Breitkopf & Härtel publishes new chorale preludes by Klaus Uwe Ludwig

John Collins has been playing and researching early keyboard music for over 35 years, with special interests in the English, Italian, and Iberian repertoires. He has contributed many articles and reviews to several American and European journals, including The Diapason, and has been organist at St. George’s, Worthing, West Sussex, England for over 26 years.

In 2014 there are several composers whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit some of the dates are not known for certain. Some of the names need no introduction but there are also several lesser-known names listed here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness, and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print—there may well also be editions by other publishers.  

Giaches Brumel (ca. 1510–64).French composer who worked at the court in Ferrara from 1532. Ascribed to Brumel are two ricercars (one imitative and one chordal) and a Missa de la Dominica in the manuscripts at Castell Arquato, edited by Knud Jeppesen for Norsk Musikforlag, Oslo, in Die italienische Orgelmusik am Anfang des Cinquecento and more recently, albeit in halved note values, by H. Colin Slim for American Institute of Musicology Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 37, volume 3, which contains a wider selection from the manuscripts. It has been postulated that 14 of the set of 17 ricercars known as the Bourdeney Codex may also be by Brumel. These lengthy contrapuntal works have been edited by Anthony Newcomb for A–R Editions (R89).

Francisco de Peraza (1564–98).Organist in Seville, he left a Medio Registro alto de 1 Tono, the earliest known surviving example of this genre, which became popular in the Iberian repertoire. This has appeared in several anthologies, including American Institute of Musicology’s Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 14: Spanish Organ Music after Antonio de Cabezon, edited by Willi Apel. 

Gregor Aichinger (1564–1628).Organist in Augsburg to the Fuggers, six ricercars and four motet intabulations have been edited by Eberhard Kraus in Cantantibus organis, vol. 7, for Verlag Friedrich Pustet. A further motet intabulation is included in Altbaierische Orgelmusik, vol. 1, edited by Eberhard Kraus for Noetzel. 

Giovanni de Macque (ca. 1550–1614). Born in Flanders, he came to Naples ca. 1585, becoming head of the vice-regal chapel in 1599. He was the teacher of Ascanio Mayone and Giovanni Maria Trabaci, both of whom published two volumes of highly influential pieces. De Macque published copious amounts of madrigals but no keyboard works; however, almost 40 pieces survive in manuscripts. These include eight canzonas, four capriccios, two stravaganzes, a consonanze stravaganti, a durezze e ligature, an intrata, a toccata a modo di Trombetta and a set of variations on Ruggiero, which have been edited by Liuwe Tamminga (vol. 1), and 14 ricercars (the first book of 12 published ricercars set for keyboard together with a further two thought to be from the second book), edited by Armando Carideo (vol. 2); both volumes are published by Il Levante (available through La Stanza della Musica). The first set of 12 ricercars has also been edited by Christopher Stembridge for Zanibon. This edition includes a comprehensive discussion of the modes and their affects, along with the registration prescribed by Diruta. The ricercars are the first to present the different subjects at the beginning of the piece. The durezze and stravaganze are highly chromatic compositions. The older edition by Watelet and Piscaer for Monumenta Musica Belgae also contains Partite sopra Zefiro de Rinaldo attributed by the editor to de Macque; this, however, is almost certainly a set of partite on Zefiro composed by Rinaldo dell’Arpa. 

Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612). Primarily known today for his vocal music, he studied organ in Venice with Andrea Gabrieli and became a leading player in Augsburg. He left a substantial corpus of keyboard works of considerable scope and length, most of it preserved in the Turin manuscripts, including eight toccatas, 18 ricercari, 18 canzone, fourteen Magnificats, an organ Mass, four fugues, and two sets of variations. Problems of attribution have occurred with pieces variously ascribed to Sweelinck, Christian Erbach, and Giovanni Gabrieli. A good selection, as well as the variations on Ich ging einmal spazieren, was edited by Georges Kiss for Schott and Sons. The toccatas were edited by S. Stribos for the American Institute of Musicology, and the Magnificats by A. Carpene for Il Levante Libreria. A few other pieces from other manuscript sources have been included in various anthologies, including 25 of the 39 intabulated songs from his Lustgarten of 1601, edited by M. Böcker for Breitkopf & Härtel. The complete works from the Turin manuscripts are available in two volumes, edited by W. Thein and U. Wethmüller for Breitkopf & Härtel. A further volume containing the complete remaining keyboard works from other sources has been in preparation for some time. These supersede the edition of a small selection of pieces by Hassler and Erbach, edited by Ernst von Werra ca. 1903 for Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern, second series, vol. IV, no. 2. 

Franz Tunder (1614–67). Organist of the Marienkirche, Lübeck, he left about 17 compositions in manuscripts, including five praeludia exemplifying early use of the Stylus Phantasticus and a canzona, along with 11 chorale settings, of which six are fantasias. Auf meinen lieben Gott is set for two manuals without pedal, Jesus Christus, wahr Gottes Sohn is for single manual and pedals, and Jesus Christus, unser Heiland has three separate variations, of which the first includes much use of double pedal. Two further chorale settings in the Pelpin manuscripts originally attributed to Scheidemann have now been tentatively attributed to Tunder. All pieces have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel.  

Benjamin Rogers (1614–98). Organist at Eton and Oxford, he left sacred and secular vocal music, consort music, and 17 keyboard works of which the great majority are dances better suited to stringed keyboard instruments. Two, however, are voluntaries and are more suited to performance on the organ. All pieces have been edited by Richard Rastall for Stainer & Bell. 

Charles Racquet (1597–1664). Organist in Paris, he left 12 versets de psaume en duo, which was printed in Mersenne’s Harmonie universelle, Paris, 1636–37, and a large–scale Fantasie in manuscript. All have been edited along with works by De Bourges, N. de la Grotte, and D. Gaultier by Jean Bonfils in L’Organiste Liturgique, xxix–xxx for Schola Cantorum et de la Procure générale de musique.

Georg Leyding (1664–1710). He had lessons with Buxtehude and became organist in Brunswick. Although Walther mentions his many keyboard pieces, only five organ compositions have survived in manuscripts, including three praeludia with demanding pedal parts (C, B-flat and E-flat), a set of variations on Von Gott will ich nicht lassen and a prelude on Wie schön leucht uns der Morgenstern. These have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel.

Johann Speth (1664–1720). Organist in Augsburg, he published Ars Magna Consoni et Dissoni… in 1693, which contains ten toccatas, Magnificats on the eight tones that include a praeambulum, five verses, and a finale (some verses are actually by Poglietti, Kerll, and Froberger), and three sets of partitas for manuals only, each with six variations. Although the preface states that these pieces are all playable on the clavichord, the toccatas and Magnificats contain an obbligato pedal part, although this is either octave doubling or long held notes. All were edited (alas, without the original preface) by Traugott Fedke for Bärenreiter and there is a facsimile published by Early Music in Facsimile, Edition Helbling, Innsbruck, with a preface by Rupert Frieberger.  

Pablo Nassarre (1664–1724). Blind from infancy, he was organist in Zaragoza, and is best known today for his theoretical works, Fragmentos músicos and Escuela música, según la práctica moderna, which are available in facsimile. He also left five organ pieces, including three tocatas [sic] edited by José Llorens for Diputación Provincial de Barcelona and a tiento partido and two versos from a manuscript in Astorga, edited by José Alvarez in Colección de obras de órgano de organistas españoles del siglo XVII for Union Musical Española. 

Pierre Dandrieu (1664–1733). Organist and priest in Paris, he left a book of 36 noëls with variations, similar in style to those in Lebègue’s third book, and five other pieces including a carillon. Pierre’s book appeared in several editions from 1714 up to 1759, and 37 pieces were reworked by his nephew Jean-François for a publication that also included 11 of the latter’s noëls. Edited by Roger Hugon for La Sociéte Française de Musicologie and published by Heugel. A facsimile edition of the prints of 1729/59 has been published by Fuzeau.

Guillaume Gabriel Nivers (1632–1714). Organist of St. Sulpice, Paris, his Livre d’orgue contenant cent pieces de tous les tons de l’église of 1665 is the earliest known of such volumes presenting a group of pieces by tone (12 in this case, the first two having 10 verses, the rest eight), with highly individual and specific registrations. There is a comprehensive explanation of the tempi, registration, and ornament signs. He published two further volumes: 2e livre d’orgue contenant la messe et les hymnes de l’église in 1667, which contains a Mass and 25 hymn settings, and 3e livre d’orgue des huit tons de l’église in 1675. He also published some vocal and much liturgical music. The first two Livres d’orgue have been edited by Norbert Dufourcq for Editions Bornemann and the third Livre by him for Heugel. All three Livres are available in facsimile from Fuzeau. The third Livre is also published by Societé Française de Musicologie (EZ.SFM20). 

Franz Matthias Techelmann (ca. 1649–1714). Two sets of pieces (in A minor and C major) comprising Toccata, Canzona, Ricercar, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue (or Minuet in C major set) survive in an autograph manuscript, of which the non-dance elements work well on the organ. Between the ricercar and the dances in the A minor set there is an aria (with 30 variations). The non-dance movements in A minor have been edited by Laura Cerutti for Edizione Carrara, and a complete edition by Herwig Knaus for Denkmäler Tonkunst Osterreich vol. 115 also includes 13 dance suites, which may be by Techelmann or possibly Kerll. 

