Ouverture to the three Angels

This overture was written in 2000 and is a tribute to the composer Paul Hindemith. The composition is based on the song: 'Es sungen drei Engel'. This song originated in the 12th century and was a Christmas carol at the time. Hindemith turned this melody into a chorale in the 'Angel Concerto' of his symphony 'Mathis der Maler'. Gustav Mahler also uses the melody of this song in 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn' and in the final movement of his 3rd Symphony.Tassyns not only uses the melody extensively in the overture to 'Die drei Engel', it also forms one of the dominant musical themes of the entire main work. Here this melody appears for the first time as a fugue in the woodwind instruments before the theme is taken over by the brass instruments and then finally comes to a fabulous end in the great tutti with the other main themes. Although both the first and last sections are not direct variations of the chorale, they represent a modern reference to the main theme. The work is modeled on an angel's song.