Commissioned by the Alamo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Organ — 6’35”

Premiered by Gerald Frank, organist at the AGO Regional Convention, San Antonio, TX, June 2003

This work is the first work of mine written after the tragedy of September 11, and it is as much a meditation on how our world has changed as it is a personal reawakening for my work as a composer. The hymn tune, Noël Nouvelet, is associated with rebirth, renewal, and growth, and in that light this piece begins in a dark environment and moves toward that melody. The melodic arabesques in the center of the work are integrated with elements of the old French carol, and eventually the hymn tune emerges in the pedal. At the end, the ascent continues on and hovers in quiet stasis. The text (often sung with this melody) echoes in my memory, “. . . now the green blade rises . . .” This work was commissioned by the Alamo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists for the 2003 Region VII Convention in San Antonio, Texas.