Silent Night

SILENT NIGHT
FRANZ GRUBER (1787-1863)

arranged for Brass Quintet & Organ by J. SCOTT IRVINE

Programme Notes:
In his authentic account of the origins of Silent Night, the Composer, Franz

Gruber wrote;

“It was the 24th of December of the year 1818, when the then assistant priest Joseph Mohr at the newly established parish of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria handed over to the organist represented by Franz Gruber (who at the time was also school teacher in Arnsdorf) a poem, with the request to write a fitting melody for 2 solo voices together with choir and for accompaniment by guitar.”

Later that same day, with the finished carol in hand, Gruber returned to Mohr who was suitably impressed enough to suggest that they perform it that evening at the Christmas Mass, and the rest is history! It was Silent Night that was sung by the British and German troops during the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 as it was the only carol that both sides knew, and in 2011, UNESCO declared Silent Night an intangible cultural heritage.

This arrangement for brass and organ starts quietly with solo horn and gradually builds to an exalted conclusion.

Performance Notes:

A fearless hornist is required, as the entire opening verse is for solo horn with no accompaniment. The flugelhorn and euphonium parts may be played on Bb trumpet and trombone, respectively and a Bb part is included for the first trumpet. The Zimbelstern requested of the organ in the last bar is, of course, optional.

JSI
Duration: 4:00