Diego Xarava (1652–ca. 1714). Nephew of Pablo Bruna and organist of the Capilla Real, Madrid, he left two pieces in the extensive Martin y Coll Manuscript 1357: an Ydea Buena y fuga por a la mi re (the fuga occurs separately in the Jaca manuscript), and an Obra en lleno de 3 Tono. These have been edited by Carlo Stella and Vittorio Vinay for Zanibon, available through Armelin, and by Julián Sagasta in vol. 2 of Tonos de Palacio y Canciones Comunes for Union Musical Española.  

Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714–88). Fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian, he is well known today for his many sonatas, fantasias, rondos, and miscellaneous pieces for stringed keyboard instruments, as well as his important treatise on playing keyboard instruments (Versuch über die wahre Art…). He left only a few pieces specifically for organ, including a set of six sonatas for Princess Amalie, edited by Peter Hauschild and Gerhard Weinberger and a Prelude in D, six fugues, a trio, two chorale preludes, and five chorale arrangements edited by Jochen Reutter and Gerhard Weinberger, both volumes published by Wiener Urtext. The edition of the organ works as part of the complete C. P. E. Bach edition has been edited by Annette Richards and David Yearsley as volume 1/9 for Packard Humanities Institute (this volume omits the sonata Wq 70/1). Four further fugues have been edited by Wilhelm Poot for Interlude Music Productions. 

Gottfried Homilius (1714–85) studied with J. S. Bach and became organist in Dresden in 1742. In addition to Passions, a cantata cycle, Magnificat settings and motets, he left 41 chorale preludes, of which 38 have been edited by Christoph Albrecht and published by Breitkopf & Härtel, and five organ pieces from a privately owned manuscript in Dresden have been edited by Christoph Albrecht and published by Leutkirch: Pro Organo. Thirty-eight chorale preludes for organ and melody instrument have been edited by Ellen Exner and Uwe Wolf for Carus Verlag. 

Johann Anton Kobrich (1714–91).  Organist in Landsberg, in addition to vocal music he left several sets of Parthien better suited to stringed keyboard instruments, although the two sets of Der clavierspielende Schäfer are described as “Welche sowohl in der Kirche als auch zu Hause können producirt and gebraucht werden.” Of his organ collections unfortunately most, including 20 toccatas, six sonatas, and pieces suitable for Offertory, Elevation, and Communion, remain unpublished in modern editions. Selected pieces from these sets have been edited by A. Maisch and published by Albert J. Kunzelmann. Figuralische Choral–Zierde, his collection of preludes and versets in the eight church tones was edited by Rudolph Walter for Alfred Coppenrath, Alttötting and is now available from Carus Verlag. Several pastorales that were appended to the first set of Der clavierspielende Schäfer have been edited by Gerhard Weinberger and published by Anton Böhm & Sohn.

Johann Mattheson (1681–1764). Better known today for his numerous theoretical works, he left a small collection of keyboard works, mainly for stringed keyboard instruments, but Die wolhklingende Fingersprache (containing 12 fugues, some with dances) of 1735 and 1737 is also suited to the organ. Edited by Lothar Hoffman-Erbrecht for Breitkopf & Härtel. 

John Reading (ca. 1685–1764). Organist at Lincoln and various London churches and an influential teacher, he compiled several volumes of keyboard music for organ and harpsichord, in addition to vocal music, of which three containing organ pieces (voluntaries and psalm settings) are preserved at Dulwich College, one at Tokyo, and one at Manchester. They are unique sources for many pieces, including his own compositions. A comprehensive selection of the Dulwich volumes has been edited by Robin Langley as volume 3 of the ten-volume series of English organ music for Novello; it includes early versions of voluntaries by Stanley. 

Johann Xavier Nauss (ca. 1690–1764). Organist in Augsburg, he published several volumes of keyboard music, of which the two parts of Die spielende Muse—consisting of preludes, verses, finale, aria (1st to 6th tones) or pastorella (7th and 8th tones) and fugue on the 8 tones, plus a set in E major—have been edited in one volume by Rudolph Waters for Alfred Coppenrath, Alttötting, which is now available from Carus Verlag. 

Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (1686–1764). Son of Johann, and organist in Nuremberg, he left two Praeludia und Fugen, a toccata, and two chorale settings, which have been edited by Hans Möseler and Traugott Fedke for Bärenreiter. 

Charles Burney (1726–1814). Also better known today for his numerous writings on music including The Present State of Music in France and Italy, The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Provinces, and his monumental General History of Music in four volumes, which just beat the similar publication by Sir John Hawkins. He also wrote articles for Rees’s Cyclopaedia. Burney left some vocal music, a set of concerti, and several sets of sonatas for harpsichord solo and duet, along with chamber pieces, and a set of VI Cornet Pieces and a Fugue (1751), which comprises an Introduction in E minor followed by six Cornet movements and concludes with a fugue in the still-rare key of F minor. Around 1787, Burney published Preludes, Interludes and Fugues Book I, which includes pieces in keys from A to C; no trace of the second book survives, if indeed it was ever printed. These two publications have been edited by David Patrick and published by Fitzjohn Music. 

Abbé Georg Vogler (1749–1814). Widely traveled with the electoral court, organ designer and teacher, he left theater productions, symphonies, and concerti, and several collections of organ music, which remain largely unpublished in modern editions. 112 Petites preludes pour l’orgue ou le clavecin, op. 16, has been edited by Joachim Dorfmüller for Rob Forberg. A collection of 32 preludes has been edited by Armin Kircher for Carus Verlag, and, together with his Pièces de clavecin of 1798, by Floyd Grave for A–R Editions (C24).

Nicolò Moretti (1764–1821) left some 29 organ works; 17 (including 13 sonatas, a pastorale, two rondos, and an adagio) have been edited by A. Aroma, the others (including four sonatas, a sinfonia, Elevazione, versets, concertino, rondo, marcia, pastorale, and polacca) by Aroma, S. Carmelos and G. Simionato. Both volumes were published by Paideia Brescia for Bärenreiter, and are now available from Armelin.

Matthew Camidge (1764–1844). After time as a chorister at the Chapel Royal under Nares, he returned to York, where he became organist of the Minster. He published mainly church music, a set of instructions for the pianoforte or harpsichord, and left a set of six multi-movement (including a fugue) concertos for the organ or pianoforte in (ca.) 1815, in which he endeavored to imitate the styles of Handel and Corelli. Edited by Greg Lewin and published by Greg Lewin Music. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications/manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printer’s errors) to selected individual works, are to be found on various free download sites, most noticeably IMSLP; however, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be treated with caution before use. Publishers’ websites include: 

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

Breitkopf & Hartel: www.breitkopf.com

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com 

Armelin: www.armelin.it

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Butz Verlag: www.butz-verlag.de 

Edizioni Carrara: www.edizionicarrara.it

American Institute of Musicology—Corpus of Early Keyboard Music series: www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm.htm 

Fitzjohn Music: www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic.htm 

Wiener Urtext: www.wiener–urtext.com  

Denkmäler Tonkunst Osterreich: 

www.dtoe.at

C.P.E. Bach complete works (Packard): www.cpebach.org 

Interlude Publications: www.interlude.nl 

A–R Editions: www.areditions.com 

Editions Bornemann: 

www.alphonseleduc.com 

Fuzeau: www.editions-classique.com   

Société française de musicology: 

www.sfmusicologie.fr 

Verlag Friedrich Pustet: 

www.verlag-pustet.de 

Greg Lewin Music: www.greglewin.co.uk

Heinrichshofen Verlag and Noetzel: www.heinrichshofen.de  

Norsk Musikforlag: 

www.norskmusikforlag.no  

Stainer & Bell: www.stainer.co.uk 

Schola Cantorum: 

www.schola-editions.com

Helbling Verlag: 

www.helbling-verlag.de 

In 2015 there are several composers whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit some of the dates are not known for certain; some of the names need no introduction but there are also several lesser-known names listed here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print—there may well also be editions by other publishers.

Christopher Gibbons (1615–76).Eldest surviving son of Orlando Gibbons, he was organist of the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey; only a few compositions for keyboard survive in various manuscripts, comprising two short pieces (corrente and saraband) for harpsichord, four verses or voluntaries and three verses or double voluntaries (i.e. requiring two manuals for their execution), with passages for solos on Cornet, Sesquialtera, and Trumpet. Some versions of these double voluntaries seem to have been considerably amended and elongated by the scribe. All nine pieces have been re-edited by John Caldwell for American Institute of Musicology’s Corpus of Early Keyboard Music series (CEKM 18). 

Spiridionis a Monte Carmelo (1615–85). German organist, who traveled widely in Belgium, Germany, and Prague before taking a position in Bamberg in 1664. He composed sacred music and also published a two-volume keyboard tutor, Nova instructio pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordiis, in Bamberg, of which the first part, which appeared in 1670, contained a very large number of cadences, 35 canzonas, and 15 dances including corrente, and the second part, which appeared the following year, contains mainly cadenzas, as well as ten canzonettas, seven toccatinas, two gagliardas, and four corrente. Part three contains more formulas for cadentiae followed by ligaturae and trilli; part four contains the actuarium for parts one and two, an aria, allemanda, sarabanda, and modus variandi. A modern edition by Edoardo Bellotti of parts one and two has been published by Andromeda. Parts three and four have also been edited by Bellotti and published by Il Levante, obtainable via La Stanza della Musica, Rome (www.lastanzadellamusica.com).

