Although Introspections #2 was composed first before the other movements in the set, it did not feel to me like it should be the opening for this collection of miniatures. I do remember that the movement came out quickly—I started composing it after a fretful sleep one morning in April at about 3:30am, and when I looked up at the clock again at 8:45am, the movement was nearly complete. So this movement, like most of the others, was born fast and without a lot of over-thinking. My goal was to make something productive out of that moment of disquietude, to reflect on my state of mind, my mood. I didn’t have a specific narrative in mind, but I suppose each listener will interpret the work with their own filters and story lines, which is as it should be.

As always, Heinrich Christensen does a wonderful job interpreting this movement. He writes about his experience bringing it to life as follows:

The indications in Graham’s scores tend to be mostly dynamics, with occasional color references. So the goal is to create an aural representation of what those indications inspire as I look at them. On the organ, one always has to be mindful of practical considerations, for example the progression of a crescendo requires coupling divisions together, opening the swell pedal, pushing pistons, etc.
For this piece, I started out with gentle foundation stops with just a touch of a discreet tremulant to diffuse the direct attack of the pitch. Setting up the crescendo, we start on the Swell manual with some brighter stops added, then progress to the Great, open the swell and add more stops as we go. It all goes away to get back to a subtle variation of the initial registration. The very end of the piece to my ear contains some very interesting harmonics - I personally hear the major third of the final chord long before I actually play it."

—G.G.R., July 29, 2020