Partita “Hommage an Niels Gade” (2018)

Andreas Willscher (b. 1955) — Partita “Hommage an Niels Gade” (2018) for organ

1) Introduction
2) Carillonette
3) Aria
4) Scherzinetto
5) Fuga

Partita “Hommage an Niels Gade” (2018) was written in tribute to the significant Danish composer Niels Gade (1817–1890), widely considered the most important Danish musician of his time. In addition to his position as director of the Copenhagen Musical Society, Gade was organist in the Holmenskirche until his death. (This partita is dedicated to Jakob Lorentzen, organist of the Holmenskirche in 2018.) The main theme of the partita is based on the letters G-A-D-E, converted into musical pitches with a common cipher.

German composer and organist Andreas Willscher (b. 1955) studied composition, theory, and organ in his native Hamburg. In 1971 he was appointed organist of the St. Francis Church in Hamburg and in 2000 at the church of St. Joseph-Wandsbek. In addition, he has been keyboardist for several jazz and rock ensembles. Willscher has received many awards and commissions for his compositions, which range widely in form: from symphonic music and oratorios to cabaret and rock scores. His organ works are very diverse, ranging from large-scale post-tonal pieces to some that blend elements of the traditional repertoire with contemporary jazz and pop influences. In addition to his own composition and performing activities, Willscher has published a number of literary and scientific articles in journals and encyclopedias and has been very active in collecting and preserving lost and forgotten music from earlier eras. In 2015, in honor of his 60th birthday and life’s work as a musician, he was awarded the Johann Wenzel Stamitz Prize from the Arts Guild of Esslingen.