TUNE IN A STAINED GLASS WINDOW

Many arrangements are possible; it sounds particularly fine on a cathedral organ with well chosen registrations. Faster tempi than marked are not recommended, but on the other hand if the work is played in reverberant acoustics the speed should be adjusted to make the most of the beauty of the sound and reverberation. In the choral version the choir is wordless, but in the score the women are directed to use a specified syllable in a few bars for articulation and emphasis. The organ solo and choir-with-organ versions are slightly longer by dint of its having a few additional bars here and there to create breaks for the purpose of allowing the organist to change registrations.

The inclusion of a bassoon in the instrumentation of the choral version is a late change, for I had originally specified a bass clarinet. However, the latter would not normally be available for a small ensemble, and a bassoon works just about as well and would be much easier to find for a performance.

This is a short modal piece which soars in a great space and shines in a multitude of colours as though in a many-part stained glass window - though that stained glass window seems to be a very other-worldly one!

The organ version was given its first performance on 14th December 2000 at Rochester Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY, USA, by Carson Cooman.