Voluntary No. 3 (Cornet) in D Minor

All that is know of Henry Heron is that he worked in London in the 18th century. On the title-page of his "Ten Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord" he calls himself Organist of St. Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, which is today a bastion of traditional Anglo-Catholicism, and considered by many to be one of Wren's finest interiors.

Two editions of these voluntaries exist, one printed at Heron's expense and the other by Charles & Samuel Thompson of London. The best modern edition is the one edited by Dr. Ewald Kooiman, and appearing as Volume 29 in the "Incognita Organo" series, published by Harmonia in 1984.

I've always thought of Heron's voluntaries as some of the very best in terms of color, craftsmanship and variety.

This one, "No. 3 in D Minor" begins with the standard "Diapason Prelude" before the 2 Cornets dialogue. Because of the "Cornets" that I used (I did NOT use the BIG Cornet of the Rugwerk), I had to use the "diapasons" of the Rugwerk, which sound quite "stringbassy" in the fast movement, but are less pleasing in the slow prelude.

These are certainly wonderful and lively sounds, but not historically accurate, as they are probably FAR "too bold" and the acoustic would have been MUCH larger than Heron would have had.