O come, O come, Emmanuel (Organ+Oboe)

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This piece was commissioned in 2023 by David Erickson to be premiered at an evening of Lessons and Carols, specifically for the orchestration of organ and oboe. David (the organist in the recording) dedicates the piece with abiding friendship to Ed Stanley (the oboist in the recording) and John Angle.

The introduction consists of a melody that outlines the cantus firmus and concludes with a falling-fifths sequence, which is repeated several times throughout the piece and functions as a bridge between each section.

The core of the piece is a variation in choral orné style with pre-imitation, the oboe playing a highly decorated version of the cantus firmus. Intertwined in the counterpoint are statements of the melody "Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland" (Savior of the Nations, come) in the tenor voice of the organ.

The second variation is toccata-like with the cantus firmus in the soprano line of the organ, the oboe here playing a secondary role as echo or figurative decoration.

The coda echoes the introduction, albeit the voices are exchanged (oboe vs. organ). One sequence from the choral orné also makes a reappearance.

0:00 Introduction
1:15 Choral orné (ornamented chorale)
5:21 Toccata
7:02 Coda