Fantasia — in memoriam Gerti Mermelstein (1940–1944), op. 60 (2020)

Raimund Schächer (b. 1960) — Fantasia — in memoriam Gerti Mermelstein (1940–1944), op. 60 (2020) for organ

The composer writes: “Gerti Mermelstein (1940–1944) and her family came from Mukachevo in Ukraine. At the end of May 1944, she was deported with her family to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On the day of their arrival, she and her family were murdered along with numerous fellow Jewish people from their homeland. In the so-called “Auschwitz-Album,” she is in a picture with her mother, sister, and grandmother during their detention immediately before their murder. She is seen in the haunting picture standing and looking straight at the photographer.”

German composer and organist Raimund Schächer (b. 1960) was born in Hersbruck and was educated at the Meistersinger-Konservatorium in Nuremburg and the Academy for Protestant Church Music in Bayreuth. He has served as a church musician in Hersbruck, Pappenheim, Treuchtlingen, and Heidenheim. As a composer, Schächer has written a number of organ, choral, and chamber works. He has also been widely active as an editor of early keyboard music, and his editions have been published by Cornetto, Carus, Pro Organo, and Strube Verlag.

Published by Cornetto-Verlag (cornetto-music.de)