Final from Sonata on 94th Psalm

Julius Reubke (1834-1858) was the son of an organ builder. Educated at Berlin conservatory, he then became a pupil of Liszt for composition and piano. Sadly, he died at 24 from tuberculosis and left very few works, but two huge sonatas, one for the piano, one for the organ.

The organ sonata is a highly romantic tone poem based on the 94th Psalm text, "O Lord who avenges, shine forth". In this work, one can detect inspiration from both Liszt's b minor piano sonata and organ Fantaisie et fugue on Ad nos.

Although the work is in one movement, one can detect four parts with each one its specific mood. The last part is based ont the last verse of the psalm :

"But the Lord has become my fortress and my refuge. He will repay them (eg the proud) for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness".

With such an underlying literary program, the music could only be dark and violent. It begins as a fugue but quickly turns into an agitated fantasia which becomes quasi frantic at the end.

No need to say that this upload is a mix of some takes.