Gregorio Strozzi (ca. 1615–after 1687). Organist in Naples and doctor in both civil and canon law, in addition to sacred works he left a Capricci da sonare cembali et organi, published in open score in Naples in 1687, which is indebted to Trabaci, Mayone, and Frescobaldi, its 31 pieces covering the main compositional genres of the time including three capriccios, three ricercatas, three sonatas, four toccatas, two balletti, three gagliardas, three sets of variations, eight correntes, a mascara, and a Toccata de passacagli. This important print has been re-edited by Barton Hudson for American Institute of Musicology in the Corpus of Early Keyboard Music series (CEKM 11).

Heinrich Bach (1615–92). Great uncle of Johann Sebastian and organist in Arnstadt, almost all of his compositions in various genres have unfortunately been lost. He was the father of Johann Christoph and Johann Michael Bach, who also became composers. For keyboard he left a Chaconne in A, edited by Laura Cerutti for Armelin, and two chorale preludes, on Erbarm dich mein and Da Jesu an dem Kreuze stund, included in Organ Works by the Bach Family, edited by Diethard Hellmann for Edition Peters.

Tarquinio Merula (ca. 1594–1665). Organist and violinist active mainly in Cremona, he published a number of sacred concertos, Mass and psalm settings, as well as madrigals and ensemble canzonas. Fourteen keyboard works have survived in manuscripts, including a chromatic Capriccio and Sonata, the former based on the chromatic tetrachord, the latter on a figure covering a major ninth by semitone (!), although many subsequent entries are limited to the tetrachord. There are three intonazioni cromatiche (which may well be incorrectly attributed), a toccata (which contains a fugal section sandwiched between sections akin to Merula’s toccatas but lacking his inventiveness), a capriccio with an insistent rhythmic figure and much sequential writing, and five canzonas, of which the first, an arrangement of his ensemble piece La Loda, has basic similarities to the capriccio, and the second is based on an intriguing sequence of four descending broken triads. The next three canzone have been attributed tentatively to Merula, no. 3 being a version of his ensemble Canzona La Marca. All of these pieces together with a cromatica by Soncino and a  canzona by Fasolo have been edited by Alan Curtis and published by L’Organo, Brescia, as Monumenti di Musica Italiana Series 1, Organo e Cembalo, vol. 1, available from Armelin. There is also a reprint by Kalmus, which lacks the introduction. 

Wolfgang Ebner (1612–1665). Organist of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, and court organist, contemporary with Froberger. Three works certainly by him include three toccatas, a courante, a Capriccio sopra L’aria Pergamasco, the Partite sopra l’Aria Favorita with seven variations, and the 36 variations divided into three groups of 12 (the second and third groups being in the form of a courante and sarabande) on an Aria in A Minor composed by Ferdinand III. Works of uncertain authenticity include 56 versets encompassing various forms (i.e. toccata, capriccio, fugue in the eight church modes), eight of which are variants of pieces by Froberger and one by Frescobaldi, two preludes, a partita in A, and eight individual dance movements. Published by Bärenreiter in 2 volumes, edited by Siegbert Rampe, the publication also includes keyboard works by Georg Muffat. 

Nikolaus Bruhns (1665–97). Pupil of Buxtehude, he became organist in Husum in 1689. Comparatively well known to players today, particularly for his preludes in E minor, Bruhns was also a highly skilled violinist who, according to undoubtedly reliable contemporary accounts, accompanied his violin playing at the organ by a bass played with great dexterity on the pedals. None of his organ works were printed in his lifetime, and no autograph manuscripts have survived. His small opus survived in a virtually unbroken transmission in both manuscripts of the 18th century and printed editions from the 19th forward. He wrote chamber music, which regrettably has not survived, and 12 cantatas, and left four brilliant praeludia for organ in manuscripts—multi-sectional, and clearly showing the influence of his teacher as well as echo devices. A highly ornamented Chorale Fantasia on Nun komm der Heiden Heiland also shows continuation of the North German tradition of Scheidemann, Reincken, and Tunder. Modern editions, which also include an adagio and a praeludium, of which only fragments survive, have been prepared by Klaus Beckmann, published by Schott in the series Masters of the North German School vol. 13, and also edited by Harald Vogel for Breitkopf & Hartel.

Johann Hanff (1665–1712). Organist in Hamburg and Schleswig, only three of his cantatas and six chorale preludes survive in manuscripts. Five of the preludes are in a similar style to Buxtehude’s, with highly ornamented melodies in the right hand, but in Erbarm dich mein two verses are set, the second verse opening with a fugue based on the descending chromatic fourth before reverting to a right hand solo of the ornamented melody. They have been edited by Ewald Kooiman for Harmonia Uitgave, Incognita Organo Part 7. 

Johann Fischer (ca. 1665–1746). Kapellmeister to Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, he published chamber and vocal music. His keyboard works include four sets of pieces, comprising two sets of suites for harpsichord/clavichord in 1696 and 1738, which show the French influence, and two sets of pieces for the organ, which show a more Italianate influence. Musikalischer Blumenstrauss of 1732 is a collection of pieces on the eight tones comprising a praeludium, six fugues, and finale for each tone. Ariadne Musica, of 1702 and 1715, contains 20 short preludes and fugues, each in a different key (including B, E-flat, and A-flat major, B, F#, and C# minor), which were known to J. S. Bach, who used some of the subjects in his Well-Tempered Clavier, and five ricercars on hymns for Advent, Christmas, Quadragesima, Passiontide, and Easter. 

The complete keyboard music has been edited by Ernst von Werra for Breitopf & Hartel. The Ariadne has been edited by Ernst Kaller for Schott as Liber Organi vol. 7 and the Musikalischer Blumenstrauss by Rudolph Walter for Musikverlag Alfred Coppenrath, Altötting as Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock vol. 1, available through Carus Verlag. Facsimile editions have been published by Broude Bros in the Performers’ Facsimiles series nos. 197 (Ariadne) and 199 (Musikalischer Blumenstrauss). 

Johann Molter (1696–1765). German organist in Eisenach and Karlsruhe whose comprehensive works embrace all genres. Six chorale arrangements have been edited by Siegbert Rampe for Bärenreiter in German Organ and Keyboard Music from Bach’s Period.

Xarava y Bruna (ca. 1640–1715).Nephew of Pablo Bruna. Two pieces by him, an Ydea Vuena por a la mi re and fuga, and an Obra en lleno de 3 Tono (a tiento accidental found in the Jaca manuscript is a short version of the fuga), are to be found in one of the Martín y Coll manuscripts, and have been edited by Julian Sagasta for Union Musical Española in Tonos de Palacio y Canciones Communes vol. 2, and by Carlo Stella and Vittorio Vinay for Zanibon in Composizioni Inedite dal ‘Flores de Musica’ di Antonio Martin y Coll. 

Georg Wagenseil (1715–77). Organist and composer to the court in Vienna, he composed operas, chamber music, concerti, and organ and harpsichord music. Although considered as one of the most important Viennese composers of the 18th century, very few of his many keyboard works have been published, and conspicuous by their absence are the organ works, including 97 versets in various tones, a cycle of Praeambula and Versets on the Eight Tones, and numerous other individual pieces. Five pieces have been edited by Erich Benedikt and included in Viennese Organ Music from around 1750 published by Doblinger as DM1335 in the Diletto Musicale series, including a praeludium on the 1st and on the 2nd tones, a Fuga in D Minor, a piece titled Das Glockengeläut zu Rom dem Vatican (in C minor), and an Andante in D minor taken from the third Divertimento of opus 1, better perhaps suited to stringed keyboard instruments. 

James Nares (1715–83). Became organist of York Minster in 1735. In addition to much sacred music including services and secular vocal music, he left several publications for keyboard including two sets of lessons for harpsichord and a set of six fugues with introductory voluntaries for organ or harpsichord, which are available in a modern edition by Greg Lewin as well as in facsimile from Oxford University Press. Only nos. 1, 3, and 5 are preceded by an introduction. Also available in facsimile from Oxford University Press is Il Principio, or A Regular Introduction to Playing on the harpsichord or Organ, which gives basic information on ornamentation and fingering followed by a graduated series of pieces.

Georg Reichardt (1715–89). Pupil of Jakob Adlung. His Sechs fugierte Orgeltrios have been edited by Rudolph Walter for Hänssler Verlag and are available from Carus Verlag. 

Charles-Joseph van Helmont (1715–90). Organist in Brussels, he composed a large quantity of sacred vocal music including Masses and motets and a much smaller amount of secular vocal music. His keyboard works comprise the Pièces de clavecin of 1737, which include two suites, the pieces of which have French titles. The first suite and four fugues have been edited by J. Watelet and published by Vereniging voor Muziekgeschiedenis te Antwerpen in 1948 as Monumenta Musicae Belgicae vol. 6 (also contains pieces by Dieudonné Raick), with the second set edited by Laura Cerutti for Armelin, with a facsimile edition published by Anne Fuzeau. The complete set of Six Fugues has been edited by Jan Vanmol for Calcant.

