Johann Ernst Rembt, Trio nr. 7, D Dur

Johann Ernst Rembt (1749-1810) was a German composer and organist who lived during the Classical period. He was born in 1749, although the exact date and place of his birth are not known. He studied under J.P. Kellner and in 1768 presented himself in Holland and France as an organ virtuoso in the tradition of Bach. From 1772 until his death he was the organist in Suhl.

Rembt based his compositions on Bach’s chorale settings and devoted himself to preserving the ‘Bach style’. Most of his output consists of simple chorale harmonizations, fughettas and organ trios, in rather free forms characterized by pronounced melody and simple part-writing.

In 1787 Rembt published 12 Trios for organ. Manuscript Ec 268.5, held by the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Bonn, contains 6 of these 12 Trios. They showcase his skillful use of polyphony, though the pedel part is more harmonically based than melodically. Only in the Trio in E flat major (the last of the six I’m going to publish) does the pedal play the main theme of the Trio.

The first in this little series is the Trio in D major. It features to lively parts for both the hands and a solid harmonic base in the pedal part. Though not nearly as difficult as the great Trios by Johann Sebastian Bach, it takes some practise to get it right.

The recording was done with the Hauptwerk software and the sampleset, made by Sonus Paradisi, of the Janke organ in the Stadtkirche of Bückeburg (https://www.sonusparadisi.cz/en/organs/germany/buckeburg-janke-organ.html).

Score
Rembt, Trio nr. 7, D Dur

Performance

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