"Introspections #2"

Although Introspections #2 was composed first before the other movements in the set, it did not feel to me like it should be the opening for this collection of miniatures.  I do remember that the movement came out quickly—I started composing it after a fretful sleep one morning in April at about 3:30am, and when I looked up at the clock again at 8:45am, the movement was nearly complete.  So this movement, like most of the others, was born fast and without a lot of over-thinking.  My goal was to make something productive out of that moment of disquietude, to reflect on my state of mind, my mood.  I didn’t have a specific narrative in mind, but I suppose each listener will interpret the work with their own filters and story lines, which is as it should be. 

As always, Heinrich Christensen does a wonderful job interpreting this movement. He writes about his experience bringing it to life as follows:

The indications in Graham’s scores tend to be mostly dynamics, with occasional color references. So the goal is to create an aural representation of what those indications inspire as I look at them. On the organ, one always has to be mindful of practical considerations, for example the progression of a crescendo requires coupling divisions together, opening the swell pedal, pushing pistons, etc. 

For this piece, I started out with gentle foundation stops with just a touch of a discreet tremulant to diffuse the direct attack of the pitch. Setting up the crescendo, we start on the Swell manual with some brighter stops added, then progress to the Great, open the swell and add more stops as we go. It all goes away to get back to a subtle variation of the initial registration. The very end of the piece to my ear contains some very interesting harmonics - I personally hear the major third of the final chord long before I actually play it."


—G.G.R., July 29, 2020

 

 

 

 

“Introspections”: Processing Feelings about a World in Crisis

Introspections for Organ is a collection of short movements, composed out of a need to process my feelings about the very troubling times we are all experiencing during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and accompanying global social and political unrest.

Back in April I started having severe recurring nightmares.  Most often I can’t remember the details of these dreams, but invariably they involve the death of those that I love.  Frequently in these dreams I am fighting off some random foe bent on my destruction. I sometimes spend the better part of the dream defending myself, killing so as not to be killed, becoming exhausted in an endless parade of violence and despair. The dreams became so predictable in their general arc that I found myself thinking while still in the dream “not this again”.  I would admonish myself mid-dream for reenacting the same drama over and over again, night after night, ending by waking up in the early morning hours in a hugely anxious state.  It was during these early mornings that I began composing what became the “introspections” as a way to help me process what I was feeling.

I began composing these movements in April, and completed Introspection 1 on May 17, 2020 (for many year I have taken note the completion date of my compositions as a kind of diary entry—it helps me keep track of my pieces and place them in context).  The work starts with a slow, pianissimo ostinato pattern that sets the constant unrelenting pulse for the work, under which is set a very simple melodic line in the pedal.  The whole opening statement is somehow off-kilter, with the sustained melody entering and changing pitches always off the beat. This gives way to a plaintive, full organ fortissimo section. Throughout the piece there is a combination of constant driving beat pattern against slow, uncomfortable syncopations, finally moving the piece forward into complex, unconventional counterpoint that mimics in form traditional counterpoint, but not at all in harmonic substance.  The result is something that feels both very familiar (conventional even) and at the same time untoward.

My dear friend, the amazingly talented Heinrich Christensen, committed himself to learning these works as they are being composed (as of this writing, I am still adding movements to the work, with five nearly completed). We decided to record them (accomplished by social distancing and using a very long lens to film the sessions) and release one movement serially each week. As Heinrich put it, “It has been oddly cathartic to learn and live with (the introspections) as we transitioned from spring to summer with all the uncertainty of when we can return to any kind of normal life, and what exactly that might look like, especially for making music together.”

--G.G.R., July 23, 2020

 

 

 

On the home stretch to the Montréal Organ Festival

After a nearly year-long collaboration working with the gifted organist Christian Lane, we are one week away from the world premiere of Concordia Salus: A Fantasy for Organ.  Chris and I made a whirlwind trip from Boston to Montréal and back last weekend to set registrations and to make a recording on the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique at Maison Symphonique. 

Chris Lane's will play one half of a concert that also features Jean-Willy Kunz, resident organist at Maison Symphonique. Jean-Willy will perform with a jazz quintet as a featured as part of the Montréal Jazz Festival.  This is a unqiue program that combines music associated with both the jazz and organ festivals--the first ever concert program fusing the music of these two festivals.

Scores for Concordia Salus are now available through Subito Music Distribution.

Lane/Ramsay Collaboration Continues

Back in December 2016, Chris Lane and I met at Old West Church in Boston to discuss how the Montréal Organ Festival commission was progressing.  This interview footage was captured during that meeting.  Special thanks goes to Wade Roush for both his interview and video skills.