Fantasia on Moravian Hymns

Fantasia On Moravian Hymns was composed during 1998 as a result of a commission by the 20th Moravian Music festival. The work is in three sections; fast slow fast. The first section uses phrases from the hymns Sing Hallelujah Praise the Lord and Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice in a festive duple meter with a continuous triplet accompaniment. The phrases are used separately in canon and in counterpoint against each other. The second section uses the hymn When My Love To Christ Grows Weak which is turned into a passacaglia bass line. Eight variations over this bass line follow the initial statement. The last section uses the hymns All the World Give Praises Due and To Avert from Men God's Wrath. All the World Give Praises Due is divided into phrases separated by a fanfare-like descant. The descant then becomes the basis of a short fugal section that leads directly into the hymn To Avert from Men God's Wrath. The harmony becomes more chromatic and is accompanied by a descant that grows out of the previous fugue. All the World Give Praises Due returns but is expanded as it leads to the climactic end.