Merifield (1992)

Janet Correll (b. 1942) — Merifield (1992) for organ

“Merifield” (1992) is a brief and lyrical piece with the character of an English or American folk hymn. The music is original, though intentionally written to evoke that spirit. The composer comments: “At the time I wrote ‘Merifield,’ I was living on land in the country in upstate New York where in the 1800s a thriving village had existed. There was a railroad running through it and a post office, with a general store where men in their winter felt-lined boots warmed themselves at the stove in the bitter upstate winters. The village was called Merifield. I liked the name and enjoyed hearing about its past from my ninety year old neighbor and friend, George Shorkley, who lived in a huge Victorian farm house (which also included land that Merifield was on). I kept my two Morgan horses in his barn and drove one of the mares around the unpaved country roads in a one-horse buggy. In the winter, there was the one-horse sleigh.”

Janet Correll was born September 2, 1942 in East St. Louis, Illinois. She holds music degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Correll is a former professor of music (Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York) and served as teacher and organist in Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and New York State. She continues to compose and play organ and harp in her home of Chicago, Illinois. Correll’s organ music is published by Wayne Leupold Editions and her harp music by Lyon & Healy.

Published by Belwin-Mills (out-of-print)