Renewal

Renewal was written for trumpeter Jean-Christophe Dobrzelewski and organist Guy Whatley.

Renewal came about because Jean-Christophe emailed me to say he was interested in a piece for trumpet and pipe organ that somehow integrated Jewish material. Because of the acoustic properties and sacred nature of likely performance venues, I thought it more appropriate to find the Jewish elements in religious practice than in Jewish secular culture (e.g., klezmer). I immediately thought of the similarities between the trumpet and the shofar (ram’s horn), which has a critical role in the liturgy of the Jewish High Holy Days. I became intrigued by the challenge of fusing this with the long-standing tradition of trumpet and organ music, which is closely associated with the Baroque.

Renewal is a mingling of cultural influences. The opening idea in the trumpet is drawn from the sounding of the shofar at Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year, inspiring the title. This idea is contrasted with the following trumpet and organ duet, which recalls a Baroque trumpet voluntary. The two ideas play off each other throughout the piece.