he man who was perhaps the greatest composer for the organ is one you've never heard of. One of the most prominent musicians of his day, he died at an early age and most of his works were lost. Quite a shame, considering that J. S. Bach himself was influenced by these works. You wonder what music we might have today had he lived to a ripe old age.
Nicolas Bruhns died on this day in 1697, aged 31.
On a business trip years ago to fill an otherwise idle evening, I went go a new instrument's dedication performance somewhere in central Pennsylvania. Brahms was the featured composer and half the auditorium was filled with a mass choir to "accompany" the organ. "Soul filling" is the only way to describe the experience.
ReplyDelete(Thanks for the pointer to Bruhns!)
ReplyDeleteAnother great composer revealed thanks to your encyclopedic knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThe performer is new to me as well, off to the wilds of Amazon!