Fanfare: Hymn to St. Magnus for Concert Band (1996).

The Hymn to St. Magnus is based on a twelfth century hymntune. It is dedicated to St. Magnus Erlendsson, heir to the Earldom of Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Magnus lead a violent life as a young Viking raider. When he converted to Christianity he renounced his former way of living. Magnus’s cousin, Håkon Paulsson disputed Magnus’s claim to the Orkney Earldom. Through the mediation of King Eystein I of Norway an agreement was reached that divided the territory between Magnus and Håkon. This agreement was broken in 1115 and war became eminent. The Orkney ruling assembly (the Thing) negotiated a truce and set up a peace conference on the island of Egilsay. Both parties agreed to attend the meeting with a minimum of ships and troops. Håkon showed up with an overwhelming force taking Magnus prisoner. Because of Magnus’s piety, Håkon’s standard bearer refused to execute him. He was killed instead by Håkon’s cook. St. Magnus was buried where he fell. A cathedral was built in his honor on Orkney Island in the city of Kirkwell. The removal of his remains to this cathedral was verified in the early twentieth century when a box was found hidden in a column that contained bones and a damaged skull. The St. Magnus hymntune is an early example of Norse polyphony. Unlike traditional organum, the Hymn to St. Magnus is based on the interval of the third rather than on fourths or fifths. The original manuscript of the hymn is found at Uppsala University in Sweden.

The score and parts for Fanfare: Hymn to St. Magnus are available in printed and electronic form from J.W. Pepper.

Fanfare Hymn to St. Magnus (complete).