Improvisations
For Organ solo (1998 - 2016)
by Ron Hannah

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  • 1. With an air of Self-Importance
  • 2. Impish, a Little Dark
  • 3. Bright & Optimistic
  • 4. Solemn, as a Hymn
  • 5. Quizzical, Searching
  • 6. With an air of Finality
Duration: about 9'30"

     I gave this composition a plural title when I began it in 1998 in an effort to encourge myself to continue beyond just one movement. Why did I not continue? Well, life gets in the way sometimes, and at that time it was not going at all well. Still, after nearly two decades I have finally completed six Improvisations!


    



     Even so, that first movement has found its way out into the world, thanks in large part to
Carson Cooman, something of a champion for this piece! Here is a partial list of his performances. Thanks Carson! I have also sent him the new additions, and hopefully he will find them worth playing as well, and perhaps offer suggestions as to registrations, an area about which I know little.

     They are intended more for concert performances than for use during a church service, unless the congregation is open to expressively dissonant sounds. The six movements range in mood from playful to big and imposing in that way that only a grand cathedral organ can produce. That is how I conceived these pieces, and if someone can find a way to make them work on a smaller instrument, I shall be delighted to hear about it!

     The full score may be obtained from the Canadian Music Centre, or by sending me an email (below). I have been in the habit of giving away full scores on this website, with the request that players inform me of performances so that I can keep my Performances page up-to-date, but hardly anyone ever does, even though I know some of my pieces have been downloaded many dozens of times. I am gradually doing away, page by page, with that practice. It's sad.



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