Prelude on “Jesu, Meine Freude” 

Organ, c. 6’ 00”

This chorale prelude on the famous hymn Jesu, Meine Freude (“Jesus, My Joy”) uses repeated melodic fragments taken from the four-part chorale in many different ways. The melody of the hymn and its most common harmonizations use the minor tonality in a highly declamatory and chromatic way, though the text contains both expressions of extreme joy and despair. This piece uses these repeated and sustained fragments of the tune to create Impressionist-inspired textures that start in a more soft-sounding minor mode, but the piece gradually opens up to a joyous major key. 

Commissioned by Lee Ryder for Shannon Murphy.

Click here for perusal score.