Christmas Postlude - Sit laus plena, Sit sonora

William Thomas Best (13 August 1826 — 10 May 1897) studied at Carlisle Cathedral under John Norman and Abraham Young. Organist of the Pembroke Road Chapel, Liverpool, 1840-55; the Church for the Blind, Liverpool, 1847; the Royal Panopticon, Leicester Square, London, 1853-54; Lincoln’s Inn Chapel, 1854; St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, 1855; St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, 1855-94; Wallasey Parish Church, Birkenhead, 1860-63; Holy Trinity, Liverpool, 1863; West Derby Parish Church, 1879. He was engaged in 1871 to give recitals at the Royal Albert Hall (stayed for only a short time), and was the solo Organist at the Handel festival at the Crystal Palace. Opened the organ in Sydney Town Hall, 1890. He was one of the greatest English Organists of his time, and received a Civil List pension of £100 per annum. Best composed church services, anthems, as well as many organ transcriptions and solo pieces.

Best was certainly the most famous British organist of the time, and was proclaimed by none other than Franz Liszt to be THE greatest virtuoso on ANY instrument!

"Christmas Postlude - 'Sit laus plena, Sit sonora'" translates roughly as "Fill this place with praise, and make it LOUD!" - and, that's exactly what this piece does!

It's a wild ride, and doesn't take long. I did this piece quickly (meaning as in time spent), which is probably good, as the more you play it, the more frightening it becomes!

The metronome mark given, "half note eguals 120" is insane, but, for better or worse, this IS at 120, maybe even quicker towards the end.

The passage work literally flies by on both manuals and pedal. The regular changes of "reeds on" and "reeds off," adds to the "fun," but I liked the effect, so, I did it this way.

Although Best wrote this for Christmas, I believe that the text actually comes from a Corpus Christi, but, it makes for a joyful New Year's Eve!

Attached below is the score and two photos of W. T. Best.

A VERY HAPPY 2019 to ALL!