August Gottfried Ritter

August Gottfried Ritter (25 August 1811 – 26 August 1885) was a German romantic composer and organist.

Biography

Co-creator, together with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, of the first example of Romantic Organ Sonata (the first one was composed in 1845); he moved in 1847 from being organist in Merseburg cathedral to become organist in Magdeburg Cathedral. He also was "Royal-Prussian organ auditor". Ritter organized to build a new main organ in Magdeburg Cathedral and designed the stoplist. The organ with four manuals, mechanical key action and 81 stops was built by Adolf Reubke in 1856 to 1861.^[1]

In his critical writings, Ritter condemned the Renaissance organ composers referred to as the "Colorists" for overindulging in ornamentation.

Compositions

• Toccata in D minor for organ
• Choral Preludes for organ (opp. 7, 8 & 9)
• First Organ Sonata in D minor, op. 11 (ca. 1845)
• Second Organ Sonata in E minor, op. 19 (ca. 1850)
• Third Organ Sonata in A minor, op. 23, dedicated to Franz Liszt (ca. 1855)
• Fourth Organ Sonata in A major, op. 31 (ca. 1855)
• Andante in A minor, Op. 26 (arrangement of second movement from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony)
• Preludes, postludes etc.
• XXXII der gebräuchlichsten Choräle : mit Vor- und Zwischenspielen tacktgemäß verbunden : und mit Bezeichnung der Register und der Applicaturen versehen für die ersten Versuche im gottesdienstlichen Orgelspiele (32 Chorale-preludes)
• Sinfonie concertante for 2 bassoons and orchestra
• Variations on "Heil dir im Siegerkranz" for organ
• Second Piano Sonata, op. 21

Publications

• Zur Geschichte des Orgelspieles, vornehmlich des deutschen, im 14. bis zum Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts (The History of Organ Playing from 14th to the 18th Centuries, in 2 volumes) (1884)
• Kunst des Orgelspiels (The Art of Organ Playing), Op. 15

References

External links

• Biography (German)
• Free scores by August Gottfried Ritter at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)