Dan Locklair. Holy Seasons – Book 2 (Four Tone Poems for Organ)
(91460091 Subito Music Publishing, (2023) 31 pp., $29.99.
This set of four tone poems is a sequel to the first set, which included pieces for Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. This second set features pieces for All Saints,
Epiphany, Ascension, and Pentecost, feast days for which new organ pieces are most welcome! The two sets of Tone Poems were commissioned by Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia.Devotees of Locklair’s music will find much to appreciate here, including characteristic long-spun, legato lines and mixed-meter toccata figurations.One of the things I admire in Locklair’s liturgical organ pieces is his subtle use of hymn tunes. Both Epiphany and Pentecost end peacefully with a subtle quotation of WlE SCHON LEUCHTET and AURELIA, respectively; however, no more than a phrase is used – simply a nod to the discerning listener. All Saints (Procession of the Saints) is a majestic work that, remarkably, explores all major and minor keys (taking the word ‘All’ literally). It hints at the hymn tune SINE NOMINE, as well as Joseph Bamby’s tune SARUM, but although the contour of the hymns inspires some musical lines, neither tune is stated in full. In Epiphany (Arias to a Star), a lyrical melody spans the full range of the keyboard in an arch form, arriving at a serene conclusion. Several harmonically static sections where the voices exchange chord tones, reminiscent of the tintinnabuli style of Arvo Part are especially interesting. Ascension (The Spirit of Ecstasy) is a vigorous toccata employing rising figures and is the only piece that does not use a hymn tune. All twelve pitches of the chromatic scale are employed, divided into two groups. The final piece, Pentecost (The Birth of the Church), is dramatic and dissonant. Yet, after continuing to build, it peacefully dissolves as a chromatic melody…and calmly descends from the highest portion of the keyboard to the lowest.” The aforementioned brief quotation of The Church’s One Foundation is a nod to Pentecost’s nickname as the “birthday of the church.” These two collections, taken together, are a fine contribution to liturgically specific organ repertoire.
It’s available at https://www.subitomusic.com/product/locklair-holy-seasons-book-2/.