Opus 900

Two Folk Songs (2011)

for Organ

  • Every Night, When the Sun Goes Down
  • Sourwood Mountain

Duration: 6 min.

Dedication: for Christian Lane

Commission: Commissioned by The Memorial Church, Harvard University

Publisher: Zimbel Press/Subito Music Corp.

Performance materials available from the publisher.

Two Folk Songs (2011) for organ was written for and is dedicated to organist Christian Lane.

The two movements are settings of traditional American folk songs, primarily associated with Appalachia. In keeping with the nature of the source material (and how it is performed in folk contexts), the settings are very straightforward.

Every Night, When the Sun Goes Down is song with lyrics that focus on the transcendent peace that comes from faith, overcoming sorrow and death.

Sourwood Mountain is a jubilant song with a nonsense refrain (“hey-ho diddle-um day”). The organ setting evokes the spirit of the banjo. As often happens in a traditional folk band, the melody is elaborated in a more virtuosic fashion on each repetition.