explanation written 12/09

I was giving a pipe organ recital at the end of my senior year of high school, 
and wanted to write a piece for it.

The first tidbit I remember thinking of were the two different kinds of
fast ascending motifs that demand your hands to move around the organ 
really fast - which would be put on top of a pedal melody. So the song was born
from the thought that "wouldn't that look AWESOME?"

I had also been recently exposed to John Adams and his style of minimalism,
which inspired much of the middle of the piece.

Finally, I learned "We Shall Overcome" somewhere and had settled on the theme
as "Hope," so I decided to quote it.  Especially since it would come at a 
time in the piece where we move from the minor keys (and mixolydian) to a
very major tonality (with suspensions out the wazoo).


Recording from the recital I gave in June 2007 at First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis on the Zimmer-Walker organ. Recorded by Marc Boensel.