Joseph Jongen

Complete Organ and Harmonium Works 1

Joseph Jongen (1873–1953) probably created the "Sonata eroïca", the organ work that was to become his compositional distinguishing mark, in just five days between 18 and 25 September 1930. this is suggested by the extremely neatly written autograph. Commissioned to compose for the inauguration of the new Stevens organ for the Brussels Palace of Fine Arts, the "Sonata" is probably his best-known work today and is included in the third volume of this edition.

Similar to César Franck, who was also born in Liège, Jongen found a recognizable musical language in his oeuvre, which is characterized by harmonic coloration, references to choral singing and Walloon folklore, among other things.

Jongen's organ oeuvre includes compositions of varying degrees of difficulty, from simpler pieces notated on two staves to virtuoso works for the professional organist.

This first Urtext edition and at the same time the first complete edition of Jongen's organ and harmonium works presents the compositions chronologically arranged in three volumes according to their creation. The edition includes a foreword (English/German) with practical performance tips and a critical report (English).