Johann Doles (1715–97). Pupil of Bach in Leipzig, where he became Kantor, he composed much sacred and secular vocal music, harpsichord sonatas, and some chorale preludes, of which four pieces from the fifth volume of Singbare und leichte Choralvorspiele has been edited by Eberhard Hofmann for Musica Rinata in Orgelpräludien vom Barock zur Klassik. 

John Alcock Sr. (1715–1806). Organist at Lichfield Cathedral from 1750 until 1765, and thereafter at Sutton Coldfield and Tamworth, he composed sacred choral music, numerous secular vocal works, Six Suites of Easy Lessons and a Trumpet Tune for the harpsichord, which has been edited by Richard Jones and published by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, as Easier Piano Pieces (vol. 15), and a set of Ten Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord, a new edition of which has been edited and published by Greg Lewin.

Carlmann Kolb (1703–65). Organist of the community of Asbach and priest, he left a sinfonia for harpsichord and strings and the Certamen aonium published in 1733, a set of pieces on the eight tones, including a fairly expansive prelude, 3 fugal verses in a variety of styles and meters, and a toccata-like cadenza. Some of the preludes, particularly the third, are almost extravagantly eccentric in their modulations and dramatic rests. Modern editions by Rudolf Walter for Musikverlag Alfred Coppenrath, Altötting as Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock vol. 5, available through Carus Verlag, and by Gregor Klaus for Willy Müller Süddeutscher Musikverlag, available from Bärenreiter.

Jose Ferrer (1745–1815). Organist in various Spanish cathedrals, including Oviedo, he composed mainly secular and chamber music. Seven sonatas for keyboard by him are preserved in a manuscript now in Zaragoza, and a further six have been attributed to him on stylistic grounds, although as no. 8 is by Domenico Scarlatti, it may well be that further pieces are by other composers. Many of the sonatas are far better suited to stringed keyboard instruments but nos. 9–11 sound well on the organ. All 13 sonatas have been edited as Sonatas para Clave by Dionisio Preciado and published by Real Musical, Madrid, as Teclado Espanol Siglo XVIII, vol. 1. No. 2 in G minor and a further Sonata in C Minor, both taken from MS 1665 at Montserrat, are included in Early Spanish keyboard music: an anthology—Vol. 3, The eighteenth century, edited by Barry Ife and Roy Truby for Oxford University Press.

Pietro Morandi (1745–1815). After studying with Padre Martini in Bologna he worked in Pergola and Senigallia cathedrals. He composed sacred and secular vocal and damatic music and also left 12 Concerti per L’Organo solo, with instructions for registration, and twenty sonatas and sinfonias, all of which have been edited in four volumes by Maurizio Machella for Armelin. 

Giuseppe Gherardeschi (1759–1815). Organist in Pistoia, first of S. Maria dell Umiltà and then the cathedral, he composed much sacred vocal music and several sonatas for harpsichord or fortepiano plus violin and also concerti. His numerous organ compositions, which include versetti, offertorios, elevazioni, sonatas, and rondos, contain precise instructions for registration, including drum pedals and toy stops such as the Uccello. Many have been edited by Umberto Pineschi in Musiche pistoiesi per organo (Biblioteca Classica dell’Organista, vol. M05 and M06), Antologia del Settecento organistico pistoiese (Biblioteca Classica dell’Organista, vol. 19), Musiche d’organo a Pistoia (Biblioteca Classica dell’Organista, vol. 30); Letteratura organistica toscana dal XVII al XIX secolo (Accademia di musica italiana per organo, Pistoia). Some twenty pieces have been edited by Maurizio Machella in two volumes for Armelin as L’organo Italiano nell’Ottocento (OIO 222 and OIO 223). An official download of Gherardeschi’s complete organ works, together with many other pieces from the Pistoia cathedral archives, is available from www.accademiagherardeschi.it/eng-partiture.php?id_sezione=6 for a payment of 10 Euros.

Domenico Puccini (1772–1815). organist in Lucca and grandfather of the famous opera composer, he composed both sacred and secular vocal music, as well as operas. He left 42 one-movement sonatas for organ in manuscripts, which have been edited in four volumes by Maurizio Machella for Armelin. A further volume contains sonatas for violin with accompaniment for organ or fortepiano. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications/manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printer’s errors) to modern versions of complete or individual works, are to be found on various free download sites, most noticeably IMSLP; however, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be treated with caution before use. 

Publishers’ websites 

American Institute of Musicology—CEKM series:
www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm.htm 

Armelin: www.armelin.it

Associated Board: shop.abrsm.org

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com  

Breitkopf & Hartel:  www.breitkopf.com  

Broude Bros: www.broude.us 

Calcant: www.janvanmol.be 

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Doblinger Verlag: www.doblinger-verlag.at

Fuzeau: www.editions-classique.com     

Greg Lewin Music: www.greglewin.co.uk

Monumenta Musicae Belgicae: www.dbnl.org 

Musica Rinata: www.berliner-chormusik-verlag.de

OUP: ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/music.do 

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

In 2013 there are several composers whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit some of the dates are not known for certain; there are a few lesser-known names here whose compositions are well worth exploring. 

John Bull (ca. 1563–1628). Organist of Hereford Cathedral, Chapel Royal, and, after fleeing the country in 1613 when charged with adultery, Brussels and Antwerp, he composed a large amount of keyboard music, much of which poses extreme difficulties for the player, including fast runs in thirds and sixths for both hands. There are doubts over ascriptions in some manuscripts, and there is also the possibility that some unascribed works may in fact be by him. A few pieces were included in Parthenia in 1612–13. Some 18 fantasias, as well as ostinati, liturgical pieces (over 30, including 12 In Nomine settings), and five Dutch carol settings have been edited by John Steele and Francis Cameron, revised by Alan Brown for Musica Britannica, Vol. 14 (although in some pieces the note values have been halved) and, more suitable for stringed keyboard instruments, many dances, variations, and character pieces have been edited by Thurston Dart in Vol. 19. A good selection is included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (modern edition by J. Fuller Maitland and
W. Barclay Squire for Dover). An excellent book on the keyboard works is The Keyboard Music of John Bull by Walker Cunningham (1984). 

Giles Farnaby (ca. 1563–1640) composed vocal music and over 50 pieces for keyboard, including 11 highly individual fantasias, pavans, variations, other dances (including an alman for two virginals), and descriptive character pieces, almost all of which are included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Modern complete edition of Farnaby’s Keyboard Music, edited by Richard Marlow, in Musica Britannica, Vol. 24. 

Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595–1663). Pupil of Sweelinck and organist of the Katharinenkirche, Hamburg, he left a large corpus of keyboard music in manuscript, including over 30 chorale preludes. These range from short single-verse settings to lengthy fantasias and multi-verse settings, and 12 motet intabulations (most of which require pedals), Magnificat settings on the eight tones, unusually with only four verses, and one additional fantasia-like one-verse setting on the eighth tone, all of which require pedals, and some 20 praeambulae, fugues, fantasias, canzonas, and toccatas, most of which are for manuals only. Three of the latter, along with another 27 variations and dances, all manuals only, and particularly suited to stringed keyboard instruments, have been edited by Pieter Dirksen for Breitkopf & Härtel (EB8688). The keyboard works have been edited by Klaus Beckmann (vols. 1–3) and Claudia Schumacher (vol. 4, motets) for Schott Music. The earlier edition (in three volumes, omitting the motets) by Gustav Fock for Bärenreiter does contain several pieces that have recently been excised from the canon but are nevertheless attractive, including some chorale preludes. An invaluable book on the keyboard works is Heinrich Scheidemann’s Keyboard Music by Pieter Dirksen (2007). 

Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (1663–1712). Organist in Halle and teacher of Handel, he left some 53 chorale preludes (including a splendid set of 12 variations on Jesu meine Freude), the great majority of which are playable on one manual and do not require pedals, and 13 secular pieces that are also suitable for the clavichord, including preludes, fugues, fantasia, capriccio, and a Suite in B Minor. There are modern editions by Heinz Lohmann for Breitkopf & Härtel, and Klaus Beckmann for Schott, which omits the suite. 

Franz Xaver Murschhauser (1663–1738). Organist in Munich, where he studied with Kerll, he published three volumes for organ, of which the first in 1696 included sets of a preambulum, five fugues, and a finale on the eight tones, followed by four sets of variations for the Christmas season, including one with cuckoo imitations, and a suite. The second volume (published in two parts in 1703 and 1707) includes praeambulae, toccatas, canzonas, and fugues on the first to third, seventh, eighth, and tenth to twelfth tones, many of which do not require pedals; a set of eight arias with variations and three Weihnachts-lieder with variations was published as op. 7. All three volumes are edited by Rudolph Walter for Alfred Coppenrath, obtainable from Carus Verlag. The suite is found only in the Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern edition of ca. 1904. 

