Trauermusik is a suite for viola and string orchestra, written on 21 January 1936 by Paul Hindemith at very short notice in memory of King George V of the United Kingdom, who died the previous night.
[1] The following day, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Hindemith sat in an office made available to him by the BBC and wrote Trauermusik in homage to the late king.
Trauermusik was performed that evening in a live broadcast from a BBC radio studio, with Boult conducting and the composer as soloist.
Hindemith intended to quote the chorale "Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit" ("Here I appear in front of Thy throne"), the words being well known from Johann Sebastian Bach's deathbed composition.
Hindemith chose Bach's harmonisation BWV 327, unaware at the time, that the original manuscript of this setting is without text and that the text "Vor deinen Thron" was added only by the editors of the Bach-Gesellschafts-Ausgabe,[2] whereas Bach for "Vor deinen Thron" always used the tune "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein".