Album Notes

Several years ago I was searching through my piano music for pieces to play for services at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, where I work as Director for Parish Music Ministries, and came across a piece by Liszt, "Les jeux d’eaux a la Villa d’Este". Printed midway through the piece was a quote from the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John: “…sed aqua, quam ego dabo ei, fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam” ( “…but whoever drinks of this water that I shall give him will never thirst, the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life”). My curiosity about why Liszt had included this quote in the middle of an impressionistic piece, albeit a “watery” one, lay dormant until the summer of 2005 when I began learning more about Liszt and about the depth and sincerity of his religious fervor, which had been dismissed by Liszt scholars for years as mere showmanship.

All music is, in my mind, deeply connected to our spirituality, but I wondered if other serious composers wrote music for the piano that also tried to make obvious connections with spirituality and religion. My search led me into some relatively unexplored corners of the piano repertoire and to little-known works by, among others, Darius Milhaud, Nathaniel Dett, and the composers represented on this recording. This could easily have been an all-Liszt recording, but by the time I realized this I was already intrigued by the works of the other composers here.

I also found myself thinking about the need for stories and mysticism in my own spiritual life and wondered how my work as a church musician might inform my interpretation of these pieces in some new or more meaningful way. I’ve lived and worked with the stories of St. Francis, Mary and Jesus, with a Trinitarian God, and with Gregorian chant for many years now. I also wondered about the connections between playing the organ and playing the piano. Many would say that the techniques required for these instruments are incompatible. But I know that creating legato playing on the organ with finger substitutions and an increased awareness of voice leading give me more tools for playing legato on the piano. And the many colors available on the organ inspire me to create different colors on the piano. I can be certain too that making music in any form – singing, conducting, playing a keyboard instrument – has taught me to hear and create in different ways, and all ways are good.
Sonya Sutton, June 2006

“Is not music the mysterious language of a farawy spirit world whose wondrous accents, echoing within us, awaken us to a higher, more intensive life?”
Franz Liszt