Celebration (1974)

by Randall Faust (b. 1947)

Dr. Randall E. Faust is a Professor of Music at Western Illinois University, where he teaches applied horn and performs with the Camerata Woodwind Quintet and LaMoine Brass Quintet. In addition, he has served for many years on the Summer Horn Faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. His many fine compositions for brass have been performed throughout the world and recorded numerous times. Celebration for Horn and Organ was composed in 1974 for an Easter Service at Calvary Church of the Brethren in Winchester, Virginia. This energetic but brief work features incisive fanfares in the horn and powerful chords in the organ.

— James Boldin

Music for Horn and Organ, 2014

Concerto for 2 Horns in D Major, TWV 52:D2 (ca. 1708-1714)

by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

Featuring Fiona Stout, horn

III. Allegro

IV. Largo

V. Allegro assai

This concerto is one among many of Telemann’s rich instrumental catalog. Possibly more than any other Baroque composer, Telemann is credited with greatly expanding the genres of both the instrumental concerto and the instrumental suite. As pertains to the horn, Telemann wrote well over twenty compositions prominently featuring the horn. Like his other double horn concertos, this piece highlights hunting horn tropes, but still contains a wealth of musical expression and interest. Today’s performance will present the last three movements of this five movement work, the middle of which is a ripieno interlude sans concertino.

Engelberg: Trio for Brass and Organ (2006)

by Libby Larsen (b. 1950)

Featuring Brandon Dicks, trumpet and Sean Holly, trombone

Libby Larsen is one of the most prolific and performed composers alive today. Larsen’s music stands out from many other contemporary composers because of her belief that music should reflect everyday life and be both accessible and enjoyable to the average listener. Thus, Larsen’s music is largely free of harsh dissonances, but full of lyricism and intriguing colors. This short work combines the warmth of a brass chamber ensemble with the glory of the organ in the portrayal of an optimistic spiritual.

Meditazione, Op. 117, No. 2 (1925)

by Oreste Ravanello (1871-1938)

From 1897 until his death, Oreste Ravanello was organist at the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padova, having previously played the same role at the famous cathedral of San Marco in Venice. Like Bruckner, he was a child of the church; all his writings were liturgical in nature, and included a periodical for church organists. Meditazione is ternary (trinitarian?) in design with a brief coda.

— Ralph Lockwood,

Twentieth Century Works for Horn and Organ, Crystal Records S671, 1985

Missa muta: Five Miniatures for Horn and Organ, Op. 55 (1973)

by Bernhard Krol (1920-2013)

I. Miserere

II. Gratias agimus

III. Suscipe

IV. In mei memoriam

V. Ite

Missa muta consists of fragments of the Mass mutated in a kind of spiritual impressionism which to me conveys the spirit of each segment of this ancient ritual. The horn intones a distant chant – melismatic, mysterious. This, since it intones all twelve tones, might be taken as the germinal nexus of the entire work…Krol’s ingenious organ registration provides a vivid foil to the horn’s sonorous cantilena.

— Ralph Lockwood

Twentieth Century Works for Horn and Organ, Crystal Records S671, 1985