Giuseppe Paganelli (1710–63) worked in Venice, Bayreuth, Munich, and Madrid, where he may have succeeded Domenico Scarlatti. In 1756 he published XXX Ariae Pro Organo et Cembalo, a collection of short one-movement binary-form pieces intended for the Elevation. Modern edition by M. Machella for Armelin AMM163. He also published sonatas and sonatinas for stringed keyboard instruments.

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–82), pupil of J. S. Bach, organist at Altenburg, left a large corpus of organ works in manuscript. Edited in four volumes by G. Weinberger for Breitkopf & Härtel, the secular works comprise seven preludes and fugues, two toccatas and fugues in volume one, with seven praeludia, three fantasias, two fantasias and fugues, twelve fugues, and 17 trios in volume two. Volume three includes some 34 chorale preludes and volume four contains the Clavierübung erste Lieferung, or 13 chorales in three movements (praeambulum, chorale with melody and figured bass, and a chorale alio modo in the form of a prelude). There are also some 20 pieces for organ and obbligato solo instrument. Krebs published numerous works for stringed keyboard instruments, including sonatas, sonatinas, and suites. Some of the sonatas and sonatinas work well on the organ and are available from Carus Verlag, which also publishes Six Fugues; some of these require pedals for sustaining long notes rather than for the performance of one of the voices. A set of six newly discovered sonatas has been published by Dr. J. Butz Musikverlag and was reviewed in The Organ, no. 358.  

William Russell (1777–1813). Organist of St. Anne’s, Limehouse, he published two sets of Twelve Voluntaries for organ or pianoforte in 1804 and 1812; the 1804 set concludes with a three-movement voluntary in C minor followed by two movements in C major, which can be considered as two separate voluntaries. These voluntaries contain writing that is technically advanced, using the galant language of Haydn and Mozart, with several pieces containing an independent pedal part on a third stave as well as indications for its use in the two-stave layout.  There are several occurrences of the figure 8 beneath bass passages, which refers either to playing them in octaves or in employing the pedals. Dialogues between Cremona and Hautboy, as well as Trumpet movements in E-flat, C minor and E minor are included, and the Cornet movements conclude with a passage for the Diapasons, following contemporary treatises. Voluntaries VII–XII in the first set, and VIII–XII in the second conclude with extended fugues. Modern editions of both sets by Geoffrey Atkinson for Fagus Music and Greg Lewin for Greg Lewin music. The Atkinson edition of the 1812 set contains an extra voluntary in G edited by Gillian Ward Russell.  

A composer who left no works for solo keyboard but whose works for other instruments have been extensively transcribed for keyboard is Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713). Although many of his chamber sonatas and concerti were arranged during the 18th century, only a few are available in modern editions. Those that are available include Edward Miller’s adaptations of opp. 1 and 3, edited by Jörg Jacobi for Edition Baroque (eba4001/12), and Thomas Billington’s adaptations of the Celebrated 12 Concertos available in Performers’ Facsimiles PF94.

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications/manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printer’s errors) to selected individual works, are to be found on various free download sites, most noticeably IMSLP.org; however, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be treated with caution before use. Publishers’ websites include: 

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

Breitkopf & Härtel: www.breitkopf.com  

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com  

Armelin: www.armelin.it

Cornetto Verlag: www.cornetto-music.de 

Stainer & Bell: www.stainer.co.uk 

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Dover: www.doverbooks.co.uk  

Edition Baroque: www.edition-baroque.de 

Butz Verlag: www.butz-verlag.de

John Collins has been playing and researching early keyboard music for over 35 years, with special research interests in the English, Italian, and Iberian repertoires. He has contributed many reviews and articles on repertoire and performance practice, including translations and commentaries on treatises in German, Spanish, and Portuguese, to European and American journals, including The Diapason. He has been organist at St. George’s Church, Worthing, UK, since June 1984.

In 2017 the anniversaries of numerous composers can be commemorated, albeit some of their birth and death dates are not known for certain. Some names need no introduction, but there are also several lesser-known names here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness, and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print—there may well also be editions by other publishers. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete, original publications or manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs and original printer’s errors) to modern versions of complete or individual works, can be found on various free download sites, most notably IMSLP. However, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be used with caution. 

Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450–1517), a leading Flemish contemporary of Josquin, left much vocal and also some instrumental music. Some 19 intabulations of sacred and 27 of secular works exist, scattered among the tablatures of Bonifacius Amerbach—written mainly by Hans Kotter (edited by Hans Joachim Marx and published by Bärenreiter as Schweizerische Denkmäler, Volume 6), Fridolin Sicher (edited by Hans Joachim Marx and published by Amadeus as Schweizerische Denkmäler, Volume 8), Leonhard Kleber (edited by Karin Berg-Kotterba in two volumes in Das Erbe deutscher Musik, Bd. 91 and 92, published by Henry Litolff’s Verlag), August Nörmiger (no complete edition but some pieces in Organ Music of the Era of the Reformation, edited by J. H. Schmidt), and Clemens Hör (edited by Hans Joachim Marx and included in Schweizerische Denkmäler, Volume 6, and also published separately as Volume 7).

Pedro Alberch Vila (1517–82) served as organist of the cathedral of Barcelona. He published a Libro de Tientos but unfortunately no copies are known to have survived. Two Tientos were published in the Libro de Cifra Nueva in 1557 by Venegas de Henestrosa and are numbers XXXVIII and XXXIX in the modern edition La Música en la Corte de Carlos V edited in two volumes by Higínio Anglés for the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona. The music is in the second volume and, rather annoyingly, commentary, the prefaces, and contents are in volume I.

Bernhard Schmid der Jünger (ca. 1567–1625) lived in Strasbourg all his life, becoming organist of the cathedral. Instead of preparing a new edition of his father’s two tablature books of 1577 in 1607, he published his own Tablaturbuch containing 90 pieces. These are divided into 30 intonations on the eight tones by Giovanni (22) and Andrea Gabrieli (eight); six toccatas by the Gabrielis (two by Andrea, one by Giovanni), Diruta (two), and Merulo; 12 motet settings of from four to six voices; 16 canzonetta settings in four to six voices; 12 four-voice fugues or Canzoni alla Francese by Mortaro (three), Brignoli (two), and one each remaining anonymous, Soriano, Vecchi, Malvezzi, Maschera, Banchieri, and A. Gabrieli (his Canzon Ariosa); and 14 dances including two Pass’e mezzi (the second being by G. M. Radino and included in his book of 1592) and 12 Gagliardas, of which the first is by Hans Leo Hassler. The complete book has been edited by Willem Poot in five volumes for Interlude Music productions (I.M.P. 2021-2025). A facsimile has been published by Broude Bros. as Monuments of Music and Music Literature in Facsimile, I/20.

Melchior Schildt (ca. 1592–1667) studied with Sweelinck and became organist of the Hannover Marktkirche in 1629. His preserved organ works comprise a 5-verse setting of Herr Christ der einig Gottes Sohn, a setting for two manuals of Herzlieb lieb habe ich dich, a 5-verse setting of the Magnificat on the 1st Tone, two preludes, and a setting of Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’. These have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Schott as Masters of the North German Organ School, Volume 5 (ED9585). Two variation sets on Gleichwie das Feuer and Dowland’s Lachrymae Pavan are included in Lied- und Tanzvariationen der Sweelinck-Schule, edited by Werner Breig for Schott (6030). 

Franz Tunder (1614–67) was probably born in Lübeck, where he became organist of the Marienkirche in 1641. Some 17 organ pieces have survived in various manuscripts, comprising five praeludia (one is just a five-bar fragment), a canzona for manuals only, and 11 lengthy chorale settings (Auf meinen lieben Gott is Auff 2 Clavier Manualiter, the rest require pedals) of which the first verse of Jesus Christus unser Heiland opens with a pedal solo moving into double pedals beneath three manual parts. Fifteen pieces have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel (EB8825). He has also edited the chorale fantasias on Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, and Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott in Zwei Choralfantasien for Breitkopf & Härtel (EB8576), previously attributed to Heinrich Scheidemann by Jerzy Golos and Adam Sutykowski for the American Institute of Musicology as Corpus of Early Keyboard Music (CEKM) 10, Keyboard Music from Polish Manuscripts, (Volume II). 

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–67) spent much time as court organist in Vienna. He was one of the most influential keyboard composers of the second half of the seventeenth century, as his wide-ranging travels took him to France, England, and Italy. His large output comprises free-form and contrapuntal pieces as well as over 50 dance suites, surviving in many sources including four autograph volumes (a recently discovered one is not accessible, and two have been lost). The three surviving autographs of 1649, 1656, and 1658 contain among them 12 toccatas, 12 ricercars, 12 capricci, six fantasias, six canzonas, and 12 suites of dance movements, with several more pieces in each category as well as single dances, tombeaux, and lamentations from other manuscripts being reliably attributed to the canon. Pieces were included in publications from 1693 onwards, but many contain a corrupt and unreliable presentation of the text.

Siegbert Rampe has edited for Bärenreiter the keyboard pieces in six volumes. Volume 1 is devoted to the 1649 autograph, Volume 2 to the 1656 and 1658 autographs, Volumes 3 and 4 to partitas (suites) from copied sources, Volume 5 to toccatas and polyphonic works from copied sources, and Volume 6 to new readings and new pieces from newly discovered sources (Volumes 3–6 are each in two parts). A seventh volume includes the vocal music and a catalogue of Froberger’s output. An appraisal of the autograph manuscripts plus a list of each volume’s contents and of the works by genre and volume will appear in a future issue of The Diapason.

