Pedal Organ

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now come, Saviour of the Heathen) appears in three versions. The chorale on which it is based is Martin Luther's adaptation of the original Ambrosian hymn Veni Redemptor gentium. The first of these, for two manuals and pedals, opens with the first measures of the chorale theme in the tenor, imitated at once in the alto register, over a constantly moving pedal bass. The melody is then elaborated in the upper part to form an ornamented line.

The works collected and revised by Bach probably between 1744 and 1747 and included in the so-called Leipzig Autograph, the Leipziger Originalhandschrift, were largely composed between 1708 and 1717, the years spent in Weimar. The chorale, the congregational hymn of the German Protestant church, had its roots in pre-Reformation practices. Its importance in Lutheran church music may in some respects be compared with the importance in Catholic tradition of plainchant, itself a source for some chorale melodies. As in other fields of music, Bach's varied treatment of the chorale sums up and crowns a long tradition.

Schumann - Complete Organ Music - Roberto Marini (2014) {Brilliant Classics 94721}
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© 2014 Brilliant Classics | 94721
Classical / Romantic / Pipe Organ

Robert Schumann is probably best known for his copious amount of piano works and lieder – music that, fuelled by vivid imaginings and unfettered emotions, represents one of the highest expressions of the Romantic spirit. It shouldn’t be forgotten, however, that the composer also wrote masterly works for the organ, an instrument which interested him only occasionally but which he praised in his Rules for House and Life (1850): ‘If you pass near a church and you hear the organ playing, go inside and listen… Never waste an opportunity to practise the organ: there is no other instrument able so swiftly to dispense with all that is impure and imprecise, both in the music itself and in the manner of playing it.’

The talented organist and harpsichordist Maud Gratton is an artist constantly seeking perfection. A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire, she trained with such great masters as Pierre Hantaï (harpsichord) and Louis Robilliard (organ), as well as with Olivier Baumont, Blandine Rannou, Kenneth Weiss, Michel Bouvard, Olivier Latry, and Olivier Trachier.