In Thee Is Gladness

For two Trumpets and Organ. Includes trumpet parts in B♭ and C.

“In Thee is gladness Amid all sadness” is on the 1591 tune “In Dir Ist Freude” from Giovanni G. Gastoldi’s Balleti a cinque voce.

Gastoldi served as a deacon and singer in the chapel of the Gonzaga family in Mantua. Succeeding Giaches de Wert, he directed music in the Church of Santa Barbaras in Mantua from 1592 to 1608. Little is known about the rest of his life. Gastoldi composed a considerable body of court music, such as madrigals, and some church music, but he is best known for his Balletti, which influenced composers such as Monteverdi, Hassler, and Morley.

The melody consists of short phrases formed into two sections, each repeated. The well-known organ prelude by Johann S. Bach (PHH 7) is based on this tune.