Viennese Organ Music from around 1750. Doblinger

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This welcome collection opens a door to a relatively little known part of the organ repertoire, not least because the majority of the pieces were never printed but were collected by various amateurs and connoisseurs. The composers themselves were servants of the Emperor's Court in Vienna, among them Gottlieb Muffat, son of Georg Muffat, and Georg Christoph Wagenseil both well known on the European mainland. Others included Georg Matthias Monn, Wenzel Raimund Pirck and Joseph Ferdinand Norbert Seeger. All can be played on manuals only although one or two might be helped on the pedals where long pedal points occur. Why this should be so can be found in the preface which, together with biographical notes, gives an interesting overview of the nature of the organ in Austria during the 18th century. Inescapable is the similarity between this type of organ and its function, and the late 18th, early 19th century, English organ. Short compass pedals of perhaps 18 notes, short octaves in the bass, and a role almost entirely confined to the accompaniment of, and improvisation within the liturgy. Of moderate difficulty, grade 5-6 and in clear type with stapled binding, these pieces provide a charming addition to the repertoire especially for small organs not unlike their Austrian counterparts.

AH