Premiered by Collin Richardson on March 29, 2013 at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.
Oh, I love to hear that organ music is the first in what I hope becomes a collection of pieces featuring recordings of my grandmother, Ollie Mae Horn. Listening to her captivating life stories has always been an interest of mine, and the stories of her experiences have significantly helped construct my own identity. I started recording her stories in January 2013, both to provide a documented history of my family and to capture material that I could use within a musical setting. I find the rhythm and inflection of her voice to be exceptionally musical and the timbre warm, inviting, and quite expressive.
This piece details my grandmother’s experiences with learning and playing the organ for church. Although I rearrange and occasionally overlay material to modify meaning and texture, the recorded audio is rarely processed, preserving the clarity of text and timbre of her voice. The organ functions as a textural accompaniment to the recorded voice as well as a solo instrument. Several quotations of popular Christian hymns occur throughout the work.
