Trio "O Gott, du frommer Gott" (opus 20 nr 3)

Richter’s opus 20 is a collection of 6 Trio’s, 5 of which are based on a choral melody. A very bad and hardly readable scan of Richter’s opus 20 is available on imslp. They are firmly rooted in the Bach tradition. In phrasing and harmony they could have been composed a hundred years earlier. But they are very well written nonetheless, and deserve to be played and heard. To make playing these trio’s easier for me, I decided to transcribe them. And having done that, I might as well publish them.

The trio on “O Gott, du frommer Gott” reminds me a bit of an aria in a cantate. With a ‘stringy’-registration for the left hand part, it is easy to imagine that the accompaniment is played on viola’s. Beautiful in this piece is the way Richter mixes the choral melody and the accompaniment. The choral melody does not exactly follow the phrasing of the accompaniment and enters at points one does not exactly expect, always a bit early or late. Creating the effect of two independent voices that only by coincidence fit perfectly together.

Registration
Positiv: Rohrflöten 8′, Salicional 8′, Undamaris 8′ (LH)
HW: Copel 8′, Gamba 8′ (RH)
Ped: Subbas 16′, Violonbass 8′

Score available here: http://partitura.org/index.php/ernst-friedrich-richter-trio-o-gott-du-frommer-gott-opus-20-nr-3/