O du lieber Augustin (Suite) (1983)

Günther Firlinger (b. 1951) — O du lieber Augustin (Suite) (1983) for organ

“O du lieber Augustin (Suite)” (1983) is a set of variations on a popular Viennese song, attributed originally to the balladeer Marx Augustin (ca. 1679). The popular English and American children’s folk song “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be” (and “Did you ever see a Lassie?”) is sung to the same tune.

Austrian composer and organist Günther Firlinger (b. 1951) was born in Linz and studied there, in Salzburg, and in Paris. His teachers included Hedwig Ebermann, Helmut Eder, and Jean Langlais. In his professional career, he has held many musical positions in Salzburg and has been active as a performer, composer, director, educator, and church musician. From 1989 until his retirement in 2016, he was a member of the faculty of the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg.