March (from Three Pieces for Organ)

Louis Nicholas Choveaux was born in 1904 at Bromley, Kent. He was educated at Trent College, Derbyshire and at Matthay School where he studied the organ with Arnold Grier. He gained his FRCO in 1926. In 1927 he was appointed Music Master at Dover College as well as organist at Chelsea Old Church. The following year he took up a post at St John's Wimbledon where he remained until 1934. In May 1930 he was jointly responsible (with Archibald Farmer and Godfrey Sceats) for arranging the Karg-Elert Festival at St Lawrence, Jewry and played two concerts in the presence of the composer. Following the success of the Festival, he was joint founder of the Organ Music Society in 1931.

He was organist at St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield from 1934-48. From 1942-45 Nicholas Choveaux was music adviser for ENSA before becoming involved in contemporary music promotion at Boosey & Hawkes until 1947. After a short spell at Alfred Lengnick he formed a concert promotion agency, Choveaux Management Ltd, in 1948 which continued until the late 1980s. In 1987, Choveaux agreed to become the President of the newly inaugurated Karg-Elert Society, a post which he held until his death in 1995.

Choveaux composed a number of works for organ: a Prelude-Improvisation (dedicated to Karg-Elert); Variations on "Caswall", and a setting of the Communion Service. This work is the March from 3 Pieces for Organ. It starts appropriately with a walking bass figure in the pedal in A major, building through to full organ for a modulation of the theme in C major. A tuba and full swell interlude lead us to a slower, indulgent majestic theme in F major before chromatically returning us to the original material. The final passage is played on full organ, with the Ubertuba leading the climax in the last two bars.

Happy Easter everyone and I hope you enjoy it.

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