SKU: SU.80101422
Suite circulaire (2018) for organ is dedicated to Elisa Williams Bickers. The music takes a free, contemporary approach to the historical genre of circulating (or modulating) compositions, where the basic material moves through a variety of keys before returning home again. The goal is not simply to play a modulation game, but rather to construct a true musical discourse where the varied keys are an essential part of the concept. The first movement, Praeludium, is bright in character. Besides moving through varied keys, the movement is also animated with various looping patterns that provide another link to the circulating concept. The second movement, Ricercare, takes its content very literally from the title, which means to search out. Instead of being a proto-fugue, like many ricercares from the late Renaissance or early Baroque, the music searches through the keys by means of a wandering melody and a modulating accompaniment. The third movement, Toccata, is slightly manic in character. The syncopated theme heard at the start animates the movement as it moves through both tonal, modal, and bitonal/modal harmonies before reaching an excited conclusion. (When the suite is performed on an organ tuned in an unequal, circulating temperament, there is an additional circular effect provided by the quite varied key colors that are heard as the material moves through them.)Organ Duration: 14’ Composed: 2018 Published by: Zimbel Press.
SKU: SU.80101410
Fantasy-Variations on Two Themes (2017) for organ was written for Heinrich Christensen in celebration of his significant 2017 birthday. The musical material for the work comprises two different themes. The first is a short melody by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). (It was a sketch originally intended for inclusion in, but ultimately left out of, Nielsen's late organ work 29 Little Preludes.) This theme represents Heinrich's native Denmark. The second theme is the American folk-gospel hymn Angel Band. This theme represents Heinrich's adopted American homeland. It serves also as a remembrance of our dear mutual friend Harry Lyn Huff (1952-2016), for whom the tune was a particular favorite. Both these themes are developed freely in a set of alternating fantasy-variations. The opening variation begins with a dramatic pedal solo before quoting both themes. The second variation is a lyric setting based on the Nielsen melody. The third is a jubilant hornpipe on Angel Band. The fourth is an aria on a transformation of the Nielsen melody. The fifth is a gigue-toccata on Angel Band. The sixth is an atmospheric contemplation: lush chords in the manuals move slowly and hint at Angel Band while the Nielsen melody is heard for the first time in its complete original form on a high pedal stop. The seventh and final variation begins with a brief evocation of the harmonies of the late Daniel Pinkham (a mentor to both Heinrich and me) before going on to return dramatically and jubilantly to the opening music, bringing together both themes again in a bold conclusion. Instrumentation: Organ Duration: 15' Composed: 2017 Published by: Zimbel Press.
