Charfreitag (Good Friday) Op. 66 No 06

Otto Valdemar Malling (1 June 1848 – 5 October 1915) was a Danish composer, from 1900 the cathedral organist in Copenhagen and from 1889 professor, then from 1899 Director of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen. He was born in Copenhagen, and became a pupil of Niels Gade and Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann. in his later career he mainly composed organ works and vocal music, but he also wrote a significant amount of orchestral music, as well a substantial cantata "Der hellige Land", and a symphony in D minor. He was a co-founder and vice-conductor of The Concert Society, Copenhagen (1874), supporting himself as organist at various Copenhagen churches. His scores of organ music brought Malling some reputation abroad, but after his death he was soon forgotten in his native country.

This small, but intense work comes from his "Kirkeaarets Festdage / Die Festtage des Kirchenjahres," which is a "liturgical tour of the main holy days in the Church year.

The sixth in the collection is this work for Good Friday. There is both a sense of formality and expression about. A consistent "dragging and drooping," of "falling and dying" always present.

Notes by David Lamb.