Beschrijving

In 1747, George Frideric Handel wrote the melody known today as „Tochter Zion“ initially as “Siegeschor” for his Oratorio “Josua” and later he added the same melody to the Oratorio “Judas Maccabaeus”, which he had written one year before. The new sacred lyrics for Handel’s melody arose in the early 19th century: “Tochter Zion, freue dich!” It became one of the most famous German Christmas songs. In 1904, French organist and composer Félix Alexandre Guilmant used this melody for a romantic organ piece – gradually building in a comprehensible way for the listener. In the middle of the piece we hear a two-part Fugato passage, before it impressively ends with a Grandioso. Albert Loritz, who already took notice of the special piece when he was a thirteen-year-old organ student, created a serious arrangement for wind band of “Paraphrase über den Siegeschor”.