Prelude and Fugue in G Major, Op. 37 No. 2

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was an accomplished organist, and he composed several dozen organ pieces of one kind or another throughout his short life. Only two Mendelssohn organ items, however, are of real weight and significance, and, not coincidentally, they are the only two organ items to which opus numbers were applied: the masterly Six Sonatas, Op. 65, of 1845 and the perhaps more frequently played Three Preludes and Fugues, Op. 37, published eight years before that.

The three prelude-fugue pairs in Op. 37 are in C minor, G major, and D minor. Though the work was published in 1837, some of the music began to take shape as early as 1833 during a visit -- one of many -- the composer made to England. Mendelssohn had become acquainted with the English organist Thomas Attwood, and the seeds of the fugues of Op. 37, No. 1 and Op. 37, No. 3 were planted in some improvisations that Mendelssohn did at Attwood's encouragement. The other fugue, that in G major of Op. 37, No. 2, was written in 1836. All three of the preludes were composed in early April 1837, and later in the year the whole bunch of six pieces was printed with a dedication to Attwood.

This piece, which shows the gentle flutes of the Hauptwerk in the "Prelude," and the grand and glorious full organ in the "Fugue," as well as a number of other uploads, are all part of my upcoming review of the wonderful new Wiesseanu sample set by Prospectum. It will soon be featured on "The Barde," so, please take a look!

The score is attached below.