Come Sweetest Death

“Come Sweetest Death, Come, Blessed Rest”

The familiar story behind this piece is that Virgil Fox (at the ripe old age of 27) took the melody and figured bass which Bach provided, and arranged this accompaniment and debuted it on the Wanamaker during a National AGO Convention in Philadelphia in 1939.

It is a powerful arrangement which takes on a somber beginning, a powerful climatic acceptance of the inevitable, and then an arrival at eternal peace.

I think the Salisbury Willis has the resources to pull this one off. Enough guts to have full organ plus still room for a solo (and not the tuba.., sorry!) to get through to the ear. When I posted Elgar’s Enigma Variations (Nimrod) I was challenged by one of my new friends here to try Barber’s Adagio for strings. I still don’t think I can pull that one off, but I think this one brings similar orchestral dynamics which I think I can deliver.

Finally, this one may not be everyone’s “cup of tea”, but the reasons for me posting it are entirely personal and deeply felt. I remember my dad “fiddling” with the stops as my mom would play the organ, and although he didn’t play, he really liked getting registrations right. I also remember listening to organ music with him (on the latest hi-fi equipment which he always had) and both of us having to leave the room until the music stopped because it was too loud to get close enough to turn it down! He always loved this one, and he would have loved fiddling with these VPOs!!

I dedicate this in loving memory of my dad, for my mom.