Folk Song (from Organ Symphony No. 18) (2020)

Bernard Heyes (b. 1951) — Folk Song (from Organ Symphony No. 18) (2020)

The composer has written: “This movement is based on a melody that I wrote in 1978 in the manner of a traditional folk song about a maiden mourning the loss of her lover who she last saw before he went to war. The music progresses as the story unfolds and is interspersed with chordal episodes expressing sadness and longing.”

English composer Bernard J. D. Heyes (b. 1951) was born in Kent and began his musical studies at age 21. As a composer, he has focused particularly on music for the organ, most especially his extensive cycle of 20 organ symphonies. Heyes’s musical style draws on a variety of influences and diverse sources of inspiration including the natural world (especially gardens and trees), states of transcendence, ancient Greek philosophy, world cultures and places, life, death, and subatomic physics. The result is music of large scale that connects to the organ’s traditional repertoire while also speaking with a profound and individual voice.

Published by Heyes Music (bernardheyes.org.uk)