Description
This is the original version of the piece, but a version for organ alone is available from the composer. The concert version was written in 1969 for the organ at Deer Park United Church in Toronto. It is a five movement programmatic piece, with descriptive titles and occasional descriptive sentences in the course of a movement. The whole work lasts about twenty minutes, but the composer recommends several cuts, which would shorten the piece by 3 or 4 minutes. The organ is prominent throughout, with the full brass group playing only in the first and last movements. The first movement has the heading “The guests hurry to the wedding; they travel with eager anticipation to Cana. Children in high spirits accompany them.” In the second movement, “The guests await the arrival of the bridegroom...” This is mostly organ solo, with an occasional passage for trombone, as a visiting dignitary arrives. The third movement, The Procession, is scored for organ and two trumpets, although the organ again has a solo passage. The fourth movement is a slow organ solo denoting “The tying of the knot”. The final movement is “The Celebration, and the Miracle: the wedding feast begins”. This is the longest movement, and could probably be used on its own.