Collection Herman Jeurissen

Many episodes from the operas of Richard Wagner have been arranged for a wide range of musical instruments, yet only rarely for horn or Wagner tuba with organ. The two excerpts from Tannhäuser and Lohengrin selected here, however, lend themselves particularly well to this combination. The title character of the 1845 opera Tannhäuser is torn between the sensual pagan goddess Venus and the virtuous Elisabeth of Thuringia. Ultimately, Elisabeth takes on Tannhäusers sins. In Elisabeths Heimgang (her final farewell to earthly life), the woodwind instruments imitate the solemn sounds of the organ. The solos for viola and bass clarinet are given to the horn (or Wagner tuba).
In Lohengrin (1848), the eponymous hero rescues Elsa, Duchess of Brabant, who has been wrongly accused, on the condition that she never asks his name. Despite his stern warnings in Lohengrins Verweis an Elsa (Lohengrins reprimand to Elsa), she breaks her vow, compelling him to return to Monsalvat, the mysterious Grail castle of his father, Parsifal. The broadly spun melody provides ample opportunity for the horn (or tuba) soloist to demonstrate his or her dramatic qualities.

Jedes Stück dieser Sammlung ist mit einem Vorwort versehen, das den historischen Kontext und die Erkenntnisse liefert.