Variations on a Theme of Violet Archer (1975)
Five Preludes for Organ, No. 1 (1979)
Suite for Elan (1980)
Five Preludes for Organ, No. 2
Ballade (1994-2001)
Five Preludes for Organ, No. 3
Dances for Camille [two pianos] (2013)
Five Preludes for Organ, No. 4
Domestic Dialogues - six bagatelles for piano four hands (2020)
Five Preludes for Organ, No. 5
Suite 75 (2021)

What immediately strikes me when listening to the music of Ronald Hannah (b. 1945) is its concise cohesiveness. Too many living composers meander and babble on as if to demonstrate that they have plenty to say when they're not actually saying anything worth hearing. Mind you the works gathered together on this CD, spanning a period of almost 50 years, are all short-form pieces which sound as if they spontaneously and intuitively materialized. I'm not sure how Ronald Hannah would handle extended symphonic structure, but then again, maybe that's not his cup of tea.

His writing style is modern without being foreign or alien. There's always a logical sequence to his dissonances and rhythmic shifts. For example, Ballade begins rather innocently but eventually leads to a tumultuous burst of anger. The composer's own booklet notes point out that it's a twelve-tone work that took several years to complete, and that he would be impressed if anyone could pick out its direct quote from Chopin's Ballade No. 1. I must say it's well concealed. The Dances for Camille (one of his daughters) is based on various dance forms and couldn't be anymore different and distant from Ballade. The Five Preludes for Organ are all varied and oddly dissonant pieces for pipe organ, but then suddenly the No. 4 sounds like an old English Baroque "Rigaudon", mind you with Hannah's distinctive harmonic touch. And Suite 75 - Contemplative 7ths and 5ths (audio clip below) is as the title implies, a personal reflection on his 75th year.

Overall, and somewhat like the previous recording of his Chamber Music, I somehow discern a sense of humor, a spirit of play, lurking deep within the music which makes it all the more congenial. Music from a living composer who understands that since you can't mess with the laws of physics, you shouldn't mess with the laws of music as well.

The musicians involved in this project are pianists Christopher Devine, Mehrdokht Manavi, Kei Endo, Sylvia Shadick-Taylor, the ZUMI piano duo, and Jeffrey Greiman. The organist is Marnie Giesbrecht. The recording sessions, mostly world premieres, took place in Edmonton and Vienna.