Obscure Music Monday: Langgaard's Fantasia patetico

Rued Langgaard (July 28, 1893 - July 10, 1952) was a Danish composer and organist, born to musical parents. He began piano lessons at five years old, with his parents as his first teachers, and was playing Chopin mazurkas at age seven. Not long after, he started composing for the piano and began taking organ and violin lessons. Langgaard started studying music theory when he was twelve years old, and a year later, he was learning counterpoint from Carl Nielsen. His debut as a composer came a month later and he continued composing in his teen years. In addition to composing, he played organ in a few towns.

As a composer, Langgaard was influenced by Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner, and was highly skilled in counterpoint. His music is often dramatic and mercurial, and he frequently wrote for large orchestras, in addition to piano, and organ.

Langgaard started writing Fantasia patetico when he was only 13, and his musical maturity is quite evident in his writing. He was particularly skilled in creating and developing a strong theme, and his grasp of harmony was far beyond his years. He finished it three years later, and it was published two years ager that. This piece starts quite darkly, and with much drama, continuing in that vein throughout, but there are beautiful respites of lighter and more hopeful sections as well. Bold, skilled organists would do well to take on this challenge; it's a musical and technical journey definitely worth taking!