SKU: HL.49044198

ISBN 9790001192897. 9.0x11.75x0.07 inches. German.

The fact that Hermann Schroeder ranks among the most important composers of Catholic church music in the 20th century shows especially in the simple church music form of the choral setting, e. g. in his setting of the sacred song Unuberwindlich starker Held, Sankt Michael. With his own typical archaic tonal language, Schroeder creates an a cappella choral setting (SATB) in which the dignity and the admiration of the heroic deeds of the Archangel Michael find their musical expression in a very compact form. The underlying melody (GL 924) dates from 1623. The author of the text of the Song of Michael is the German hymn writer Friedrich Spee. A very charming choral setting that can be easily mastered by any church choir; its five verses have to be sung alternately by the choir and the congregation. Apart from the a cappella choral setting, the practical congregational edition also contains a chorale prelude and the organ chorale which can, of course, be used as accompaniment for the congregation, but also for the choral setting.

SKU: SU.80101422

Suite circulaire (2018) for organ is dedicated to Elisa Williams Bickers. The music takes a free, contemporary approach to the historical genre of circulating (or modulating) compositions, where the basic material moves through a variety of keys before returning home again. The goal is not simply to play a modulation game, but rather to construct a true musical discourse where the varied keys are an essential part of the concept. The first movement, Praeludium, is bright in character. Besides moving through varied keys, the movement is also animated with various looping patterns that provide another link to the circulating concept. The second movement, Ricercare, takes its content very literally from the title, which means to search out. Instead of being a proto-fugue, like many ricercares from the late Renaissance or early Baroque, the music searches through the keys by means of a wandering melody and a modulating accompaniment. The third movement, Toccata, is slightly manic in character. The syncopated theme heard at the start animates the movement as it moves through both tonal, modal, and bitonal/modal harmonies before reaching an excited conclusion. (When the suite is performed on an organ tuned in an unequal, circulating temperament, there is an additional circular effect provided by the quite varied key colors that are heard as the material moves through them.)Organ Duration: 14’ Composed: 2018 Published by: Zimbel Press.