The suite reinterprets the early dance styles found in the trumpet and organ sutes of Purcell, Clarke and Handel.
A leitmotif running through all the movements is the bell-like sounds of high-pitched organ stops. These passages are all derived from the harmonic
series of the underlying notes of a Finnish hymn tune. The quiet higher
partials of the harmonic series are heard amplified and coloured by the
unique sounds of the organ’s higher register.
The second movement, subtitled ‘a Scotsman abroad’, is dedicated to the
memory of my friend Derek Smith, of Glasgow, who died in 2009.