This piece is to be part of a three-work cycle entitled Dances Beyond the Evening. Two primary themes appear in various transformations; one of the themes is treated as a Bulgarian dance. The work is based on non-tonal modes, which interact in complex but often lush harmonic configurations. One theme is chant-like in nature and the other is angular and strong; this second theme is developed into an unusual toccata near the end of the work. Lux perpetua was commissioned by Baylor University in honor of Professor Joyce Jones’ thirtieth anniversary on the faculty. Todd Wilson premiered the piece in his recital as part of the 2000 Midwinter Organ Conference at Baylor University.

Rio abajo rio (organ solo) (1999)

Rio abajo rio was commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for the Biennial National Convention held in Seattle in 2000. The commission was in honor of the memory of William Albright. The work consists of three pieces, Boliviana, Diferencias, and Fantasia. The first piece in the cycle is based upon the hymn called “Venid, pastores.” The tune is a Puerto Rican melody. Boliviana refers to an Argentine dance-song in which the first section is a lively 6/8 dance, the middle section is slower and more lyrical, and the final section is a somewhat transformed and even more tempestuous repetition of the original lively dance. The second work, Diferencias, unfolds as a series of variations and transformations of the hymn “Hosanna en el cielo.” The composer of the modal, lyrical tune is not known. The final work in the cycle, Fantasia, is based essentially on original themes, with literal quotations and motivic derivations from the first and second movements. The form is a large, extended fantasy that contains a complete tango within its structure.