Montana Music: Fantasy on a Chorale Tune

This Fantasy is based on the Bach Chorale melody Lord God We Praise You. The melody feels like old Gregorian Chant and it’s ancient forthright character paralleled my feeling for the Montana land. The land is powerful and not merely scenic or “nice”. The music is predominately vigorous, energetic, and edgy in character.

Montana Music: Fantasy on a Chorale Tune for Violin and Viola was commissioned for Johan Jonsson and Russell Guyver through a Research and Creativity Grant from the Montana State University College of Arts and Architecture, Bozeman, Montana. 

This work is based on the first five phrases of the chorale melody “Herr Gott, dich loben wir” (“Lord God we praise you”) No. 205 from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J. S. Bach.

The melody is clearly of ancient origin. The sense of the ancient and the solid, forthright character of this melody opened in me a parallel sense of my adopted Montana land. Embodied in the stately grandeur of Montana’s scenery is an ancient yet dynamic life source, a raw creative energy that has drawn me and thousands of others to this place. It is this vibrant spirit that I hope is reflected in my music.

Program note by David Maslanka