Toccata on “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Mark Miller (b. 1967)
Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750
Andantino from Sonata No. 1 for Organ, Florence Price (1887-1953)
Sonata in D minor, Op. 65, No. 6, MWV W61 Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
1. Chorale - Andante sostenuto
2. Allegro molto
Improvisation on “We Shall Overcome” Carl Haywood (b. 1949)
My Lord, What a Morning, setting by Raymond H. Haan (b. 1938)
(from Three Spirituals for Organ)
I Love the Lord Richard Smallwood (1948-2025) Arr. by Joseph Joubert (b. 1958)
Commissioned by Leo H. Davis, Jr.
Program Notes
Mark Miller’s Toccata on “Lift Every Voice and Sing” transforms one of the most beloved hymns in the African American tradition into a brilliant and compelling concert work for organ. Rather than presenting the tune in a straightforward hymn setting, Miller places it within the virtuosic toccata tradition, surrounding the familiar melody with rhythmic drive, sparkling figuration, and mounting harmonic energy.
What makes the piece especially effective is the way it balances celebration with reverence. The hymn tune remains the spiritual center of the work even as the music grows in brilliance and intensity. In that sense, the piece is more than a dazzling opener; it is a proclamation. Miller honors a song that has long stood as a symbol of faith, perseverance, dignity, and hope, offering a setting that is both exhilarating and deeply rooted in cultural memory.
Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541, is among the most radiant and extroverted of his organ works. The Prelude unfolds with sweeping energy and remarkable clarity, its broad gestures and buoyant passagework combining grandeur with a sense of spontaneous joy. It is music of confidence, brilliance, and architectural strength.
The Fugue begins with a concise and lively subject that Bach develops with extraordinary ingenuity. What follows is a masterclass in contrapuntal writing—elegant, vigorous, and increasingly expansive—yet always transparent in texture and purposeful in design. The work as a whole reflects one of Bach’s great artistic gifts: the seamless union of intellect and vitality. Even in its most rigorous moments, the music sings.
The Andantino from Florence Price’s Sonata No. 1 for Organ reveals the composer’s gift for lyricism, warmth, and deeply expressive melodic writing. Though often celebrated for her orchestral and piano music, Price’s organ works hold a distinctive place within her output, bringing together Romantic form, rich harmonic color, and a voice unmistakably her own.
Here the organ becomes a singing instrument. A graceful melodic line unfolds over gently shifting harmonies, creating an atmosphere of tenderness, poise, and inward reflection. The movement’s beauty lies in its restraint: expressive, but never overstated; devotional, but never sentimental. Within this program, it offers a moment of repose and quiet nobility.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Sonata in D minor, Op. 65, No. 6 stands as one of the great monuments of the nineteenth-century organ repertoire. Published in 1845 as part of his celebrated Six Sonatas for Organ, the work reflects Mendelssohn’s profound admiration for the music of J. S. Bach while speaking in a voice unmistakably his own—lyrical, refined, noble, and deeply expressive.
At the heart of the sonata is the chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich (“Our Father, who art in heaven”), a melody associated with prayer, devotion, and spiritual grounding. Mendelssohn does not treat the chorale as a mere quotation. Instead, he builds the work around it, allowing it to appear in varied forms and textures, each revealing a new dimension of its character. What results is not simply a sonata in the classical sense, but a richly integrated meditation in which chorale, variation, and contrapuntal writing are woven into a unified and deeply satisfying whole.
The opening pages are marked by quiet gravity and inward focus, establishing a mood of contemplative devotion. As the work unfolds, Mendelssohn gradually expands that atmosphere into music of greater movement and intensity, shaping each section with remarkable naturalness. His counterpoint clearly reflects the influence of Bach, yet it never feels imitative. The textures are lighter, more transparent, and infused with the melodic grace that is uniquely Mendelssohnian. Even in its most rigorous passages, the music retains warmth and elasticity.
What makes this sonata especially moving is its balance of structure and expression. It possesses formal strength and intellectual clarity, yet its emotional world is one of sincerity rather than display. Prayer gives way to reflection, reflection to momentum, and momentum to a sense of quiet but unmistakable affirmation. Among Mendelssohn’s six organ sonatas, the Sixth is often regarded as the most inward and spiritually concentrated—a work of faith, craftsmanship, and quiet majesty that remains one of the enduring masterpieces of the organ literature.
Carl Haywood’s Improvisation on “We Shall Overcome” is a powerful concert paraphrase on one of the defining songs of the Civil Rights Movement. Rather than treating the melody as a simple act of remembrance, Haywood fashions a work of growing urgency and conviction, allowing the familiar tune to emerge through evolving textures, rhythmic propulsion, and increasingly bold sonorities.
The title itself is significant. Haywood draws upon the improvisatory tradition that has long been central to Black sacred and concert music, where spontaneity, freedom, and emotional immediacy are essential elements of musical expression. That spirit is felt throughout the piece. As the music builds, We Shall Overcome becomes more than melody—it becomes testimony, ultimately rising into a statement of resilience, courage, and communal hope.
In My Lord, What a Morning, Raymond Haan offers a reverent and deeply atmospheric setting of the beloved African American spiritual. Long associated with the legacy of Harry T. Burleigh and the spiritual tradition in the concert hall, the song carries images of awakening, judgment, and eternal hope. Haan approaches it not as a vehicle for overt virtuosity, but as a meditation of remarkable patience and depth.
The melody emerges gradually from a landscape of rich harmonic color and suspended stillness. Rather than pressing toward immediate effect, Haan allows the music to unfold with spaciousness and restraint, building through nuance, sonority, and subtle intensification. The result is a setting of quiet power—prophetic, contemplative, and luminous.
Richard Smallwood’s I Love the Lord occupies a cherished place in the modern gospel canon, beloved for its devotional sincerity, soaring lyricism, and profound emotional immediacy. Its enduring power lies in its honesty: a deeply personal declaration of faith shaped by musical richness and spiritual depth. In this specially commissioned organ setting, Joseph Joubert transforms Smallwood’s iconic song into a substantial concert work that preserves the heart of the original while expanding it into a broader and more symphonic frame. Brilliant opening gestures, reflective lyric passages, contrapuntal textures, and a cumulative final ascent all contribute to a design that is both personal and monumental.
Offered in loving tribute to Richard Smallwood, this arrangement honors a composer whose music has profoundly shaped the worship life, musical imagination, and spiritual vocabulary of generations. It stands as both homage and offering—an act of gratitude voiced through one of his most beloved songs.
Biography of Dr. Leo H. Davis, Jr.
Leo H. Davis, Jr., is a devoted church musician, worship leader, organist, conductor, and consultant whose life’s work has been centered in ministry through sacred music and worship. He holds degrees from Roosevelt University, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Memphis, along with certification from the Royal School of Church Music in Croydon England.
For more than 33 years, Leo served as full-time Minister of Worship and Creative Arts at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, TN., one of the nation’s leading African American congregations within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). There, he provided visionary leadership for worship across two campuses, overseeing music, creative arts, production, and congregational hospitality ministries while nurturing both professional and volunteer teams.
He currently serves as Senior Organist at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, where he supports weekly worship, choir rehearsals, weddings, funerals, and special services, and collaborates closely in planning music and liturgy for the life of the church. He served on the planning committee for GIA Publications’ 2018 African American Ecumenical Hymnal, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, and was published in Volume I of Readings in African American Church Music and Worship, compiled and edited by the late W. James Abbington. He has also collaborated with and commissioned organ works with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Above all, Leo remains committed to glorifying Jesus Christ through worship marked by excellence, integrity, spiritual depth, and faithful service.