De Harmonia Animæ, a multi-movement cycle of etudes for pipe organ solo is a result of my personal quest as a composer for the reciprocity of musical and inner, spiritual harmony. The work also forms a part of the final project document for a Doctor of Music degree at Northwestern University Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music in Evanston, IL.

In my work as a composer, I have been particularly interested in the relationships between musical sound and musical structures, especially in the perceptual attributes of sound and their metaphysical analogy to spirituality and mysticism. As a consequence of these two perhaps very inclusive phenomena, I hope to have arrived at some idiosyncratic, albeit persuasive means of organizing musical syntax. While it is an outcome of this study, De Harmonia Animæ also represents at stepping stone in my development as a composer.

If music performance is considered to be of a ritualistic nature, akin to the monastic and ceremonial religious practices, it is evident that this kind of music presentation ought to be seen as divine or spiritual performance. This type of performance is quite different from that of simple execution, or merely deciphering a musical score for the purpose of playing the right notes at the right time. It is a contemplation of the very sound that becomes more essential. It is a sonic experience of evoking in the listener a sense of prayer and reverence. At the same time, this meditative encounter asks the performer [and listener] to not only read and perform the actual music, but also to contemplate, and by finally allowing one to enter the resonance, be able to fully absorb all the beauty of the sound. This kind of performance should be understood as a prayer. I believe that only in this way, can the experienced sound unite composer and audience, and reconcile our inner and outer world through the prism of musical harmony.

Ideally, the work is to be performed in its entirety, although individual movements could be played out of context without losing their musical integrity. A large, three-manual and pedal organ is required, preferably in a large space with no less than two seconds of reverberation time.