Psalm 38

Listening to uploads of Dutch organists on Contrebombarde, especially those of psalm preludes, the impression could arise, that Dutch organ playing was and is very much influenced by the romantic style of organists like Jan Zwart and Feike Asma, van Tilburg etc.

They certainly still have a big influence , especially among amateur-organists and the more conservative Dutch Christian population. There even are contemporary composers writing in that romantic idiom.
In professional circles there has been a different development. Those who studied the organ at the Dutch conservatoria, populated by the best Dutch organ teachers, mostly developed a different kind of style, more along the lines of the contemporary German composers like Micheelsen, Distler and Pepping and French composers Tournemire, Langlais and Durufle.

In the seventies bundles were published with preludes to the new Liedboek 1973, composed by leading contemporary Dutch composers. I intend to do a small series on preludes and harmonizations of the psalms.

Folkert Grondsma (1944-2002):
Studied the organ and theory at the concervatoria of Groningen and The Hague and improvisation with Cor Kee.
Other teachers were Wim van Beek, Jean Langlais, Gaston Litaize and Olivier Messiaen. He was professor of theoretical subjects and organ at the conservatorium of Rotterdam and the organist of the Pauluskerk in The Hague and later on the Hartebrugkerk in Leiden. He was very active in the organ world and wrote much music and many articles in the magazines “Het Orgel” and “Organist en Eredienst”.

This French-tinted very introvert psalm consists of the prelude and only one harmonization.