Chorale prelude in f, "We Three Kings of Orient Are"

Chorale Prelude Definition:

A composition usually for organ, chiefly in baroque style and characterized by an elaborate contrapuntal structure based on the melody of a hymn or chorale, it is epitomized by the numerous examples composed by J.S. Bach, who built upon a 17th-century tradition identified with the work of Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Pachelbel, among others. The chorale prelude retained improvisational characteristics even as a fixed compositional type. Typical examples feature the hymn tune as a cantus firmus (fixed tune), which is broken down into its constituent phrases played in long note values and preceded, accompanied, and followed by contrapuntal manipulations of their salient motifs.


About the Track:

Having composed Chorale Prelude in f minor many years prior, Erik-Peter (EP) Mortensen waited to release it for sale in 2012 as his skills as a MIDI Orchestrator increased dramatically. It is written in the style of J.S. Bach. The melody, or "cantus firmus", is built literally upon the notes of the Epiphany hymn "We Three Kings of Orient Are" and is given to a solo French Horn. The accompaniment is provided by harpsichord. As a Master Certificate student of Orchestration for Film & TV at Berkleemusic.com, Mortensen has come to understand and appreciate the beauty and expressiveness of modern sample libraries, and crafted the current performance using a variety of professionally sampled orchestral libraries and expressive digital techniques.