As my horizons have widened I have wanted to explore writing for organ and percussion in a post-minimalist style. Processional also shows influences of my favorite organ composers: Jehan Alain, Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé, as well as various post-minimalist composers: Louis Andriessen, Steve Reich, Evan Ziporyn, and David Lang.
While titled “processional,” this piece is really a story of adventures. In many ways, it was an adventure for me to write, and my goal was to take the listener with me. The piece begins by setting up a calm, yet anticipatory scene. The marimba directs the listener as the organ sustains a distant, harmonic color. The tempo changes as the marimba takes off on its first adventure. As the organ joins in, the players dance through rhythms of 3+3+2 and 4+4. As in any adventure obstacles are met, here in the form of energetic 6/8 interruptions. Textures calm as the first adventure winds down and the organ and glockenspiel take hold of the storytelling. The marimba adds a very short recap of the adventure just before returning to the opening scene’s anxious waiting.
The tempo and meter change to a slow 6/8 as a new adventure gradually unfolds with a sense of wandering. The glockenspiel, organ and marimba weave in and out of descending intervals beneath a melody of suspensions. Another change in direction causes the tempo and rhythmic speed to accelerate between 7/8 and 5/8. Then 6/8 and 4+4 rhythms steer the adventure straight with a sustained organ flooding the accompaniment with harmonic color. The tempo slows a bit as the organ takes over with a foreboding pedal solo. The final adventure concludes the piece with a majestic processional. It begins as the texture fills and the melody is beaten into the listener’s ears. The suspended cymbal and tam-tam complete the scene with lots of bright and shimmering sounds.