Vorspiel und Fuge for organ [WAB 126/2 & 125] - Anton Bruckner

Austrian composer Anton Bruckner was born in 1824 on 4th September; this year marks the 200th anniversary of his birth. Well known in his day for his organ playing and sacred music, he is now recognised as one of the great and pivotal symphonic masters, with his eleven massive, architectural symphonies being subject to much scathing criticism when first performed.
The forthright Vorspiel or ‘Prelude’ in d minor [WAB126/2] was written in 1847, the year before Bruckner was appointed organist at the Augustinian Monastery in Sankt Florian, where he had been a choirboy at the age of 13 (and occasional organist).
He began composing seriously in 1861, the year the Fuge [WAB125] was written (apparently intended as an examination piece). It begins in serious mood, reinforced by the descending scales of the principal theme, but with some sunlight in the central section; building steadily throughout, the piece ends in a somewhat apocalyptic vein.
An intensely private and self-critical man, Bruckner’s bouts of depression doubtless coloured much of his works’ emotional heft. When Bruckner died, he had specified that he wanted to be buried beneath his favourite organ, the 1770 Krismann instrument in the Sankt Florian monastery.
Images: The composer’s manuscripts for the Vorspiel and the Fuge; various external and internal photos of the monastery, including the 1770 ‘Bruckner Organ’ at the west end and the 1691 pair of Choir Organs originally by Remmer; Bruckner’s memorial stone; his sarcophagus in the crypt underneath the organ, in front of the monastery's ossuary; and a stained glass window in Linz Cathedral showing Beethoven and Bruckner side by side.
Played by Peter Christie on his Viscount Envoy FV-350 digital home organ as part of the online music programme for St John's Episcopal Church, Greenock, Scotland.