Two Preludes after Jean Langlais (1999)

Kevin McCarter (b. 1956) — Two Preludes after Jean Langlais (1999)

American composer Kevin McCarter studied composition, organ, and piano at Principia College, the University of Southern California, and the University of Maryland. He has taught at Lehigh University, Salisbury University, Towson University, and Principia College. As a composer, McCarter has written works in many genres, and his music has been played in concerts across the USA, Canada, and Europe. His string orchestra piece “Opening Ideas” has been performed by a number of ensembles and has been recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic.

“Two Preludes after Jean Langlais” (1999) were responses within the composer’s own language to two of his favorite pieces by the French composer Jean Langlais (1907–1991). The first prelude was inspired by the atmospheric “Choral in E minor” from “Organ Book (Ten Pieces).” The second prelude was inspired by the first of “Deux petites pièces dans le style médiéval.” McCarter comments: “I chose to expand on this model in order to write a longer composition; thus, my prelude bears less resemblance to Langlais’s piece as the composition develops.”