12' 00" / 15 pages
Intermediate
Composer's Note: "The Sonata's three movements reflect an entirely personal response to three contrasting locales on Cape Cod. In the first, Barnstable, I had in mind the quiet daily bustle of a working and fishing New England town. Wellfleet is a meditation on the almost uncanny beauty of the Atlantic Ocean to be found there; it is in the form of a chaconne in 12/8 time. And for the final movement, Provincetown… Well, for Provincetown I have chosen the free-spirited form of the quodlibet (Lat. "What you please") in which two tunes are made, sometimes a bit roughly, to be heard simultaneously. The two tunes I have chosen are each presented separately, and then combined in double counterpoint. The first theme early music connoisseurs will recognize as the popular air from 16th century England, Jhon come kisse me now; the second is the robust hymn tune Melita, by John Bacchus Dykes, widely known and loved as "The Mariner's Hymn."
for Christa Rakich
The 2003 Region I Convention of the AGO, Cape Cod
2003 The Congregational Church of Wellfleet, MA / Christ Rakich, organist
There are not that many pieces in my repertoire that get trotted out as often as this one. It travels well, and it’s interesting, beautiful, different, and fun. It works on organs large and small and has balanced many a program that might otherwise be a bit too intense. I love it! THANK YOU.
2023 Göteborg International Organ Festival, Göteborg, Sweden, Christa Rakich, organ
Alte Schule Musikverlag / print Buy Here
Pipedreams presents organist Katie Gunn performing Sonata in Sea
The Art of the Young Organist (I)