This organ work with the movements: "Introitus, Hallelujah, Offertorium, Communio, Ite missa est" is a brilliant addition to the very small repertoire for 2 organs. The composer makes extremely skilful and convincing use of both instruments. As the level of difficulty of the composition is in the easy to moderately difficult range, this effective work is particularly recommended to all lovers of music for 2 organs. The only drawback of this brilliant composition is that it requires 2 instruments with independent pedals.

The organ composition Ad missam for two players was commissioned by Salzburg Cathedral Music and premiered in February 1994 in Salzburg Cathedral by organists Johannes Strobl and Armin Kircher. The Würzburg composer Bertold Hummel (1925-2002) was inspired by the two eastern crossing organs of the Metropolitan Church, which were built in 1991 by the Tyrolean organ builder Johann Pirchner based on the baroque model of the previous instruments. A glance at the dispositions - their reproduction in the music edition would have been a useful addition - provides certain practical performance tips: For example, the Gospel and Epistle organs each have 14 stops, divided between Hauptwerk, Nebenwerk and Pedal.

When reviewing the dynamic indications (from pp to ff), it becomes clear that the tonal balance of both organs was important to Hummel. In the musical text he also calls for "manual change or division" and an obbligato pedal. Due to the interlocking and often alternating movement structure, a certain spatial proximity of the players to each other should be guaranteed, which in turn allows for transparent audibility. The motorically moving toccata finale "Ite missa est" in particular, with parallel quaver movements and frequent changes of odd bars, is otherwise almost impossible to play synchronously. The aforementioned demands on space and instruments undoubtedly mean that suitable performance venues are rare. Hummel was probably aware of this problem himself, as there is another version for brass ensemble and timpani in his estate.

The work, which lasts a good 15 minutes, is of medium technical difficulty. With the exception of the concluding "Ite missa est" (after the Missa de angelis), the individual movements are conceived as organ propers for the mass. Four individual movements were set to music: Introitus, Hallelujah, Offertorium and Communio. The last two pieces are meditative choral metamorphoses on the hymns Was uns die Erde Gutes spendet and O Jesu, all mein Leben bist Du. Quiet appoggiaturas and trills, the cantus firmus quoted as an archaic quint organum, short siciliano-like episodes and fan figures are strung together here and partly intertwined. The use of such vividly prominent musical patterns creates an immediately tangible form. Hummel organically synthesises heterogeneous textures, which are formed from medieval organic sounds, ostinati, choral colouring and atonal melodic progressions.

The absence of the typical whole-tone fields, cluster chords and dodecaphonic elements found in many similar works of the 20th century is striking and interesting. Against this background, Ad missam documents facets of Hummel's solid compositional "craftsmanship". The publisher's attractively designed edition is a useful addition to the already rather small repertoire for two organs.

Jürgen Geiger