Charles Ferlus - Offertoire Funèbre in C minor

This bombarding funeral offertory was composed by Charles Ferlus (1828 - 1892). Ferlus was born in Lodève, France and was raised in Narbonne. He was a precocious student of music, having completed his music studies at the Toulouse Conservatory and then re-settling in Narbonne as a professor of music at only 17 years of age. He became the organist at the church of Saint-Paul-Serge, a post he held for nearly 50 years until his death. He was a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the great French organ builder, and the composer Lefebure-Wély, with whom he held occasional concerts. Ferlus composed around 400 piano pieces, organ and harmonium works, and an orchestral mass. Sadly, his music is not well-known today.

This composition is not quite what you might expect for a funeral piece given its fortissimo dynamic and fast tempo. The score indicates that the introductory chords be played with tremolo. But I found I could not play it that way without my hand becoming too fatigued (perhaps because I have so much tension in my hands and arms, which I have a hard time correcting) by the time the piece really begins. So, rightly or wrongly, I opted to play the chords without any tremolo. I think it still works, though.

Played on the sample set for the organ of Sainte-Marie Cathedral in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France, which was built in 1870 by Cavaillé-Coll. Today the organ is in the same condition as in 1870 when Cavaillé-Coll finished building it. Sample set by Piotr Grabowski.