Agincourt Hymn

The English victory over the French at the battle of Agincourt in 1415 inspired John Dunstable to compose “Agincourt Hymn” on which Bukvich based his work of the same name. The entire work, with one exception, is based on the serialization of various elements of the hymn. The exception is the melody in the saxophone soli section which is “Danny Boy” in inversion. The work carries two dedications: The first, to the composer’s father, Dan Bukvich, Sr. (hence the “Danny Boy” inclusion) and to Robert Pascoe (a horn player), late son of the composer’s mentor, Jane Pascoe. Hence, the work contains no horn part. A large percussion section, segments of chant and creative staging that has the trumpet (9 part) and trombone sections playing the final portion at the front of the stage, contribute to making the “Agincourt Hymn” one of Bukvich’s most dramatic and difficult works.

Portions of the program notes were extracted from those written by Anthony Conrad Mengelkamp for the CD, "Music of Daniel Bukvich," published in 1997; edited for content by Susan G. Weaver.

“Agincourt Hymn” is basically a 20 minute crescendo that incorporates a certain amount of repeated, minimalistic themes. It is musically challenging because of this and so, requires a high level of musicianship in order to be performed effectively. If poorly conducted, the piece may seem to be too long and the intensity of the crescendo may be lost. It is recommended that the conductor spend ample time studying the score before attempting to rehearse this piece.