For hundreds of years, the monks have been singing their Gregorian Salve Regina every evening after Vespers in front of the Chapel of Grace of the monastery church in Einsiedeln (Switzerland) - mostly in four-part men’s chorus.
Since my earliest childhood I have often listened to this mystical song.
The harmonies that are entwined with the Gregorian chant and the resulting upper voices seem ecstatic to me.
This ecstasy is accentuated in the Einsiedler Salve for organ. From the quietest register it increases to the organ tutti, while a continuous pedal solo supports this effect.
The piece is composed in such a way that on a mechanical organ, the registration can even be done by the organist himself.
(Carl Rütti 2018) hjg
