Opus 1237
Rhapsody on a German Carol (2017)
for Organ
Erik Simmons, organ
Duration: 6 min.
Dedication: for Hans Uwe Hielscher
Recorded on How Great Our Joy! — Organ Music for Christmas by Carson Cooman (2019)
Publisher: Strube Verlag in "Zwei Orgelwerke"
Performance materials available from the publisher.
Rhapsody on a German Carol (2017) is dedicated to organist Hans Uwe Hielscher. The work is a festive rhapsody (free fantasia) on a traditional German carol: “Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht” (“While by my sheep I watched”), originally written around 1600. The melodic motives from the carol are developed across several brief sections, culminating in an organum-gigue and a return to the opening music.