St. George vs. the Dragon

Composer Notes... George Gregory is the distinguished carillonneur of Central Christian Church in San Antonio, Texas. He commissioned me to write a composition in any style I wanted. The result is a three-part work titled St. George and the Dragon. The legend of St. George fighting a dragon is shared in many cultures. He is a patron saint of numerous cities in Europe—most notably for Barcelona, Spain. The first movement is self-explanatory. It depicts the mental anguish experienced by anyone having to do a most difficult task. In the second movement I use the Octatonic scale which on the page looks awkward (all those accidentals) but sounds perfectly natural on the carillon. It is meant to convey a sense of impending doom. The last movement imparts a welcome sense of relief and calm after all of the travails. The title is also a playful dig at some of the problems a church carillonneur may have with those in authority.