Adagio Fantastique

Description

This product is a downloadable PDF ONLY.  Print copies will be made available in the future.

Duration: c. 7’00”

Composer’s notes:

This work was commissioned by Matthew Lobe, Fall 2016, premiered at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, PA. The piece was grouped alongside a work by J.S. Bach and Olivier Messiaen and a piece that could tie them together aesthetically was needed. The approach to the piece became one of exploring baroque techniques, such as antiphony and plenums, while maintaining a tonal sound that is more French.  One of the most ancient of cadences, the Landini cadence, is drawn out at length to explore these adjacent tonalities. The result is stunningly dark in combination with the grand cathedral acoustics and Beckerath organ. This work represents a departure as the registration is specific to the Beckerath organ at St. Paul Cathedral, something that is very much in line with the French tradition.