Prelude op. 18

This prelude is from Prélude, Fugue et Variation pour Orgue by César Franck, op.18 (FWV 30) composed in 1862.
It’s an organ work composed by Franck in homage to Saint-Saëns.

On the bandoneon the obvious choice was to keep the melody on the right keyboard and the bass on the left as pedals. The decision to assign the counterpoint to the left keyboard was less obvious, but it has been revealed as a good choice because the cassotto on the left cabezal creates a tonal difference between the two keyboards.

In some cases it was not possible to assign the countermelody to the left keyboard due to technical limitations of the instrument, which does not go beyond the A of the third octave (or B flat in the case of model 144 Einheits). In this case I preferred not to lower an octave but to assign the countermelody to the right hand (from bars 29 to 31) to be played together with the main melody.

However, this option was not possible for bars 39 to 42, and in that case the counterpoint has been divided: I assigned the upper notes to the right keyboard (together with the melody) and the lower ones to the left, along with the bass.

The bandoneon 144 or “Einheits” proved to be more versatile than the 142, thanks to the greater range at the left keyboard (the aforementioned B flat) which instead passes to the lower octave for 142, as indicated in the score (bars 23-25).

In the transciption I mantained the original key of B Minor.

The level of difficulty is advanced, making it accessible to an expert player.

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