Musical contribution - February 2018

Élégie - Carl Piutti (1846-1902) (LiVE sample set: Leipzig, Sauer).

This month, the musical highlight coincides nicely with the recently released sample set for the Sauer organ in the Michaeliskirche in Leipzig.

The composer Carl Piutti lived and worked in Leipzig. He lived from 1846-1902, the same time period as the organ builder Sauer (1831-1916), and in fact, they knew each other.

There are sources that claim that Piutti was involved in composing the stop list. Whether or not this is true, I cannot say. However, it is certain that Piutti never heard or played the organ himself, because he died two years before it came into use.

A composition by Piutti has previously been offered, in the summer of 2010. That was a choral arrangement, and we are now offering an ‘Élégie’, which is a lament or melancholic poem. It’s clear to me that this would sound wonderful in the Michaeliskirche in Leipzig. Of the 46 stops in total, this organ already has 15 labial stops based on the 8’ on the three manuals alone. In the recording, you can also hear that appreciative use has been made of this. A 4’ is added just once, only when Piutti explicitly requests it. As for the rest, the rich colour palette of 8’ stops feels like a warm bath in this late Romantic poem.

With musical regards,

André van Vliet