Suite No. 3 (1991)

Jan Elgarøy (1930–2018) — Suite No. 3 (1991) for organ

1) Preludio
2) Contemplazione
3) Toccatina
4) Corale
5) Marcia

Unlike the first two suites, which were originally conceived for the sounds of Elgarøy’s small neo-baroque instrument of the Lambertseter Church in Oslo, Elgarøy’s third and final suite (1991) was written for Matthias Passauer. Passauer was longtime organist of Brandenburg Cathedral (Germany) until his retirement in 2012; he presided over a baroque instrument built by Joachim Wagner in the 1720s (made more “neo-baroque” in the 1960s by Schuke, and then in the late 1990s restored to its original state.) In the fourth movement of the suite, the melody is the famous Norwegian chorale “Kirken den er et gammelt Hus” (Ludvig Mathias Lindeman, 1840.)

Norwegian composer and organist Jan Elgarøy (1930–2018) was born in Moss and was educated at the Conservatory in Oslo. He pursued additional studies with Albert de Klerk (in Haarlem) and Bedřich Janáček (in Lund). Elgarøy was organist of Lambertseter Church in Oslo from 1960 to 1992. He was also the organ professor at the University of Oslo. As a composer, Elgarøy wrote primarily for organ and choir. He served as the editor for the “Norsk Orgelbok” (Musikk-Husets Forlag A/S), a collection of organ works by many Norwegian composers. Elgarøy’s music is cast in a strongly modal style, including a use of modal mixture for expressive effect.

Published by Musikk-Husets Forlag A/S