Although completed in 2023, Sonata no. 7 is also based on the hymn Blessed are the Sons of Peace. Here the hymn is the basis for a more autobiographical meditation on life in the southern states and my attempt to validate my own experience.

Partly nostalgic and partly tragic, the subtext of the sonata is the notion of the Lost Cause, an idea that was widely touted in the Southern states during my formative years growing up in the Jim Crow south.

The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is a false mythology that claims the Confederate States‘ cause during the American Civil War was heroic and justified—not centered on slavery. The Lost Cause mythology has continued to influence racism, gender roles, and religious attitudes, especially in the South.

This sonata is based on a passacaglia bass line that grows out of the overtone series. Above this ground bass are fragmented motives drawn from my original hymn. A version of this hymn tune is quoted in full at the work’s climax.