San Andreas Suite (2017)

Carson Cooman

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Solo

2017

20 min.

Organ

Program Notes: “San Andreas Suite” (2017) for organ is dedicated to the German composer and organist Andreas Willscher. Born in Hamburg, Willscher has also had long ties to France, especially the Périgord region. (The title of the suite refers to Willscher’s Christian name and the saint’s name day, rendered in this case using the American variant, which comes from the old Spanish missionaries of California.) The first movement, Carillon (in festo S. Andreae apostoli), is a carillon with an ostinato repeated pattern and an ever-changing series of harmonies. The harmonic intensity builds in the coda to hint at the rich and complex sonorities of bells. Versets on a Melody from Périgord comprises four versets on an old melody, “Quel bru faï dïn lou chiel,” which comes from the Périgord (Dordogne) region of France. The title of the third movement, Pastorale mit einem Orgelpunkt, means “Pastorale with a pedal point,” and the organ’s lowest C sounds throughout. The low C is used as a harmonic generating source; the music above thus often explores sounds based on the harmonic series. The fourth movement, Toccata périgourdine, is an energetic toccata. Quoted in the slower middle section is an old melody also from Périgord.
Ensemble Name: Erik Simmons