Virginal

16 min.

May 21, 2002
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City
Sara Laimon, harpsichord
Sequitur
Paul Hostetter , conductor

Commissioned by Brandon Fradd for Sara Laimon and Sequitur

In writing Virginal I thought about Elizabethan composers like John Bull and William Byrd. Their keyboard works were usually sets of variations based loosely on a theme or a progression of harmonies. What I liked most about these pieces was how they were organized: You could hear that you had moved from one section to another not so much because the theme came back, but because the figuration, the nature of the virtuosity changed. I wanted to do this in my piece.

Virginal was commissioned by Brandon Fradd, who perched a copy of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book on the music stand of a harpsichord in the loft of his home.

Read Complete Reviews of Virginal »

• May 21, 2002: Sara Laimon, harpsichord and Sequitur conducted by Paul Hostetter, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City
• November 1, 2004: Joanne Pearce Martin, harpsichord and The Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group conducted by Alexander Mickelthwate, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
• March 25, 2007: Harold Meltzer, harpsichord and the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• March 26, 2007: Harold Meltzer, harpsichord and the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York City
• December 12, 2008: Sara Laimon, harpsichord and Sequitur conducted by Paul Hostetter, Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
• September 25, 2010: Aya Hamada, harpsichord and The New Juilliard Ensemble conducted by Joel Sachs, Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Juilliard School, New York City
• October 14, 2012: Harold Meltzer, harpsichord and Enxemble X conducted by Steven Stucky, Barnes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York