Musical contribution - November 2019

(LiVE sample set: Utrecht, Bätz)

Melodie religieuse                                                                                   Auguste Wiegand            (1849-1904)

Until recently, I’d never heard of Auguste Wiegand. His name would probably have remained unknown to me if I hadn’t come across this piece while preparing for a concert with a harpist. It was originally written for organ and harp, but simplifying the harp part makes it easy to perform for solo organ as well.

Wiegand was born in Liège and appeared to be a child prodigy. He was accepted to the conservatory in his birthplace at the age of 10, and would later hold the position of director there. He received many prizes during his studies, and was a well-known concert organist in Belgium, France and England. He was also Sydney’s city organist from 1891 to 1900, which garnered him great fame, both for his mastery of classical organ literature and his programming of popular choir, orchestra and opera arrangements.

The registration instruction comes from Wiegand himself, but he gives hardly any instructions within the piece itself. Given its brevity, perhaps instructions aren’t necessary at all. If, however, you’d still like some variety in the registration of the melody, you could consider using a different leading stop in the bars 19 to 30. Other than that, simply enjoy this wonderful melody!

Best regards,

André