A Somber "Venetian Boat Song" for the Organ by E. L. Ashford

This somber and touching "Venetian Boat Song" for the organ was published in the November 1898 Organist magazine. It was composed by Emma Louise Ashford (1850-1930) who was the editor for the Lorenz publications that began the company: "The Choir Leader" and "The Organist". Mrs. Ashford wrote over 600 compositions for Lorenz during the years 1894 -1930.
The "Venetian Boat Songs" are the local ballads sung by the boatmen of the Gondolas that are rowed through the canals of Venice. In the past and present, taking a Gondola down the canal is a tourist attraction in Venice.
In 1830 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy visited Venice during a great European tour and was intoxicated by his impressions. He said of the local gondoliers: “The gondoliers are now crying out to one another again, and the lights are reflected deep in the water; one is playing the guitar and singing". This inspired him to compose five pieces based upon the songs he heard of the Gondola boatmen. Throughout the 19th century, many composers followed Mendelssohn's example with their own imaginative creation of a "boatmen song".
The Hauptwerk pipe organ sample set is the 1885 Cavaille-Coll located in St. Etienne in Caen, France. It is sampled by Sonus Paradisi.
#hauptwerk #virtualpipeorgan #organmusic