Lowell Mason Collection, The (score & parts) Brass Quintet - Sheet Music

SKU: CN.18950

Lowell Mason (1792-1872) was an influential figure in the development of American music in the nineteenth century. Christian McIvor has done wonderful job arranging 5 of his most popular hymns for brass quintet, simultaneously paying tribute to Mason and creating something original.

Lowell Mason (1792-1872) was an influential figure in the development of American music in the nineteenth century. In addition to being one of the first advocates for teaching music in public schools, Mason was also an accomplished organist and choirmaster. Furthermore, he was one of the earliest to promote congregational singing in church services, and he also spent much of his life collecting, arranging, and publishing hymn tunes. Many of Mason's hymn tunes continue to be included in the core repertoire of American hymnody. His hymn tunes mostly were composed or arranged in the European Classical style, which Mason saw as being scientific, correct, and progressive for the American public.i Mason composed tunes that made use of conservative melodies and harmonies so that they could be sung easily and remembered by entire congregations, Missionary Hymn, Hamburg, Uxbridge, Olivet, and Bethany Uxbridge are examples of this style, and they are some of the most widely heard and best known of Mason's hymn tunes. These settings were created using the versions of the hymn tunes found in The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book (1850) as starting points. Whereas the melodies remain virtually unchanged in the settings, the accompanying figures include considerable harmonic and rhythmic variation. The objective of this collection is to bring Mason's traditional works into the brass quintet literature and draw attention to his significance as a composer, highlighting his skill and artistry as a composer of melodies.