Zurich/Intragna 1983/84
length: ca. 20'
dedicated to Erich Vollenwyder

The friendship between the composer Ermano Maggini (1931-1991) and the organist Erich Vollenwyder (1921 - 1997) was very fortunate. It began in the seventies and lasted until the composer's death in 1991. Between 1979 and 1983 Ermano Maggini wrote his first triptych for organ, VIA CRUCIS, ULTIMA VERBA, PATMOS, compositions which the dedicatee Erich Vollenwyder premiered and recorded in the composer's lifetime. They were performed in numerous concerts at home and abroad and in the summer 1990 Erich Vollenwyder still played PATMOS on the organ of St.Nicolai in Leipzig. He had premiered this composition in Zurich in 1983. In the same year Ermano Maggini wrote the trilogy CANTO VIII – IX – X, regarded as one work, which was first performed in the church of Enge/Zurich on 10th November 1985.

Another piece for organ, CANTO XIII, was composed in 1984/85 and Erich Vollenwyder played it for the first time in the Hoher Dom in Cologne/Germany on 29th August 1986. The written programme cited the composer: „On my CANTO XIII: I have been working on a musical cycle for different sorts of instrumentation (organ, orchestra, string quartet, etc.). It comprises 21 Canti, all based on the 21 chapters of the Gospel of John. In these canti I am trying to give the listener an understanding of the profound eternity of love and spirit in the Gospel of John by abstracting the music.“
In 1987/88 Ermano Maggini composed CANTO XVIII (dedicated to his friend Katarina Holländer). In 1988 he wrote another work for organ solo CANTO XIX, which should be his last one. The composer should not hear them in concert.. The composer and the organist, Hans-Dieter Karras Braunschweig/Germany, had become acquainted in 1991 when a concert was planned for 1992: these two works for organ and two vocal compositions with organ, the Weihnachts-Mysterium (1985) - a nativity play, and particularly the Grosses Magnificat (1990/91) were to be premiered. However too many fateful changes prevented the realisation.
Much later, on 21st September 2002, the organist Gertrud Längle-Hofer from Vorarlberg/Austria posthumously premiered CANTO XIX at the organ of Sant'Antonio in Locarno. The concert took place during the exhibition of works by the painter Evi Kliemand, the dedicatee of this composition.

In 1990/1991 Ermano Maggini wrote CANTO XXI, the Ultimo Canto, and thus he completed his original project (cf. Editions)

In the Editions we have been focused on already recorded compositions so far. With the present edition we go a step further in the hope of giving also younger organists the opportunity of getting to know these challenging compositions and of performing them in future.

The organ opens up the wide polyphonic language and so it is not surprising that Ermano Maggini composed the works for orchestra and the complex vocal music almost at the same time. In many of the compositions his admiration for Frank Martin (1890-1974) and his work becomes apparent. Those who are familiar with Frank Martin's music may recognize that something in the younger composer's works continues and develops which the older master's music encouraged, even confirmed. In this way the Swiss musical history may open up to a certain extent and in retrospect it can also enhance Frank Martin's work.

Text and editing: Evi Kliemand, 2016
Translation in English: Thomas Batliner

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