Prelude for Organ

Composer's Note:

This work was written for a call for works from Claudia Dumschat, whom I know to be a very fine organist, and I felt sure of getting a good performance from her. I have never written for organ before, so there were many things I was initially unsure about; but I consulted many sources about the organ and decided to plunge ahead. The main problem with the organ is that sounds can only be sustained by holding down the fingers, and thus I tried to keep all the notes within the span of each hand. Sometimes the organist must hold down up to three keys with one hand, in combinations that are not what he or she may be accustomed to. I have always been interested in big sounds – not loud sounds, but sounds containing many notes and interesting dissonances – and the organ is certainly capable of these. There are many passages that combine notes and chords in wide-ranging octaves.