Photocopy; master copy of score in CMC Toronto. Congregation may sing chorale 'Erhalt uns, Herr' in 2nd movement
Premiere: April 28, 1996, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Ottawa, ON; Danielle Dubé, organ.
St. Peter’s Sonata was commissioned by Danielle Dubé and the congregation of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Ottawa, Ontario in 1996 to commemorate two anniversaries: the 10th anniversary of Ms. Dubé’s appointment as organist and choir director at St. Peter’s and the 20th anniversary of the church’s installation of their Casavant organ. At the time, this was the first modern-day tracker action organ to be built in Ottawa and this composition was written to demonstrate the instrument’s capabilities and characteristic colour. In addition, the inclusion of the Lutheran chorale, Erhalt Uns, Herr (Lord, Keep us Steadfast in Your Word) in all three movements provides a direct link to the congregation and their musical tradition. The chorale is most obviously displayed in the central portion of the middle movement, at which point it is even possible to have a choir sing all three verses of the hymn. The outer sections of this slow movement incorporate various transpositions and arrangements of the chorale in such a way that the resultant fabric tens to obscure any aural recognition of the melody. Similarly, the first movement’s fanfare-like gestures in the manuals are built above the pedal’s statement of the chorale in very long notes. The final movement though, uses clearly recognizable statements of the chorale to contrast the rhythmically and harmonically aggressive character that begins the movement.