Nikolaus Hasse (1617–72), born in Lübeck, succeeded David Abel as organist in Rostock in 1642. In addition to chamber music, he left a few organ compositions. Four chorale settings for organ on Allein Gott in der Hoh’ sei Ehr’, Jesus Christus unser Heiland (one setting for manuals only and one for three manuals) and Komm, heiliger Geist, Herr Gott (for two manuals) are preserved in the Pelpin Tablatures and have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel (EB6715) and also by Jerzy Golos and Adam Sutykowski for the American Institute of Musicology as CEKM 10 Keyboard Music from Polish Manuscripts, Volume I, which also includes a setting of Allein Gott in der Hoh’ sei Ehr’ by a composer known only as Ewaldt. 

Christian Witt (1660–1717) studied with Georg Wecker in Nuremberg and became court organist at Altenburg. His compositions include vocal and instrumental music, but unfortunately much keyboard music seems to have been lost. His preserved compositions include a chorale prelude on Herr Christ der einig Gottes Sohn, edited by Gotthold Frotscher and included in the series Das Erbe deutscher Musik Reichsdenkmale, Band 9, Orgel Choräle um Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Henry Litolff’s Verlag. A prelude on Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland was edited in the 19th century by G. W. Körner in Der Orgelfreund, viii. A capriccio in the style of a sarabande is included in Keyboard Music from the Andreas-Bach Book and the Möller Manuscript, a modern edition by Robert Hill, published by Harvard University Department of Music. A modern edition of 12 pieces in two volumes edited by Laura Cerutti (Armelin AMM026 and AMM053) contains two suites, in A major and A minor, a sinfonia in D, a Ciacona con Fuga in E minor, a suite in C, a praeludium in G, a Partie in C, a menuet in G, a Passegalie with 30 variations in D minor, a fugetta [sic] in G, and two fugues in F and G. Witt’s fugues in D minor, E minor, and the Prelude and Fugue in D are included in The Mylau Tabulaturbuch: Forty Selected Compositions, edited by John Shannon for the American Institute of Musicology  (CEKM 39). A complete critical edition is much to be desired.

Daniel Purcell (ca. 1664–1717), the younger brother of Henry, composed much stage, sacred, and secular vocal music as well as some instrumental works. His few keyboard pieces include a suite in D minor published in A collection of lessons and airs. . . . 1702, a toccata in A minor that was included in The 2d. Book of The Lady’s Entertainment or Banquet of Musick (1708), facsimile available from Broude Bros. (PF205), together with the first book in Seventeenth Century Keyboard Music, Volume 17, edited by Alexander Silbiger for Garland Press. His Psalms set full for Organ or Harpsichord was published in 1718 as an addition to the Harpsichord Master Improved. . . with a choice collection of newest and most air’y lessons with a variety of passages by Mr. Babel, and reprinted separately in 1731, facsimile of the latter available from Broude Bros. (PF264). 

Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667–1752) was born in Berlin. Like Handel, he settled in London during the early eighteenth century and became one of the founders of the Academy of Ancient Music. After about 1728 he gave up composition (with works for stage and church music as well as chamber music) and became renowned as a teacher (his pupils included Boyce, Green, and Roman). In 1737 he became organist of the Charterhouse and left a voluntary, which is found in a manuscript now in the Royal Academy. This is unique in having no fewer than 12 movements, possibly intended to be played at the opening of an organ to demonstrate the stops. An opening Largo and concluding Allegro frame movements for specified registrations for solo stops. Modern editions are by David Byers for Universal Edition (UE18603) and by David Sanger for Oxford University Press. Other movements attributed to Pepusch are included in manuscripts in the British Library and Royal College of Organists Library.

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), born in Magdeburg, worked in Leipzig and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721. A most prolific composer across all genres, of his many keyboard pieces those more suitable to the organ include Forty-Eight Chorale Preludes (two settings: one in three voices, one in two for each of 24 chorales) and settings of Nun komm der Heiden Heiland and Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein edited by Traugott Fedke and published as Orgelwerke Volume I by Bärenreiter (BA3581) and the Twenty Little Fugues, a sonata for two manuals and pedal in D, two fughettas in F and D and a fantasia in D also edited by Traugott Fedke and published as Orgelwerke Volume II by Bärenreiter (BA3582). A set of Fugues légères et petits jeux à clavessin seul consists of six fugues, each followed by several short pieces; a performance on appropriately light registers could work well. The set has been edited by Martin Lange for Bärenreiter (BA268).

Pere Rabassa (1683–1767) was born in Barcelona and worked at the cathedrals of Vic, Valencia, and Seville. Two tocatas have been tentatively assigned to him by one editor—although anonymous in the manuscript, they follow a four-movement sonata ascribed to him. These include a Tocata de mano derecha de 8 Tono ad libitum in four movements and a rare example of a Tocata de ecos y contraecos para clarines de mano derecha de 5 Tono which requires use of an enclosed second manual. These have been edited by Agueda Pedrero-Encabo in Vicente Rodríguez’s Obres per a orgue (the second piece she ascribes to Rodríguez without reference and also suggests Rabassa as composer of a four-movement Tocata de 5 Tono punto alto included in this volume).

Nicola Antonio Porpora (1686–1768), born and died in Naples, worked in Rome, London, and Venice, and was principally known for his operas and church music. Seven fugues were included in Clementi’s Selection of Practical Harmony for the Organ or Piano-Forte published 1803–15 (the seventh piece, in E-flat was published by Johann Albrechtsberger as Fugue III, op. 7) and have been edited by Maurizio Machella for Armelin (CM002). 

Georg Monn (1717–50) was choirmaster and organist of the Karlskirche, Vienna. He composed Masses, oratorios, some 16 symphonies, chamber music, concertos, and keyboard music. Three Preludes and Fugues for organ or stringed keyboard instruments in G minor, G, and F have been edited by Franz Haselböck for Doblinger, Diletto Musicale (DM822) and a Preludio & Fuga in A Minor and a Fuga in C have been edited by Erich Benedikt and included in Viennese Organ Music from around 1750 for Doblinger, Diletto Muiscale (DM1335). A set of preludes and versets on the eight tones has been edited by Rudolph Walter for Butz Verlag (BUTZ1825). 

Carlo Lancellotti (ca. 1717–82) was born in Rimini, where he became organist of the cathedral. He left 11 one-movement sonatas (six Allegros and five Adagios) in a manuscript, which have been edited by Maurizio Machella for Armelin (AMM143).

Justin Heinrich Knecht (1752–1817) was a Lutheran preceptor and music director in Biberach. He became organist at the Martinkirche in 1792 and was employed in Stuttgart from 1806 to 1808. He left numerous compositions for church and stage as well as a few chamber pieces. He also left theoretical treatises for clavier and on numerous other subjects as well as many sets of organ pieces. Pieces available in modern editions include Selected Organ Works edited by Martin Haselböck and Daniel Schlee for Universal Orgel Edition (UE17469). Three pieces in D major including a Capriccio, Cantabile and Nachspiel, have been edited by Willem Poot for Interlude Music Publications (I.M.P.2005). Eberhard Hofmann has edited Ausgewählte Orgelwerke for Sonat Verlag (MR5.098.00), who also publish a set of 16 Orgelstücke in den gebräuchlichsten Dur-Tonarten (MR5.215.00) and 14 Orgelstücke in den gebräuchlichsten Moll-Tonarten (MR.5.216.00), both sets taken from Caecilia. These two sets have been edited by Andre Maisch for Edition Kunzelmann (GM664a and 664b). A set of three volumes of selected pieces has been edited by Wolfram Syré for Forberg Edition (F25033-5). Die durch ein Donnerwetter unterbrochne Hirtenwonne has been edited by Heinz W. Höhnen for Breitkopf & Härtel (EB8364). The 15 items, each frequently subdivided into several pieces, from the Vollständige Orgelschule für Anfänger und Geübtere—Abteilung I-III (1795–8), are available in facsimile from Breitkopf & Härtel (BV256). Martin Haselböck and Daniel Schlee have edited and published separately no. 4 from Abteilung I, Die Auferstehung Jesu, ein Tongemälde für die Orgel, Universal Edition (UE17159). The three sections of the Anhang zu Württemberg Choralbuche containing 84 short preludes in various keys, a further 72 preludes and 24 organ pieces, are also available in facsimile from Maltzahn’scher Musikverlag, (MMV10010–12). The firm has also published a facsimile of the first of the eight volumes of the Neue vollständige Sammlung aller Arten Vor- und Nachspielen u.a.1791–5 (MMV10001). The Sonata in C and Three Fugues in B-flat (on B-A-C-H), C minor and G have been edited by Michael Ladenburger for Doblinger (DM843 and 844, respectively). Willem van Twillert has edited six chorale preludes in Organisten uit de 18e en 19e eeuw 9 published by Willemsen (Wil912) and nine pieces for manuals only including four rondos, a set of variations, a 4-voice fugue, a Handstück, a Cantabile and a setting of Liebster Jesu in Organisten uit de 18e en 19e eeuw 14, also published by Willemsen (Wil1086). Organisten uit de 18e en 19e eeuw 2 (Wil742) in this series contains three pieces by Knecht and an anonymous Giga and Pastorale. W. B. Henshaw has edited Six Short Pieces for Bardon Enterprises (BE00559). 

