Musical contribution – February 2021

Agnus Dei Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

(LiVE sample set: Parijs, Cavaillé-Coll)

The French composer Georges Bizet – who created one of the musical pieces we are highlighting this month – was a child prodigy. At the age of nine he enrolled at the Paris Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano, organ and composition. His most celebrated opera, Carmen, was acclaimed by contemporaries such as Wagner, Brahms and Tchaikovsky.

The work we are about to enjoy is not a piece for organ, but is taken from the second suite of L’Arlésienne; the lyrics (‘Agnus Dei’) were added only later on.

The work has a 16-bar introduction, and these bars are repeated at the end. Bars 17 to 45 comprise a stunning song: opera at its finest. I have chosen to play this melody with a leading stop and a warm accompaniment.

Enjoy this gorgeous melody.

Warm regards,

André van Vliet