The clarinettist, arranger and editor of many clarinet works, Georg-Fritz Höly (1929-2019), who also encouraged Bertold Hummel to write the Christmas suite Noël, wrote to the composer on 4 February 1989:

May I share with you, Professor Hummel, a thought that I have been carrying with me for a long time? I often visit a Marian pilgrimage site in Alsace. The priest there has spoken to me several times about mystical music for basset horn solo. Perhaps you would also like to do this, since, according to Mozart, the basset horn is the ‘instrument of the beyond’. Perhaps old Marian songs could be used for this.

Preface (Schott Music ED 20026)

The Marian Fantasies were composed in 1990 and are based on Gregorian Marian chants and a melody from the 17th century. They precede the respective fantasies and allow the metaphysical colouring of the basset horn sound to become particularly clear. The elaborate fantasies above them give the basset horn the opportunity to fully utilise its cantabile qualities. The sound of the basset horn, which is detached from time and space and which W. A. Mozart also used so often for the otherworldly, builds a bridge from the traditional chants to the music of the 20th century.
The Marian Fantasies beautifully reflect the compositional present and at the same time illuminate its roots. The spiritual-religious basis also gives this music a further dimension that makes it suitable for any kind of aural performance. The fantasias will find their place both in the concert hall and in the church for secular or sacred performances. For performers and audiences alike, they are easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to.
The versions for bassoon or bass clarinet solo are authorised by the composer and are in any case a good alternative.

Martin Litschgi August 2006