O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden

Theofil Forchammer (1847-1923) was appointed organist of the Cathedral at Magdeburg in 1886, having succeeded the great August Ritter.

He was a highly regarded organist, and wrote over 1800 chorale preludes, of which only a small number where ever published. The bulk of his compositions were destroyed in World War II.

This work is taken from the "Incognita Organo" series (Volume 37), which is still available from Harmonia.

It is a solemn work, marked "Serioso", and is in a trio form, with a few "extra voices" added at the end. This performance is registered simply:

RH - Swell Open Diapason 8' & Salicional 8'
LH - Choir Open Diapason 8'
Pedal - Solo Tromba 8' (box opened to the 1st indicator light)

Bad hearing or not, I've had to keep going with the Wednesday recitals. I'll play this piece tomorrow, with more of his preludes in addition to sonatas by Rheinberger and Mendelssohn next week.