Allegro ma non troppo (12 Miniatures, No. 2)

Henry Marcellus Higgs (1854-1929) was the son of Marcellus Higgs (1827-1897) and Clara Tomlin. His father, also an organist, published no organ music.

H. M. Higgs worked with several music publishers and published a fairly large output of organ music. I have no indication of any places at which he served as organist, but he clearly knew how to write for the instrument.

Unfortunately, this is all the biographical information that I have about Henry Higgs.

"Twelve Miniatures" dates from 1913 and was published by Novello & Co. Ltd. The set was part of the publisher's "Original Compositions for the Organ (New Series)," where it appears as No. 27. It is dedicated: "To A. Healey Foster, Esq." Each piece is different in style and format, and some could be called "studies" as they deal with a particular technical aspect of organ playing.

The second piece, "Allegro non troppo" is in the key of G major, and written in 6/8 time. This work is very reminiscent of the work of Felix Mendelssohn, as are a number of these pieces, as you'll discover if you are listening to the entire group.

The animated tempo is quite quick, even breathless, but in a very pleasing way. The flow is continuous, and attention to the specific dynamic indications is necessary in the performance.

I have no photos of Henry Marcellus Higgs to share, but the score is attached below.