Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme Op. 135a No. 25

The organ music of Max Reger (1873–1916) can be challenging for both the organist and listener yet he is considered to be the greatest German composer of organ music since Bach. Although a Catholic, he frequently drew on Lutheran tradition and the rich store of chorales, the inspiration for his chorale preludes, chorale fantasias and other works.

In 1907, Reger was appointed Professor of Composition at the University of Leipzig and his “Dreißig kleine Choral-Vorspiele zu den gebräuchlichsten Chorälen” (Thirty Little Chorale Preludes on the most common chorales), Op. 135a, dates from this period. Published in 1914, they are more approachable for the organist and listener but still preserve Reger’s particular characteristic of modulation and chromaticism.

No. 25 in the collection is a setting of the great Lutheran chorale for advent, ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’ which is often sung in the English translation, ‘Wake, O wake! with tidings thrilling’. Reger alternately sets Nicolai’s melody as a solo against a gently chromatic accompaniment at a different dynamic, perfectly utilising the terraced dynamics of German Romantic instruments.

Being only 50 miles away from Leipzig, the Sauer organ in the Lutherkirche, Chemnitz was completed in 1908, the year after Reger had moved to Leipzig. The organ is ideally suited to Reger’s music and is thus a highly suitable choice for this performance. We don't hear enough of this brilliant instrument!