Hymn to the Most Holy Trinity, B82
Opus number
N/A
Burghauser catalogue number
82
Date of composition
14 August 1878
Premiere - date and place
(?) 15 August 1878, Sychrov
Premiere performer(s)
Alois Gobl, Antonin Dvorak
First edition
Sodalitas s. Cyrilli, 1911, Prague
Text
Liturgical Latin
Duration
approx. 2 min. 30 sec.
This short song for a middle-register voice and organ is based on a traditional liturgical text extolling the Holy Trinity. The main part of the piece is surprisingly in G minor, while the closing doxology is written in G major. Dvorak wrote the Hymn on 14 August 1878 while staying with his friend Alois Gobl at Sychrov. It was probably premiered the very next day in the Sychrov castle chapel, with Gobl performing the solo, accompanied by the composer at the organ. Dvorak’s manuscript of the Hymn was kept by Gobl until his death in 1907, after which it was transferred to the Dvorak family estate; it was published for the first time in 1911 as a supplement to the fifth issue of the music journal Cyril.