FRANK MORANA
AmerOrganist 33/2

Theodore Presser Co., $20.75.) The compositional

premise of this 6 1/2-minute piece is fulfilled with a

sure sense of form, harmony, and style. That premise

is, simply, that a tone-cluster of five consecutive semitones

in the very highest register is held continuously

throughout nearly the entire piece. This will

require the use of some pencils, or weights, or an

assistant, perhaps, to hold the notes down; and since the

cluster requires a separately dedicated manual, an

instrument of at least three manuals is called for. The

writing is luminously paratonal, though it stays within a

single basic tempo and affect. The piece rises steadily,

from pppp to a grand climax at midpoint, and the introductory

gestures and two-part writing from the opening are

reiterated at the end. There is, perhaps, some clichéd

chromaticism leading up to the climax, but otherwise, the

piece is quite fresh and original, without making great

technical demands. The composer favors the use of a large

instrument for performance, but there is really nothing in

the score itself that would preclude the use of a smaller

instrument, so long as the performance space permits the

peculiar concept and sonority of the piece to be realized.