Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (Our God is a secure fortress), BWV 80 is a church cantata based on Martin Luther's that Bach composed for Reformation Day around the year 1723. This movement Aria and Chorale is the second movement of the cantata. The Euphonium/Trombone part performs the bass solo and the Trumpet 1 part performs the Soprano/Oboe solo which is the Chorale itself in an embellished style of the melody. Justin Bland has done a superb job of arranging this beautiful movement of about 4.5 minutes in length for moderately advanced performers. Instrumentation is: Trumpet 1 (C and B-flat parts are provided), Trumpet 2/Flugelhorn in B-flat, Horn, Euphonium/Trombone in bass clef and Tuba.?

?Silent Night? is surely one of the most beautiful Christmas carols, and this arrangement frames it in a graceful and fitting setting. After a quiet introduction, the first verse features the melody in hymn-like fashion with a countermelody in the horn. In the second verse, the trumpets play gentle embellishments. And in the third verse, melody and counterpoint shift from instrument to instrument until the final phrase, where all join for the last few chords, and the trumpet plays a soft arpeggio figure. This arrangement was completed in 2012, and performance time runs about 2 minute, 21 seconds. This version is also available for brass quintet with a second trombone (instead of Horn in F). For information, contact the arranger, Les Smith, at lessmith@ufl.edu. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.