Vincenzo Benatti (1767–97) is little known. His compositions that have come down to us include three volumes of organ pieces (23 pieces total) that have been edited by Carlo Benatti for Armelin (AMM219–221), Composizioni inedite per organo o clavicembalo. Volume 1 contains a pastorale, a sinfonia, a Sinfonia e Polacca, and an Allegro. Volume 2 contains 11 sonatas, a rondo, a Marcia, a finale, and an Introduzione. Volume 3 contains four sonatas, of which the first is in three movements, the others in just one. 

August Eberhard Müller (1767–1817) studied with J. C. F. Bach and became organist in Leipzig. He left numerous compositions for keyboard, and six of the pieces in Sammlung von Orgelstücken, enthaltend zwölf leichte und sechs schwerer Sätze (Erste Heft 1798) have been edited by Anne Marlene Gurgel in Leipziger Musik aus der Thomaskirche, Band 1 for Butz Verlag (1492).

Also deserving of mention is the 500th anniversary of the publication of Frottole Intabulate da Sonari Organi by Andrea Antico in Rome in January 1517, the oldest printed volume to consist exclusively of keyboard music. Its 26 settings are available in a modern edition by Christopher Hogwood for Zen-On Music and by Maria Luisa Baldassari from Ut Orpheus (ES69). A facsimile is available from Forni Editions. Another very good resource is www.bodensee-musikversand.de/, especially for many German, Austrian, and Swiss publishers.

Sean Vogt attended Central College, Pella, Iowa, where he was a winner of Central’s Concerto/Aria competition, and named a Cox-Snow distinguished scholar. He also studied in London, serving as assistant organist/choirmaster at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Woodgreen. He holds master’s and doctoral degrees in choral conducting from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and Michigan State respectively. While at Michigan State, he was the director of the 100-voice Men’s Glee Club, assistant conductor of the MSU Chorale, artistic director and conductor of the Steiner Chorale—a semi-professional choir based in Lansing—and was music director at St. Jude’s Catholic Church. He was also one of the featured conductors at the Oregon Bach Festival. In addition to degrees in choral conducting, Vogt worked on a doctorate in organ at the University of Iowa, holds a diploma in organ from the Haarlem Internationale Zomeracademie voor Organisten (The Netherlands) and a master’s degree in organ from SMU. He has given solo recitals at the National Cathedral (Washington, D.C.), St. Philip’s Cathedral (Atlanta), and Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago), and has performed for the American Guild of Organists’ education video series. Dr. Vogt has served on the faculty for the Leadership Program for Musicians serving small congregations, and as the American Choral Directors Association’s Repertoire and Standards Chair for Music and Worship for the state of Iowa. He is currently Department Chair and Director of Choral Activities at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota.

Gloria in excelsis deo, et in terra
pax hominibus (“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all people”), Luke 2:14, was likely the first carol ever heard, sung by the angels over the fields of Bethlehem. It would be more than a millennium before the next documented account of carol singing. In this case, it happened in Greccio, Italy, where St. Francis made the first Christmas crèche (crib) in 1223, in response to the Manichaeism1 of the eleventh and twelfth centuries—recreating the stable, even obtaining an ox and ass. People from around the village began to gather around St. Francis’s biblical re-creation. As a result, the people “poured out their hearts in praises to God; and the friars sang new canticles…”2
The dawn of the Protestant Reformation brought carol singing—amongst a myriad of other activities—to an abrupt halt. The Reformation during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries resulted in a fragmented church. The Lutherans viewed the feast of Christmas as a popish abuse. Since the Calvinist movement was quite popular, Christmas was consequently unpopular in England. Christmas Day was abolished by Parliament from 1644–1660; The Book of Common Prayer had no seasonal hymns. It was not until the Supplement to the New Version of the Psalms (1700) that interest in carols was rekindled. Only one Christmas hymn was included in the supplement: “While shepherds watched.”

A brief history of the carol
Interestingly, Christmas thrived more in secular society than it did in the church during this time. One of the first examples of music printing in England is an anthology from c.1530 that contained, among other things, carols by Ashwell, Cowper, Gwynneth, and Richard Pygott.3 Carols were primarily used in the home and private chapel. It wasn’t until later that they became a part of the parish church. This is likely why carols from plays (the ‘Coventry’ carol, being one example) and carols for domestic use appear to be in constant use. Two domestic carols from Poor Robin’s Almanac (1700) are as follows:

Now that the time has come wherein
Our Saviour Christ was born,
The larder’s full of beef and pork,
The garner’s filled with corn.4

And we do hope before we part
To taste some of your beer,
Your beer, your beer, your Christmas beer,
That seems to be so strong;
And we do wish that Christmas-tide
Was twenty times as long!5

For England, the eighteenth century was the “Golden Age of Hymnody” under Isaac Watts and the Wesleys. Hymns gained popularity over metrical psalms. The reason for the hymn’s popularity was that the congregation could finally have a participating role in the worship service. Carols became increasingly hymn-like to fit the current trend.
By the nineteenth century, thanks to the efforts of the Methodists a century earlier, carols began finding their way into many ecumenical books like Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), the first universally accepted hymn book of the Anglican Church.6 A renewed interest in the past, coupled with the Oxford Movement,7 provided the opportunity for John Mason Neale, an Anglo-Catholic cleric, to promote the ancient texts and music found in the Piae Cantiones (1582). The Victorian revival of the carol produced numerous new books, some devoted solely to the carol: Some Ancient Christmas Carols (1822), Carols for Christmas-tide (1853–54), and Christmas Carols New and Old (1871) being just a few examples.
From the Piae Cantiones, which itself contained medieval carols, to the Victorian carol books, twentieth-century composers could now build on the carol tradition that dated back hundreds of years. John Mason Neale, in his preface to Carols for Christmas-tide, described the method that twentieth-century English composers would also follow:

It is impossible at one stretch to produce a quantity of new carols, of which words and music shall alike be original. They must be the gradual accumulation of centuries; the offerings of different epochs, of different countries, of different minds, to the same treasury of the Church.8

The notion of carol singing was heightened significantly with the service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Originating at Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, on Christmas Eve (1880), the service retells in scripture and song the Redemption story of Christ—moving from the mystery and wonder of Advent to the miracle and joy of Christ’s birth. The service was modified and introduced by Eric Milner-White, the newly appointed Dean of King’s College, Cambridge, in 1918. It is this modified service that has been adopted by scores of parishes in England and abroad. Since its initial broadcast in 1928, the service of Nine Lessons and Carols has been heard by millions of people all over the world. An order for the service can be found in the back of Oxford’s 100 Carols for Choirs. A look at this book also reveals a multitude of English composers who have made carol arrangements. Among the more well known are Holst, Britten, and Rutter.

Gustav Holst
It was the simplest of compositions by Gustav Holst (1874–1934) that would become one of his best-known: In the Bleak Midwinter (1905). Holst arranged the text by Christina Rosetti (1830–1894) while staying at a cottage9 in the Cotswold village of Cranham; it is also the reason why the tune is entitled Cranham. Just one year later, having gained significant popularity, his carol arrangement appeared in the English Hymnal (1906).
In the Bleak Midwinter is simplistic in that it is set like a standard four-part hymn: regular meter (4/4), homorhythmic, and functionally tonal harmonic motion. The choice of F major links Holst with the past, since F major was a common key in the Renaissance and Baroque eras for themes of a pastoral nature.
One way of preserving several items of importance is to collect them. Choir partbooks and the multiple compilations of carol books have accomplished the art of preservation. Holst did something similar, but on a smaller scale, when he wrote Christmas Day, a choral fantasy on old carols with accompaniment for orchestra or organ.
Dedicated to the music students of Morley College, the work is a compilation of four well-known Christmas carols: “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen,” “Come, Ye Lofty, Come, Ye Lowly,” and “The First Noel.” With the exception of two simultaneous carols occurring at the same time, the rest of the work is homorhythmic throughout.
Much like Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols, this work by Holst opens with a soloist who sets the ambiance as if about to tell a story around a fire. The carols provide the form of the composition. Ascribing numbers to the carols—1) Good Christian Men Rejoice, 2) God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, 3) Come, Ye Lofty, Come, Ye Lowly, 4) The First Noel—the form is 1, 2, 1, 3 and 4, 1, 2 and 4, and 1. True to rondo form, “Good Christian Men Rejoice” always appears in the tonic key, E-flat major. The simultaneous occurrence of two carols also provides unique contrast to the homorhythmic sections. The orchestral accompaniment is equally accessible, having many of the same attributes of the chorus parts, making it appropriate for amateur ensembles.
Like many English composers, Holst was influenced by folksong. In regard to carol settings and collecting them, it was his Four Old English Carols (1907), for mixed voices and piano, that embraced the “tender austerity”10 inherent in the songs of the English countryside. Although inspired by folksong, these tunes were of Holst’s own creation. A Babe Is Born, Now Let Us Sing, Jesu, Thou the Virgin-Born, and The Saviour of the World Is Born make up this mini-collection.
The medieval text Jesu, Thou the Virgin-Born, the third carol from Four Old English Carols, was infused with plainsong and simple polyphony (largely homorhythmic). The use of both plainsong and polyphony in this particular work is not surprising, given the fact that Holst had been spending time copying Victoria and di Lasso motets for St. Paul’s Girls’ School.
As evidenced above, Holst seemed drawn to set multiple carols within one work. This mini-collection of carols is equally true in his Three Carols for unison chorus and ‘ad lib.’ orchestra. Holst was clearly thinking of the symbiotic relationship between music and people with this work. There are scarce examples of a significant choral work with orchestra that includes a unison chorus and an orchestra that can be made up of as many or few instruments as available (‘ad lib.’) and still be a viable work of art. “Holst was a conductor who allowed all genuine amateurs to play in his orchestra ‘if humanly possible’.”11 The three carols include the following: Christmas Song: On This Day, I Saw Three Ships, and Masters in This Hall.
There is one carol by Holst that does not exist in a set: Lullay my Liking for unaccompanied chorus. Like other carols, the text is medieval. Changing meters help accommodate natural text stress. With the exception of the chorus’s fourth verse, the other verses are sung as a solo, and the choir answers with the refrain “Lullay my liking, my dear Son…” This piece is also very accessible for an amateur chorus, as the refrain remains unchanged throughout the work.

