Organ Improvisation on Lithuanian Christmas Carol

Blessed Christmas to you and your family!

Today I would like to share with you one more improvisation I played during my recent recital at my church. This one is on traditional Lithuanian Christmas Carol "Sveikas Jėzau gimusis".

This tune is heard at the end of every Christmas Mass in every Lithuanian church. It was created by the Lithuanian composer, organist, pedagogue and choir conductor Juozas Naujalis (1869-1934) who also left preludes, canons, fugues and other pieces in the Romantic style for organ.

If you know how to harmonize a hymn and transpose it to the five closely related keys of the major or minor scale, then you can create a similar improvisation yourself.

In fact, people love Christmas tunes so much that it's worth considering playing a special hymn improvisation and singing concert - sort of like hymn festival next year.

P.S. The two organ pipes that you see in the picture above were given to us in 2000 at the Gothenburg International Organ Academy (Sweden) and yes, there is some snow outside to create a special festive feeling...