▼ This paper examines the possible meanings of statements made by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949) in Berlioz’s Grand Traité d’Instrumentation et d’Orchestration modernes about the difficulties of composing for organ and orchestra, and their advice on how to solve these difficulties. (Strauss later published this treatise with his own comments interpolated.) Although most orchestral instruments and organs Berlioz could have heard have changed in design since his day, our team—a musician, an engineer, and an engineer-musician—searched present day combinations for the possible existence of the difficulties described. Recordings were made of Principal and Reed stops on three organs built by different companies and installed in different acoustics. The harmonic frequencies of these stops were compared with those of four selected orchestral instruments—violin, flute, oboe, and horn—to determine if there is a fundamental inability to tune with the organ. Our team concluded that flutes and oboes can make instantaneous adjustments and tune perfectly with the organ, but violins and horns produce much dissonance. Berlioz’s Te Deum, Op. 22, Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, and Widor’s Symphony No. 3 in E Minor were examined to observe the techniques used by each composer to orchestrate for organ and orchestra. Advisors/Committee Members: Zierolf, Robert.

▼ This document aims to provide a survey of organ improvisation methods from 1900 onward for use in modern church services. As a survey on this subject has not been recently done in English speaking countries, I have confidence that this document will serve an important role in developing this area. My specific intent is to provide a useful and significant resource for church organists who wish to improvise preludes, interludes, offertories, and postludes based on the melodies used for their weekly services. On a broader scale, it is my hope that this work will contribute to the development and reformation of service music through the use of creative organ improvisation. Advisors/Committee Members: Gary, Roberta.