Advent and Christmas (59): chorale fantasy "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen"

Gaël Liardon (1973-2018) was a versatile Swiss musician, composer, organist,
piano player, singer and songwriter, teacher, improviser, theorist, researcher, organizer of concerts and cultural events. He loved discovery and was interested in many musical styles‘.
(Benjamin Righetti, Lausanne).
His beautiful organ works are characterized by stylistic purity, clear voice guidance and musical simplicity.


'Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
aus einer Wurzel zart,
wie uns die Alten sungen,
von Jesse kam die Art,
und hat ein Blümlein bracht,
mitten im kalten Winter
wohl zu der halben Nacht.'

In his amazing chorale fantasy Liardon composed every chorale line in a different way, referring to Buxtehude's fantasy on "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern"‘.
Compare: https://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/36213
The lyrics point to Isaiah 11: 'A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit‘.
The melody is of unknown origin and appears for the first time in the "Speyerer Gesangbuch" (Cologne, 1599).

This score is published for free download on https://gaelliardon.ch, like many others.