifetime. He composed his Six Fughettas between 1893 and 1898. Slightly larger in scale than what has gone before, they reveal an expert skill in the art of counterpoint.

More substantial scores, described in the booklet as “large-scale organ works”, are found on CD 2. These consist of Fugues, Preludes, a Toccata, a Chromatic Fugue in C minor and the Prelude and Fugue in B major which, at ten minutes duration, is the lengthiest work in the collection. The Fugue in C minor has a dark sense of foreboding, whilst the Prelude in E flat major declares something of imperial triumph. The Toccata in G minor opens in similar vein  before a busy contrapuntal section takes over. The Chromatic Fugue in C minor and the Prelude and Fugue in B major are both more mature achievements. The former is draped in chromatic complexity, whilst the latter is the composer’s most ambitious score. Here Dugan alternates moments of grandeur with more serene elements in the Prelude. The Fugue consists of triple and quadruple counterpoint. It ends with a coruscating climax.

Then come some works inspired by church hymns. Basically they are “short improvisations with contrasting moods”. Traditional Croatian folk music seeps in from time to time. In the Prelude in E minor (Graduale) time almost stands still. The seven Preludes were published in 1944. They are homophonic in structure with a surfeit of melodic interest. The A minor Prelude‘s wistful demeanour I found a particular delight, which Mašić dresses in some radiant and luminous sonorities. The disc ends with four pieces from the composer’s personal collection. The final one is titled The Rowdy S. Bach Won’t Leave the Tavern and Go Home, and is dated 1946. Its rousing strains make it a fitting miniature to end the disc.

For Pavao Mašić this recording has been a labour of love, and he must be commended for both championing and being an enthusiastic advocate of Croatian organ music. His performances are outstanding in every way and his imaginative choice of registrations to match the character of the music cannot be faulted.  

These beautifully recorded performances have been shared between two instruments: the E. F. Walcker Organ (1855) at Zagreb Cathedral and A. Heferer Organ (1931) at Zagreb Seminary Church. Specifications for both of these fine organs are included at the back of the accompanying liner notes. The CDs come in a sturdy, deluxe presentation box, which contains a double jewel case and a substantial booklet. The notes, in Croatian and English, are well-written and comprehensive. In addition to a biographical portrait of the composer, Pavao Mašić has provided an insightful commentary on the music played. The icing on the cake is a cache of some interesting photographs scattered throughout the text.

The final word must be about Pavao Mašić himself. In addition to his teaching duties at the Zagreb Academy of Music, he has held the post of Titular Organist of St. Mark’s Church in Zagreb since 1999. As a performer, he travels the world giving concerts, and has been the recipient of several international awards for his endeavours.

Stephen Greenbank

Availability: Supplier

Contents
CD 1
Four cadenzas (G major, E flat major, B major, D minor) (1892)
Prelude in F major (1893)
24 verses in all major and minor keys (1892-1898)
Four cadenzas (Andante in B major, Andante sostenuto in G minor (Phrygian), Andante in E flat major, Adagio in A major) (1892-1898)
Six fuguets (1893-1898)
CD 2
Major works for organ
Fugue in C major (1893)
Fugue in C minor (1893)
Prelude in E flat major (1894)
Fantasy on a popular hymn: Hail, body of Jesus (1894)
Toccata in G minor (1894)
Introduction and Fugue in F minor (1897)
Prelude and Fugue in G major (1901)
Chromatic Fugue in C minor (1905)
Prelude and Fugue in B major (1906)
Hymn-Based Organ Works
God and Man is Born
When the Divine Star Blazes in the Heavens
A Star shone in the Heavens
Hail, Body of Jesus
Hail, O Queen
We Lift our Eyes to You
Prelude in E minor (Graduale)
Prelude and Variations on an Advent Hymn: Little Bird Sweetly Sing (1941)
Christmas Prelude on Kyrie Eleison (1942)
Pieces for organ
(Prelude in C major, G major, B major, A minor, G minor, D minor, D minor – Doric) (1944)
Works from the composer’s personal collection
Two-Part Fugue in C minor
Two-Part Invention in A minor (1895)
Two-Part Invention in G major (1895)
The Rowdy S. Bach Won’t Leave the Tavern and Go Home (1946)