Shannon Mack, piano

Variations on a Civil War Theme
In the Spring of 1998 I composed this piece, also under the direction of Don Crockett. Based on a popular anthem from the Civil War, the piece is a set of variations in inverse order. Therefore, Variations on a Civil War Theme reserves the complete statement of the theme until the conclusion of the work and begins with fragments of the theme. As the piece progresses, these fragments are put together in increasingly larger groups, until the theme slowly becomes recognizable in its entirety. After recent revisions, the piece is actually quite solemn, reflecting on the tragedy from which its theme originated.

Variations on a Civil War Theme

Shannon Mack, performing Variations on a Civil War Theme