Ernst Friedrich Richter, 6 Trio’s for organ, opus 20

Ernst Friedrich Eduard Richter (1808 – 1879), was a German musical theorist, born at Großschönau, Saxony. He first studied music at Zittau, and afterwards at Leipzig, where he attained so high a reputation that in 1843 he was appointed professor of harmony and counterpoint at the conservatorium of music, then newly founded by Felix Mendelssohn. Up to 1847 he conducted the Singakademie; he was afterwards organist successively of the Peterskirche (1851) and the Neukirche and Nicolaikirche (1862). On the death of Moritz Hauptmann in 1868, he was elected cantor of Thomasschule zu Leipzig, conducting the Thomanerchor, an office he retained until his death. Nowadays he is mostly remembered as author of three books about harmony and counterpoint.

Richter’s opus 20 is a collection of 6 Trio’s, of which 5 are based on a choral melody. They are all well-crafted works, although they must have sounded old-fashioned at the time they were written. In these Trio’s Richter shows a thourough understanding of counterpoint and voice leading. They are often reminiscent of a Baroque aria in which the solo voice is accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble. Unvariably, they are beautiful pieces.

A pdf is available below. A printed copy can be ordered at lulu.com in a both a colour (more expensive) and a black and white version. The costs are the costs of lulu, there is no profit in it for me.

Score
Richter, 6 Trio’s opus 20

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