The piece was written by Würzburg-based composer Bertold Hummel in 1994 for the 70th birthday of Klaus Hashagen, the long-serving head of the music department at Bayerischer Rundfunk in Nuremberg, who died last year. In all three movements of this congratulatory piece, the sound phoneme H-A-ES-H-A-G-E, derived from Hashagen's name, is present.
In the Invocation, it is first introduced as an abbreviated call by tuned dobacis, tubular bells and vibraphone. Six temple blocks, an African slit drum, claves, metal chimes and gongs colour long sustained organ sounds and chromatic arabesques. The Toccata gives the percussionist the opportunity to enter into a virtuoso dialogue with the organ, whereby the skin instruments (two bongos, two tomtoms, snare drum) and the vibraphone dominate. In the concluding chorale, interrupted several times and linked to the Hashagen theme, the metal bells (five cymbals, gong, tam-tam, triangle, chimes) are connecting elements and support the meditative conclusion of the composition.
Throughout the entire work, the composer succeeds in effectively juxtaposing the tonal characteristics of organ and percussion on the one hand and creating something new through fusion on the other. A piece that knows how to arouse both the performers' joy of playing and the audience's interest.
As we have come to expect from Zimmermannverlag, both players are provided with clear, easy-to-read music. Attention has also been paid to turning possibilities by leaving some pages blank. With "... in honourem ...", Hummel has undoubtedly enriched the literature for the popular duo combination of organ and percussion with an interesting work.

Hermann Schwander

Hummel's three-movement work "in honorem" was convincing as a powerful, suspenseful work with eruptive dialogues between percussion instruments and organ and suggestive sound mixtures between tubular bells and mixture registration.

In fact, "In honorem ..." for percussion and organ op. 98a opened a door to unexpected and fascinating dimensions of sound and colour. The interactions between the organ and countless percussion instruments, the variety of acoustic effects, colourful dabs and reflections as well as dynamic contrasts, which also came to light in "In memoriam" op. 74, testified to the outstanding quality of the composer's artistic craft and emotional depth.

The three-part work is laid out like a triptych, with a toccata at the centre which, despite all the build-up, always finds its way back to the melody. The percussion plays an important role in the concluding chorale. The free melody does not use a quotation and is more of an impression with a searching hint of elements of church music.

This is a three-movement work for multiple percussionist and organ. The percussion textures include a huge setup of vibraphone, tubular bells, drums, temple blocks, cymbals and miscellaneous percussion with wood and metal textures. The part includes a page of instrument descriptions plus a diagram of the setup, and stick and mallet requirements are listed as well.
The opening movement, "Incantation," is free and unmetered. It introduces several of the metallic textures, many presented in five-note groupings or statements. Movement II, "Toccata," is fast and rhythmic, featuring drums and vibraphone. The work closes with a chorale that is slow and stately. The publisher has created a clear, well-designed score with no page-turn problems thanks to attached page inserts. The excellent use of colors and melodic statements makes this work suitable for advanced students or professional performers.

George Frock