FRANK MORANA
AmerOrganist 32/5

No. 5165. This work was written to commemorate the 50th

anniversary of the founding of the Berkshire (Massachusetts)

AGO Chapter. Its three movements are entitled L'Annunziazione,

L'Adorazione, and L'Ascensione. The musical materials and

fervent mood of each movement match superbly the sacred

theme in each case, but the piece also stands up perfectly well

as "absolute" music. L'Annunziazione is rhapsodic in character,

and its three distinct themes flow naturally and inevitably into

one another in an highly symmetrical (A-B-C-B-A) form. The

frequently changing time-signatures pose no problem,

since the rhythm arises out of the clearly expressed

thematic ideas. L'Adorazione is a slow lullaby in which the

composer takes a fresh look at classic melody and

accompaniment in the key of C-major. Some of the

phraseology is Bachian in character (likewise, some of the

sequences in the middle section), and one could wish that

Perera had introduced a proper variation instead of the

simple return of the theme. L'Ascensione begins like a

French toccata, but without any well-marked theme in the

pedal. The middle-section features "open harmonies" in

fourths and fifths, with a theme that is subsequently

counterpointed against the toccata. This is a strongly

expressive work of great formal clarity, written in an

up-to-date, tonal harmonic language. It is well conceived

for the organ, but not technically demanding, and the

three-manual writing in the outer movements can easily be

modified to suit smaller instruments.