72 Chorale Improvisations

The Chorale Improvisations were composed 2000-2011. In some cases the composer has reused and refined earlier chorale preludes for this collection.  The ideological and inspirational source is undeniably JS Bach’s Orgelbüchlein and Karg-Elert’s 66 Choral-Improvisationen op 65 (Elgenmark writes in his list of work  “in the spirit of Karg-Elert”) in that amongst other things the chorales follow the church year. The composer’s deeply rooted acquaintance with the message of the church and the hymn’s significance for acts of worship is reflected in his careful choice of chorales/hymns and the order in which they are presented in this collection.

  Elgenmark’s special liking of contrapuntal forms is worthy of note, partly with fugue and fugato techniques, and partly with a frequent, simultaneous combination of two or more chorale phrases. At times another hymn tune or church melody can appear instead of the featured subject and this is woven into the musical texture.  The hymn numbers are, with one exception, taken from the Church of Sweden hymn book 1986.

(From the preface to Runa Nototext's sheet music edition  2019)

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