Home of Organist, Improviser, and Composer Benjamin Cornelius-Bates
Today I present the next two Lenten Improvisations. The first, Improvisation II, has similarities to Improvisation I, but fleshed out in a different manner. The second, Improvisation III, is an inverted canon. Of course, that’s a simplification of technique, but each is again an exploration of a single stop color that can be found on most instruments. I continue to find the exploration of an individual stop to be challenging and the challenge is what makes it inviting!
Greetings on this First Sunday in Lent! For the first time ever, I am making a post that does not involve some kind of Youtube video. Mostly due to time, I don’t foresee myself having the opportunity to make any recordings of this next round of short pieces over the coming weeks. But I still want to get these works out in a timely manner, namely one piece per week this coming Lenten season. Without further ado, here is the first Lenten Improvisation.
It is a very introspective piece and one that certainly ends on a musical question mark. I think that’s incredibly appropriate to the Lenten season as it anticipates something to come. It is a time of preparation and having music that reflects something coming is hugely important.
Today, I had hoped to present one last Alleluia before Lent starts on Wednesday, but I was unable to get a decent recording that I felt was worthy of posting. This Communion improvisation, on the other hand, is quite nice. It’s static opening motive, I think, lends itself well to the meditative qualities of the communion procession. I am still fascinated trying to use one stop or one color for as long as I think is aesthetically pleasing, which I feel works well here. Not in a contrapuntal way either, simply that the aesthetic and color lends itself to slow change before truly introducing the chant.