Communio “Jesus, Jesus, Come to Me” by Juozas Naujalis (1869–1934) Organ Solo - Digital Sheet Music

Communio “Jesus, Jesus, Come to Me”

In July 2019, Lithuanian organist Paulius Grigonis discovered a previously unpublished composition by Juozas Naujalis, entitled Communio “Jesus, Jesus, Come to Me”, which was preserved at the Lithuanian Theater, Music and Film Museum. The very end of the manuscript bears the inscription of the place and time of its creation: Švenčionėliai, October 30, 1914. The newly discovered piece was premiered on August 22, 2019, at the Vilnius Cathedral.Juozas Naujalis (1869–1934) – Lithuanian composer and organist. In 1892, he was appointed organist and choir leader at the Kaunas Cathedral, a position he held until his death. Naujalis became actively involved in organizing local musical societies and institutions. As an outcome of his groundbreaking work, a number of important private entities, such as the first boys’ choir in Lithuania based at the Archcathedral Basilica in Kaunas, courses and the school for organists (1911), the first legal Lithuanian bookshop and music publishing house in Kaunas (1905–1912), the first music magazine Vargonininkas (The Organist) and calendars for organists published in Lithuanian (1909–1910), and the music school in Kaunas (1919), have been launched. In 1908, he founded the Children Society and St. Gregory Society for Organists, which was later reorganised into St. Cecilia Society for church musicians (1924). Naujalis was also the first Lithuanian composer to achieve recognition abroad. His church music was published in Regensburg, Warsaw, St. Petersburg, Leipzig and Paris. In recognition of his merits in the field of church music he was made Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy in Rome, in 1929. A total of 29 organ pieces by Naujalis were recorded at the Archcathedral Basilica in Kaunas in 2019.