Armando Bayolo

What is sacred to you? What makes something sacred? For many of us the idea of sacredness is based on what we read in our holy books. But wisdom can be found outside of the canon. In the apocrypha. To me, perhaps the most sacred thing is love in all its forms: for my wife, my children, my parents and siblings, and for my friends.

For a very long time I’ve loved the Brahms Horn Trio. A hornist friend  introduced me to it in high school challenged me to write one of my own, but only when I felt I could place it besides the Brahms with confidence. In the meantime, I also got to know and love the Horn Trio by Gyorgi Ligeti, his “homage a Brahms.” I was reminded that these are two of the most sacred pieces in the hornist’s chamber music repertoire. The canon. The Old and New Testaments.

But there is also much wisdom and very interesting stories in the apocryphal books that weren’t included among those sacred writings. Many of these were and still are venerated by people today. I don’t know that my work can confidently stand besides the two sacred pillars of Brahms and Ligeti, but perhaps they can be a kind of Apocrypha to their holy writ.

Apocrypha is also meant as a celebration of the sacredness of love and friendship. Both in its original motivation, the words that inspired the subject, and the friendship that motivated me to take the project on after the hornist Kimberly Penrod wrote when she found some music I’d written for her many, many years ago.

Apocrypha will be between 15-25 minutes long scored for horn, violin and piano. Buy-in to the consortium consists of $500 in two payments (an initial deposit and balance upon delivery) with delivery slated for the winter of 2026-27 with availability for premiere performances starting in the 2027-28 season. Each member will receive a dedication in the signed score and exclusive rights to the piece for one year after delivery and an additional $75 for a recording license, if desired.

Let us sing together of our sacred truths, of our friends, of our shared love. Click the link to join us!

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