Selections from Mahler's Veni, Creator Spiritus for Concert Band

Gustav Mahler's "Veni Creator Spiritus" was a new musical setting for the lyrics of a 9th century Latin hymn, originally sung as a Gregorian chant, as an invocation of the Holy Spirit during the celebration of the Christian Feast of Pentecost. This work would comprise the Part I of the symphony with Part II being a setting of the words from the closing scene of "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Mahler envisioned the premiere of this new symphony, Number 8, as a massively grand spectacle, with an orchestra not only including strings but a large brass and woodwind section, eight soloists, two full adult choruses, and a children's choir. The full complement for the premiere was 171 instrumentalists and 858 singers, a total of 1029 musicians, which inspired the promoter to advertise the work as "Symphony of a Thousand." In this work, grand statements expressing the awe of divine majesty alternate with gentle melodic lines of tender love. It combines moments of awesome dramatic tension with the lightness of a fugue. Robert Anello's arrangement makes this exceptional music accessible to large concert bands while maintaining the essence and flow of Mahler's original work.