This is a new printing of the original edition on sturdy 80 pound acid-free
paper. 12 pages. All markings are original. There is a brief biography of Buck,
exclusive to Michael's Music Service, a full-size pictorial engraving,
comments on the piece, and a list of Buck’s published organ pieces. Dudley Buck
was for several decades America’s most famous organist and organ composer. At
the time of publication of
The Holy Night, he was the organist
at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn, playing their enlarged III/40 stop
1873 Hilborne Roosevelt, Opus 3. Highest quality guaranteed. Size of music
is
12.5" x 9.5". $8.00.
Dudley Buck (1839-1909), a contemporary of Eugene Thayer and John Knowles
Paine, was one of the early American organ virtuosi who composed many works
for the organ. “The Holy Night” was published in 1891, late in Buck's
compositional timeline. It is the third of a four-piece set of programmatic
pieces titled
Four Tone Pictures and is the first piece for organ
to depict the action of a dramatic scene. He includes the following to describe
the scene: “There were shepherds abiding in the field, Keeping watch over
their flocks by night.” You hear “Silent Night” to portray
the shepherds at night, and later to indicate the appearance of the angels,
you hear “O Come All Ye Faithful.” The notes fall nearly always
under the hand, and there is no advanced technique required. The entire piece
lies between easy and moderately easy. To my knowledge, there have been no recordings
of the entire piece.