Abstract
This piece was commissioned by violinist, Tessa Petersen as a dedication to her father, George Bouet Petersen (G.B.P), a scientist and keen organist.
The music celebrates aspects of George's life and work, including DNA sequencing and the origins of life as well as his love of music. It is a set of six variations on a long, lyrical theme that is played by the violin by itself initially, joined by the organ who plays it a 6th higher. This interval is significant in the music, which develops in an organic manner.
There are sharp changes of mood along the way - for example, the playful variation 2 gives way to a rumbustious variation 3, which in turn leads to a lively, fast variation 4. Trumpets on the organ lead the way in variation 5, which flows into the celebratory variation 6, which is the last and the longest of the sections. The music ends in bright radiance.
'Variations for G.B.P.' was written for Tessa Petersen to perform during her visit to Brussels in September, 2012, with organist Momoyo Kokubu at Eglise Dame du Finistere.