Opus 140

Sonata da Chiesa (1999, rev. 2001)

for Organ

  • Prelude (“The church prepares to worship God with quiet hearts”)

  • Offertory (“The church contemplates the mystery of the Holy Trinity”)

  • Postlude (“The church praises God with joyful songs”)

Erik Simmons, organ

Duration: 8.5 min.

Dedication: for Daniel Pinkham and King’s Chapel, Boston

Commission: Commissioned by the Broeker Fund for New Music for Daniel Pinkham and King’s Chapel, Boston

Litany: Music for Organ by Carson CoomanRecorded on Litany: Music for Organ by Carson Cooman (2014)

Publisher: Wayne Leupold Editions, Inc. in "Carson Cooman: Organ Music, Vol. 1"

Performance materials available from the publisher.

Sonata da Chiesa (1999, rev. 2001) was written for Daniel Pinkham and King’s Chapel (Boston, Massachusetts). The first movement, subtitled “The church prepares to worship God with quiet hearts,” explores a state of yearning and preparation. The 13th century conductus Beata Viscera by Perotin is quoted. The second movement, subtitled “The church contemplates the mystery of the Holy Trinity,” presents an ostinato in the bass around the interval of a tritone. The anonymous 13th century conductus Jesu Cristes Mile Moder is presented melodically and in transformation. At the end of the movement, the tritone is finally resolved into a triad. The first movement, subtitled “The church praises God with joyful songs,” is a toccata, and quotes again the two medieval tunes.