August Gottfried Ritter

August Gottfried Ritter

August Gottfried Ritter (25 August 1811 – 26 August 1885) was a German romantic composer and organist.

Biography

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Co-creator, together with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, of the first example of Romantic Organ Sonata (the first one was composed in 1845); he moved in 1847 from being organist in Merseburg cathedral to become organist in Magdeburg Cathedral. He also was "Royal-Prussian organ auditor". Ritter organized to build a new main organ in Magdeburg Cathedral and designed the stoplist. The organ with four manuals, mechanical key action and 81 stops was built by Adolf Reubke in 1856 to 1861.[1]

In his critical writings, Ritter condemned the Renaissance organ composers referred to as the "Colorists" for overindulging in ornamentation.

Compositions

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  • Toccata in D minor for organ
  • Choral Preludes for organ (opp. 7, 8 & 9)
  • First Organ Sonata in D minor, op. 11 (ca. 1845)
  • Second Organ Sonata in E minor, op. 19 (ca. 1850)
  • Third Organ Sonata in A minor, op. 23, dedicated to Franz Liszt (ca. 1855)
  • Fourth Organ Sonata in A major, op. 31 (ca. 1855)
  • Andante in A minor, Op. 26 (arrangement of second movement from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony)
  • Preludes, postludes etc.
  • XXXII der gebräuchlichsten Choräle : mit Vor- und Zwischenspielen tacktgemäß verbunden : und mit Bezeichnung der Register und der Applicaturen versehen für die ersten Versuche im gottesdienstlichen Orgelspiele (32 Chorale-preludes)
  • Sinfonie concertante for 2 bassoons and orchestra
  • Variations on "Heil dir im Siegerkranz" for organ
  • Second Piano Sonata, op. 21

Publications

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  • Zur Geschichte des Orgelspieles, vornehmlich des deutschen, im 14. bis zum Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts (The History of Organ Playing from 14th to the 18th Centuries, in 2 volumes) (1884)
  • Kunst des Orgelspiels (The Art of Organ Playing), Op. 15

References

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  1. ^ "Organs". www.domorgel-magdeburg.de. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
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