A Solemn Sarabande for these distracted times

"Organ Music for Quiet Moments” is the result of a competition, run by Tim Knight Music in July 2020, and features five newly composed short pieces for reflection from composers around the world.

'A Solemn Sarabande for these distracted times,' Peter J. Smith

This completes my performances of this delightful collection of newly-composed works. This composition was selected as the winner of Tim Knight's competition, however I would argue that all of the pieces are winners and I am glad to have them in the repertoire!!

Peter Smith (b.1944) has been teaching music in schools and serving as a church organist and choirmaster for more than fifty years. He is currently Director of Music at St Mary’s Parish Church in the town of Ware in Hertfordshire. Although he has written a good deal of choral music over the years, Peter turned seriously to writing solo organ pieces for organist friends only in the spring of 2020, motivated by a desire to spend many hours of isolation to some useful end. First thoughts were, not unnaturally, triggered by the pandemic crisis, and a keyboard piece by Thomas Tomkins, written during the English Civil War, came to mind. Was it possible to devise a 21st century equivalent of some kind? Starting from the initial idea with its reversed dotted rhythm, the resulting Solemn Sarabande developed quite naturally. The texture of the central section may have been influenced by Flor Peeters’ Aria.

https://www.timknightmusic.com/product-page/organ-music-for-quiet-moments-5-pieces

System Details:
MIDI Console by Content
Hauptwerk V
Mac Mini 64GB Ram
Motu Ultralite-mk3 Audio Interface
Sampleset: The Armley Schulze
https://www.lavenderaudio.co.uk/organs/armley/index.html