Composed in 1977 and premiered with great success in the USA in 1981, Bertold Hummel's Suite for horn solo op. 64 essentially follows the path of "melodic tonality", i.e. the energetic tonal steps that are explored and heard through, as laid out by Hindemith. After a fanfare-like opening, in the middle of which there is a lively model that prepares the listener for the mood of the following"Intermezzo", we then hear a chorale arrangement of "Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist" at the centre of the work, testimony to Bertold Hummel's deeply religious and humanitarian approach to composition. In a brilliantly virtuosic exaggeration, the final movement, in the manner of a classical"bouncer", rounds off the four-movement cycle in a convincing and rousing manner.

Klaus Hinrich Stahmer