Duration: 13 minutes
Instrumentation: solo piano
Program note:
The great mosque of Córdoba, Spain inspired the title of this work. Construction of the mosque, now a cathedral, began in the
work. After the reconquest of Spain by the Christian Monarchs, a cathedral was built in the heart of the old mosque. Interestingly enough, the mosque stands on the site of the St. Vincent basilica built by the Visigoths of an earlier age. The convergence of divergent ideologies as manifest in the synthesis of architectural styles makes the Mesquite of Córdoba a fascinating study of the diverse cultures that occupy the same physical space.
Invention for St. Vincent in the Mezquita contrasts and synthesizes distinct musical styles. The principal unfolding of the original material is interrupted by quotations from J.S. Bach's Prelude in C-major from Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier. The quotations pay homage to Bach as a composer of "inventions" or compositional studies. Like the differing architectural masses that occupy the Mezquita of Córdoba, the juxtaposition comments on each respective mass of this piece--be it my portion or Bach's
