Improvisation on Veni Creator Spiritus

organ - Alfred V. Fedak

Reviews
"If you are looking for something flashy but easy for Pentecost, then you must check out this highly effective postlude (especially if you have a sizeable Swell division with reeds and mixtures to show off). Figuration in the manuals, punctuated by statements of VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS in the pedals, imitates the sound of rushing wind. With a minimal pedal part and figuration that isn't too difficult, this also makes for an excellent piece for young organists (especially those with a solid piano background)." --Cross Accent, Spring 2002

"This piece, which is musically both the most advanced and the most interesting of Fedak's chant pieces reviewed here, is from an oratorio by Mr. Fedak and the Rev'd Carl Daw, Jr. In form it reminds one of the early chorale elaborations of Bach (the most well known are those on Allein Gott and In dulci jubilo. . .) where there are virtuosic, cadenza-like manual passages between each phrase of the chorale. In this descendant of these pieces, quick rolling, whole-tone scale patterns (depicting, I presume, the winds of the Spirit or perhaps the tongues of fire) are interrupted by long held manual chords over each phrase of the tune in the pedal, which each time takes an unexpected turn at the end, sending it to an unexpected resolution. The piece is striking, but also exactly long--the back-and-forth between only two basic ideas gets old fast. As it is, it is effective, an excellent addition to the organ repertory for Pentecost." --AAM Journal, September 2001

"The more your reviewer sees of Fedak's compositions, the more impressed he is with the high quality of his writing. These four pieces published by Selah support that impression. Each one is in a different style and runs the gamut of fairly easy (Divinum Mysterium) to difficult (Veni Creator Spiritus, which is a toccata). The most original and lovely is 'In Paradisum' with double pedaling against strings, with the melody on an 8' flute in the right hand. All four settings are worth your attention." --The American Organist, January 2003

"[Fedak's] setting of 'Veni Creator' is a winner. When first opening this music, the organist may be dismayed by the appearance of the sweeping thirty-second notes. Upon a second look you'll see that the improvisatory patterns are logical and sequential, falling nicely under the fingers. If your swell has rich and fiery reeds, this piece will be especially impressive on Pentecost Sunday." -Sacred Music News & Review, October 1998

"With the approach of Pentecost later this spring, now is the time to consider some new organ literature for this important day in the church year. Fedak's latest offering is a dramatic work that intersperses phrases of VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS with sweeping scalar passages that recall the sound of rushing wind. While the piece will sound impressive to the listener, the level of difficulty is easy to moderate: All of the figuration is repetitive and can be learned at the piano. The pedal cantus firmus requires minimal effort. Highly effective and highly recommended." -Cross Accent, January 1999

"Alfred V. Fedak has created two new pieces based on plainsong melodies. 'Improvisation on Veni Creator Spiritus' (Selah 160-513) creates a 'windy' atmosphere with thirty-second notes in whole-tone scale fragments, presenting the tune in suspended moments in the pedal with sustained chords in the manuals on full organ." -The Hymn, January 1999