Year: 2014

Happy Advent and shortly Merry Christmas!  Today’s improvisation comes from the 4th Sunday in Advent with a very particular chant for this week.  The Rorate caeli comes from the Book of Isaiah 45:8.  “Let justice descend, you heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the clouds drop it down.”  It’s a wonderful chant and is always a treat to improvise on such a great theme.

PS: I decided to add this comment: I REALLY WISH I had recorded the prelude.  I did this totally radical fugue on Veni, Veni Emmanuel; or O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  I don’t like to admit that I did a better improv earlier, but I really did.  You should have been there; stretto and all.  I’ll leave it at that, since that happens to my brain A LOT. Some improvisation that I post is not NEARLY as good as something I did earlier.

After several posts of compositions, I figure it’s time to return to an improvisation.  And today’s improvisation is a simple, loud, exciting postlude.  Holy God, We Praise Thy Name, based on a German chorale, which is based on the Te Deum Latin hymn, is a standard of congregational repertoire.  Ending the liturgy in this fashion is always fun since my church knows it very well and offers me an opportunity to followup with an equally (hopefully) thrilling postlude.  There’s not much more to say, since it is fairly short, and that’s that!

Not that I like to admit things like this, I tried using a similar motivic idea as the last post for today’s post. While there are certainly common elements, I like how the pieces in this improvisation unfolds differently, like a small variation on a theme. Being in a different mode (mixolydian) too, it certainly sounds a little more Duruflé-ish. I promise, soon, that I will post a non-communion improvisation!

I’m really happy with this one! There’s a moment at the end where I tack an extra coda, but it worked out well. Especially since I changed the tonality of the chant from phrygian to Major (much like Bach did for O Sacred Head). What I particularly like about this improv is that it bridges the aspects of the Psalm 89 (88) which reads:

My faithfulness and mercy will be with him;
through my name his horn will be exalted.

I wasn’t particularly ‘horning’ a theme, but the rather adding another layer. That’s what the swell with the celeste and viole do. Add to that the particular chant mode and I think it turns into something profound. Or at least, I like to think it does. Enjoy!

Today’s improvisation, from earlier this afternoon, is based on the chant for Communion with a text from Matthew 13:45 and 46. Simply put, the verses describe the kingdom as a pearl of great price. I was trying to capture those two particular images, the Kingdom of God and a pearl, juxtaposed by earth. It’s always fun to try and capture an idea and put it into musical form. One quick note about the improvisation: I wasn’t expecting things to go on longer and there’s a point where you can tell that I just said to myself, “Well, I gotta keep things going!” Those moments are always fun moments to have.

Much of the study of improvisation follows a simple idea: imitate the masters.  Today’s improvisation is an attempt at an improvisation like a Vierne Scherzo.  I like the use of scherzos and other fast paced pieces during communion processions because I don’t think of them as always being reflective; but more often, they should be joyous, maybe even in a rambunctious way.  It’s a solid improvisation, though I certainly could have use another 5 minutes to the paltry 2 or so that I had, thus the abrupt ending.  Though,when one is given lemons, make lemon pie (that’s what my Mom says after all!).

UPDATE: I just realized that this post is identical to another post recently. I have no idea how they got mixed up, but I like this improvisation, so I’m happy to share it twice!