Keith McCaughin
for Hella and Hermann Baumann
One horn announces birth and death,
Heralds joy and strife,
One horn that sings with living breath,
One horn that sings with life.The alphorn sounds and trees resound,
Emerging life draws air.
The hills in blissful prayer abound,
The hills in blissful prayer.The shofar blares with youthful dares,
Maturing egos soar,
Oh taste the fruit Olympus bears,
For those who dare explore.The conch shell blasts and life is past,
Subsiding spirits fail,
As storm wracked souls below deck massed,
Across the chasm sail.One horn then blazes joyful praises,
"Life will never cease,"
Reechoing canonic phrases,
"Live in love and peace"One horn announces birth and death,
Heralds joy and strife,
One horn that sings with living breath,
One horn that sings with life.
Originally published in THE HORN CALL Vol. XI No. 2.
Hella Baumann, wife of Hermann Baumann, died on the 14th of June, 1997. The funeral was on the 20th of June at the Evangelical Kirche am Markt in Essen-Kettwig. She is survived by her husband, Hermann, four children, and seven grandchildren.
Her classic lecture presented during the XIIth International Horn Workshop, "The Horn as a Symbol," is published in THE HORN CALL Vol. XI No. 2.