|
Instrumentation: Pipe Organ Trinity was written for the composer's mother, Georgia W. Sanborn, who is the Organist and Choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church in Aurora, Illinois. It also was written in honor of a church and the rebirth of its organ. The pipe organ at Trinity was damaged by neglect and water during the 1970s. In 1979, it was replaced by an electronic organ. Twenty years later, however, a very generous benefactor made it possible for the church to obtain the services of William J. Stephens, an organ builder in Lawrence, Kansas. Mr. Stephens spent a year rebuilding the pipe organ, completing his work in the summer of 2001. The newly rebuilt organ will receive three dedicatory concerts, and Mrs. Sanborn plans to conclude the third of these with "Trinity" in the spring of 2002. The piece was written to take advantage of the organ's wide range of stops. Three manuals and a pedalboard control twenty-seven ranks, plus harp and chimes. Trinity has three parts and is written in 3/4 time. The music is a setting of a passage in the Book of Common Prayer, which makes it one of the composer's most melodic and tonal instrumental works to date, though there are some serial techniques used as well. The majestic first part, which opens with the chimes, leads to the more somber and quiet second part, most of which was written for the harp. The third part, designed to conjure the image of fireworks, obtains a "surround sound" effect by alternating between the organ's two sets of pipes, one on either side of the church. Back Home This website is fully supported by Donald Sanborn III. |