Präludium und Fuge E-Dur, op. 56 Nr. 1 (1901/1904)

When I posted my first upload here on Contrebombarde about six months ago, I had to apologize that I could only play Reger with a “French accent” – namely on the sample set of the Cavaillé-Coll organ from Nancy; similarly, four months later I could only present Brahms in “US-American garb” – that is with the sample sets of the Casavant organ from Bellevue/Washington and the Æolian-Skinner organ from New Haven.

Now I have finally added a sample set of a German romantic instrument to my portfolio: that of the wonderful Sauer organ from the Luther Church in Chemnitz.

And what better way to present this instrument “in May, the lovely month of May” than with the spring-like, graceful Prelude and Fugue in E major, Op. 56 No. 1, by Max Reger (1873–1916)?

Reger composed this charming work as the first of his “Five Easily Performable Preludes and Fugues” op. 56 probably in Weiden in 1901, even though he only completed the collection in Munich and put it into print in 1904.

The prelude, which is soft and delicate throughout, begins with a lyrical theme characterized by second steps and sighing motifs, which is introduced in a transparent trio and is taken up twice more in the further course of the work. Its seemingly improvisatory continuations lead to contrasting episodes – first a recitative-like “Memento” and, after the second appearance of the trio, a more chordal-harmonic condensation, before the trio is enveloped by an enchanting web of intertwined arabesques in its third appearance.

The following fugue is characterized by an innocent, melodious theme – initially presented pianissimo – whose motifs are present in almost every bar and yet are constantly recoloured by variously changing harmonizations. After the polyphonic movement remains in a rather quiet dynamic for a long time despite several crescendos and decrescendos, the last third gradually leads to an unstoppable build-up of sound, which finally culminates in the organ's plenum at the end of the fugue.