Benjamin Britten
It was during the 1942 wartime months of March and April that Britten (1913–1976) wrote, while on board the ship that was taking him from America back home to England, A Ceremony of Carols.12 Scored for treble voices—three parts to be exact—and harp, the work is powerful in its simplicity.
One aspect of simplicity is the accompaniment of a single instrument, the harp. One of the first instruments mentioned in the Bible, the harp has been the symbol of the psalmists, the heavenly host of angels, and serenity. Britten was planning on a harp concerto around this time; harp manuals were just a few of the books he had on his nautical voyage. However, despite the pleasurable sonorities from the harp that audiences have enjoyed for decades, this was not the case initially. “The use of the harp as an accompanying instrument in this context was considered radical at the time of the première.”13
The simplicity is also instantly audible from the first and last movement. Plainsong settings form the musical pillars to the eleven movements. Here, Britten chose Hodie Christus natus est from the Christmas Eve Vespers to serve as a musical processional and recessional. The processional and recessional are both in A major, a key Bach often used for its Trinitarian symbolism in the key signature.
With such careful musical architecture, it is not surprising that the middle movement be solely devoted to the harp. In true pastoral fashion, the rhythm is a compound (12/8) meter. More interesting is the choice of key. Where the traditional pastoral key would be F major, Britten chooses the equidistant enharmonic equivalent, the tri-tone (C-flat major). The piece ends on the dominant F-flat, minus the third—a common medieval device.
A final aspect of simplicity is the choice of voices and the way they are set. The sound of a child’s voice, and their presence on stage, can create a sense of innocence and purity synonymous with simplicity. Musically, Britten was always careful when he wrote for children. Although the music often sounds complex, Britten generally used the technique of canon as a way to produce polyphony. What better way to produce the feeling of timelessness than with canon—where a melody could continue ad infinitum if need be? The most oft-performed extracted movement is This Little Babe, a perfect example of Britten’s canonic writing for children’s voices.

John Rutter
Perhaps the most frequently performed carol arrangements are those of John Rutter. Born in London in 1945, Rutter is arguably the most prolific and published composer of carols in the twentieth century, not only in England but also around the world. In Oxford’s 100 Carols for Choirs, nearly thirty carols are by him. There are simply far too many carols by Rutter to discuss here. However, some examples show his connection to the past while writing in a modern romantic language.
“Joy to the World” is one of the most common carols in the Western hemisphere. Rutter could not have chosen a carol with more links to England’s past than this one. The text is by Isaac Watts (1674–1748) and the original tune by Lowell Mason (1792–1872). Rutter modeled the accompaniment for the carol from the orchestral writing of Handel. Complete with descant, the Handelian orchestration to Lowell Mason’s tune on John Wesley’s text is one of Oxford University Press’s most rented carols during the Christmas season.
Rutter wrote several other carols for chorus with orchestra or organ: Wexford Carol, Jesus Child, Donkey Carol, Angel’s Carol, Nativity Carol, Star Carol, Candlelight Carol, Shepherd’s Pipe Carol, and others. It is arrangements like Candlelight Carol, which can be classified as both a carol and an anthem, that have made Rutter a wealthy man. They contain the qualities necessary for any carol—a verse followed by a refrain, or burden.
In addition, the melodies and their respective accompaniments tend to be very sweet-sounding and melodious. It is this latter trait that has brought Rutter fame and fortune. In this music one can hear the influence of Fauré-like orchestration, Vaughan Williams-inspired melodies, and the often-used flattened seventh that is so common in popular music.
Many of the above-listed carols are Rutter originals. As in Shepherd’s Pipe Carol, for example, both the music and the text are by Rutter. The same is true of Jesus Child, Donkey Carol, Angel’s Carol, Nativity Carol, Star Carol, and Candlelight Carol. Of the composers discussed thus far, none wrote as many original texts and tunes as Rutter. His contributions to the carol genre alone have brought significant attention to the choral world.

Herbert Howells
No discussion of the English carol would seem complete without mentioning A Spotless Rose by Herbert Howells (1892–1983). Herbert Howells wrote the piece,

After idly watching some shunting from the window of a cottage…in Gloucester which overlooked the Midland Railway. In an upstairs room I looked out on iron railings and the main Bristol-Gloucester railway line, with shunting trucks bumping and banging. I wrote it for and dedicated it to my Mother—it always moves me when I hear it, just as if it were written by someone else.14

With its parallel thirds and fourths, the piece evokes a sort of impressionistic quality. The irregular meters (3/4, 7/8, 5/4, 5/8, etc.) give the piece a fluidity of plainsong-like phrases not found in other carols. The fourteenth-century text also provides a subtly respectful timelessness to the piece. A Spotless Rose is mostly in four parts except at cadences where it breaks into five or, in the case of the final cadence, six parts. It is this final cadence that was much beloved by Vaughan Williams and Patrick Hadley. Since the work’s creation (1919), Howells received a postcard every Christmas thereafter from Patrick Hadley that contained the cadence and these words, “Oh Herbert! That cadence!”15

Summary
Holst, Britten, and Rutter represent the carol in their own unique way. Each had a distinct musical vocabulary that can be heard in their music. Some used the traditional approach of setting plainsong to their own time. Others, especially Rutter, have set melodies that are distinctly their own. Nearly every composer, it would seem, has taken a traditional carol and adapted a “modern” accompaniment to the otherwise traditional melody.
In terms of texts, it would be difficult to find an English composer who never set an already established text. From these examples, it is clear that the medieval carol is among the more popular. Rutter, although there are others not listed here, chose to write melodies and accompaniments to his own texts.
Carols functioned as a social outlet, as Poor Robin’s Almanac illustrates. Interestingly enough, although mention is made of Jesus, plenty is also made of food and drink. Like folksong, carols were for the people. It is for this reason that they continued to exist outside church walls.
Carols were also devotional. For those who had their own private chapel, one could find them being sung there. In the parish church, it would take the efforts of the Victorians to regiment them as part of the liturgical service. It would not be until 1918 that the entire world would be affected by the Nine Lessons and Carols service at King’s College, Cambridge, which is perhaps the most influential reason for the popularity of the carol today.
Besides being both social and devotional, carols have served as sparkling gems in choral concerts. Carols are “art music.” Like many things throughout history, it is the way in which something is used that gives it definition. It does not seem out of place when a carol is sung in a secular location or by a secular ensemble. They exist for the betterment of music as a whole. Therefore, in this case the carol would be more closely linked with the social classification. As a result, the carol is one of those enigmatic genres that exist both liturgically and secularly—neither side taking issue with the other.
The main reason why the carol can dually exist is its simplicity. There is nothing to muddy the waters and create controversy, even when the subject matter is based on religious/biblical themes. Composers throughout the twentieth century in England managed to evoke their own voice while remaining true to the inherent simplistic quality of the carol.
Holst’s simplicity came as a result of the element crucial to the carol: the people. He wrote for them. Simple melodies, textures, and accompaniments meant that nearly every amateur could be an integral part of the carol tradition. Through simplicity of text, voicing, and accompaniment, Britten created his own form of simplicity. Rutter’s simplicity is in the way the music sounds. It is so very easy to listen to (the same cannot necessarily be said about singing or playing them!).
Following the Victorian rediscovery (and regimentation) of the English carol dating from the Middle Ages, the carol tradition in England remained strong and thrived under several great composers: Holst, Britten, and Rutter among the more well-known. Through their carols, they presented the carol through use of traditional qualities (plainsong, medieval texts, and the like) while infusing their own musical language, aligning themselves in the great carol tradition. With the carol’s multiple characteristics, it was and remains an enigmatic genre that is social, devotional, and art music, separately and all in one. With the inception of what is perhaps the greatest advocate of the carol, the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, English composers have provided the means for the carol genre to thrive, all over the world, for centuries and millennia to come. ■