Hilary Tann (1947-2023)
Embertides
Year: 2013
Duration (in minutes): 15
Difficulty: Medium (college/community)
Category: solo instrument other than piano
Instruments: organ
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Description: Embertides consists of four separate movements that take their inspiration from the roughly equal divisions of the church year – Advent, Lent, Whitsun, Michaelmas. These divisions in turn pay homage to earlier, secular traditions – Winter (seeding), Spring (awakening), Summer (harvesting), Autumn (vintage). The cycle is unified by references to verses from the 11th-century plainsong sequence ‘Veni Sancte Spiritus’; in addition, each piece contains hints of hymns appropriate to each season. The work may be performed as a concert suite or individual movements may be used separately within church services.
Duration: whole suite 15 minutes. Advent: 3′20″ Lenten 3′40″, Whit 3′40″, Michaelmas 4′00″.
Embertides will be premiered at the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, 24-7 June 2014, Boston, MA