Sonata on the 94th Psalm

Reubke composed the sonata while he was studying piano and composition in Weimar with Franz Liszt, and living at the Altenburg house.

Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis in meinem Herzen, aber deine Tröstungen ergötzen meine Seele.

This music is an interpretation of the text 'Herr, Gott, des die Rache ist, erscheine'; a head-motif is followed by a descending chromatic scale.

The development section of the first movement, from the allegro con fuoco, depicts the second group of verses, leading into a recapitulation in organo pleno.

The adagio second movement depicts the Bekümmernisse (sorrows) and Tröstungen (consolations) moods of the third group of verses, and closes with a reappearance of the opening theme of the sonata.

According to E. Power Biggs, Reubke inverts the second half of the original theme, thereby imparting a new drive, energy, and excitement to the music.

The 94th Psalm sonata is in the repertoire of most concert organists, and has been recorded by many well-known players such as E. Power Biggs, Catherine Crozier, Michael Schönheit, Simon Preston, Alan Morrison, Virgil Fox, Christopher Herrick, Gillian Weir, Jeremy Filsell, Daniel Roth, Kevin Bowyer, David Briggs and Jean Guillou.

There is also a variation of the piece compiled and performed by Timothy Howard as part of his organ soundtrack score for the 1922 film, "Nosferatu."