Allegretto (Twelve Miniatures, No. 5)

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 fifth piece, "Allegretto" is in the key of D minor, and written in 12/8 time. It is marked to be played "e tranquillo" and the entire work has a continuous flow of legato triplets in the left hand, with a chorale-like melody in the right hand.

Here again, the strong influence of Mendelssohn is present, and I think that his "Sixth Organ Sonata" will come immediately into the mind of most listeners.

Listen also to the haunting final cadence, which is quite modal in its effect.

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