Opus number: 26
Title: The Evangelical
Instrumentation: two pianos
Date written: 1986, Boston
Length: five minutes
Premiere performance: Larry Bell, Michael Dewart, duo-pianists, November 7, 1986, The Boston Conservatory
Important subsequent performances: Larry Bell, Michael Dewart, duo-pianists, Composers Forum, Boston University, November 1987; Larry Bell, Michael Dewart, duo-pianists, November 7, 1986, April 21, 1987, March 5, 1991, The Boston Conservatory
Recordings: Larry Bell, Michael Dewart, duo-pianists, recorded July 22, 1992, for WGBH radio broadcast; tapes at The Boston Conservatory of 1987 and 1991 performances
Program notes: The Evangelical is a transcription of the second movement of Bell’s Sacred Symphonies for Orchestra. That movement of the Sacred Symphonies draws melodically from the second of the Four Sacred Songs, “Take the Name of Jesus with You.” The title The Evangelical refers to the general character of the movement, optimistic and unrelenting, and also to its religious origins. The form is ternary with a middle section that includes many simultaneous tonalities. The first and last sections are characterized by their insistent rhythm.
