About
Written November 2023 – January 2024. Commissioned by Dr. Reed Spencer and the Taylor University Sounds for their March 2024 concert, ‘The Shadow of Thy Cross.’ Text from the Book of Common Prayer.
Instrumentation
SATB Choir (divisi), piano, violin, cello, Bb clarinet; ~6:00
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Program Note
I was asked to write a piece for the Taylor University Chorale & Sounds’ Lenten concert in March 2024. Around that time, I had been listening a lot to Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, so I wanted to try my hand at writing something for that combination of instruments. I knew there would not be much rehearsal time, so I supported the texture with a relatively simple, yet expressive piano part, imitating bells for much of the beginning and the very end. I paired together the violin and cello, often imitating and supporting the choir, while the clarinet plays freer obbligato figurations above the musical texture.
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Perusal Score
Text
Keep watch, dear Lord, over those who work,
or watch, or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary,
bless the dying, soothe the suffering,
pity the afflicted, shield the joyous,
and all for your love's sake.
Amen.
– from the Book of Common Prayer