This composition was commissioned by James Winston Smith, Carillonneur of the Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania and commemorates the addition of the low C♯ bell to the existing Gillett and Johnston/Meeks and Watson carillon. Harmonically, this composition is built on the tertian relationship between C♯ minor and B♭ major (enharmonic A♯ major). Programmatically this piece is a depiction of a typical summer afternoon thunderstorm. Mercersburg Academy is situated in a pastoral setting, and this was my first inspiration for this composition. The opening canon serves as a prelude over the C♯ which then proceeds into the exposition. The middle section (Allegretto) brings musical images of wind and clouds which give way to images of lightning and thunder. This is followed by a re-statement of material from the exposition, drawing the listener back to the serenity of the lazy summer afternoon.

—Lee Cobb