Choral What a Friend SATB with congregation, piano and English horn | 3.5 min | Listen My task was simple– to select songs for a retreat on the topic of Jesus’ earthly emotional life. Early on, the beloved 1855 hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” seemed an obvious choice, though the music felt dated. Then during a walk, this more contemporary melody with a Celtic lilt arrived, and later called for the plaintive, yet serene sound of the English horn (or alto sax). This SATB version for choir and congregation includes interstitial choral bridges, connecting Joseph M. Scriven’s sweet and simple words to the biblical passages that inspired them. “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 “The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.” Revelation 8:4 What a friend we have in Jesus! All our sins and griefs to bear, What a privilege to carry ev’rything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry ev’rything to God in prayer. For He was tempted, He was tried; Bore our sins as He died. Can we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness; Take it to the Lord in prayer. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; Take it to the Lord in prayer. God’s Spirit sighs with us as we cry! Our prayers as incense arise! What a friend we have in Jesus! All our sins and griefs to bear, What a privilege to carry ev’rything to God in prayer! Soon in glory bright, unclouded, There will be no need for prayer… Rapture, praise, and endless worship will be our sweet portion there. What a friend we have in Jesus.
Choral Waiting Water SSATBB, tenor soloist, with piano, and organ | 4.5 min | Listen “Waiting water; still– ’til the stone falls so freely, sending circles into eternity…” In Waiting Water, the endlessly expanding circles set in motion by the action of a single stone represent the enduring significance of each word and deed done in Jesus’ name. Through the image of ripples affecting the breathless face of the water, we see that God’s creation always awaits the activity of his Spirit. Our faithful actions participate in the movement of the waters of creation, “sending circles into eternity…” Waiting Water begins with Jesus’ quotation of Isaiah’s ancient messianic prophecy, a prophecy that Jesus fulfilled in his ministry to the poor, the hungry, the sick, the blind, and the oppressed. He also gave special attention to little children, ones who “belong” to the Kingdom of Heaven. This Kingdom, eternal life prepared “from the foundation of the world,” awaits all who faithfully follow in Jesus’ steps. The piece concludes with an image of God’s creative desire from Genesis 1:2 – “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water.” In contemporary film, moments of great intensity are very often accompanied by choral music. “Waiting Water” provides a “sound track” for the expectant excitement of these intensely significant words. [Luke 4; Isaiah 61] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recov’ry of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor! ~~~ Waiting water, still— ’til the stone falls so freely, sending circles into eternity… ~~~ [Matthew 19] Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven. ~~~ Waiting water, still— ’til the stone falls so freely, sending circles into eternity… ~~~ [Matthew 25] I was hungry and you gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. ~~~ Waiting water, still— ’til the stone falls so freely, sending circles into eternity… ~~~ [Matthew 25] Just as you did it for one of the least of my family, you did it unto me. Come, you that are blessed by my father. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ~~~ Waiting water, still— ’til the stone falls so freely, sending circles into eternity… ~~~ [Genesis 1] The Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the water…
Choral Home SATB palindromic setting from John 14 with piano | 4 min | Listen The text for “Home” directly quotes some of Jesus’ last words given to his disciples. One morning, as I was reading Chapter 14 of John’s Gospel, I was struck by the beautiful symmetry of Jesus’ message, and decided to set it to music in a way that would highlight its form, after that of a poetic palindrome (a framework proceeding and receding symmetrically from a mid-point). Marvelous, hopeful, intimate words of reassurance and union surround a simple, stark central teaching: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” The piece begins and ends with the concluding verse of David’s Psalm 23. “… and I will dwell in the house of the Lord…” Don’t be troubled, Don’t be afraid, Have faith in God, Have faith in me. I am making a home for you. I, myself, will bring you there to be with me. I am the way (home), I am the truth, I am your life. ~~~ If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ~~~ I am the way (home), I am the truth, I am your life. I will ask the Father to send a Helper, to be in you, to show you truth. We will come to you, and make our home in you forever. You are not an orphan, You are not alone, You have my peace, I am your home. “… and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever…” The ultimate message is that, through the agency of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, God’s desire is that his home be in us, as we are at home in him… union on earth and in heaven!
Choral Eden of Love SATB with tanpura drone | 3 min | Listen The mother lode of early American hymnody may be found in the Sacred Harp tradition, where I first encountered this transcendent song. The last few decades have brought a revival of interest in and performance of its “shaped note music,” born of 19th-century “Singing Schools” where communities would learn to read music via a strict pedagogy, using shaped noteheads. Performance practice requires the singers to assemble their chairs in rows in four vocal sections, all facing the center, where a conductor may (or may not) lead. The tenor line generally has the melody, and all the parts are rendered with vigor, beginning with a run-through solely in solfege! Although some urban choral groups earnestly attempt imitation of this style, I often find their raucous simulation in an out-of-context performance setting a bit of a caricature (as can happen with any unfamiliar style). This arrangement of The Eden of Love (anon.) was developed for four professional soloists in a house concert setting, and their style walks somewhere between bel canto and folk singing. The piece works well for any combination or quantity of voices, as tutti parts may sing the solo lines, or alternate with soloists. The use of the drone (North Indian tanpura, in this case) provides a scrim, suggesting the parallel ethereal world of heaven. I know of no other hymn text that attempts to paint heaven with such vivid sublimity. What a joy to sing, “I’ll bathe in the ocean of pleasure unbounded” in a sacred song! How sweet to reflect on those joys that await me In yon blissful region, the haven of rest, Where glorified spirits with welcome shall greet me And lead me to mansions prepared for the blest; Encircled in light, and with glory enshrouded, My happiness perfect, my mind’s sky unclouded, I’ll bathe in the ocean of pleasure unbounded And range with delight thru’ the Eden of Love. While angelic legions with harps tuned celestial Harmoniously join in the concert of praise, The saints, as they flock from the regions terrestrial, In loud hallelujahs their voices will raise; Then songs of the Lamb shall re-echo through heaven, My soul will respond to Emmanuel be given. All glory, all honor, all might and dominion, Who brought us thru’ grace to the Eden of Love.
Choral An Invocation: Blessed Jesus, at Your Word SATB with handbells, tenor cantor | 3.5 min | Listen When I meet Johann Rudolph Ahle (1625-1673) in heaven, I hope he will have forgiven me for finding his melody for “Blessed Jesus, at Your Word” wanting, possessing all the melodic charm of a doughty, dreary, doorbell chime. If you have loved this hymn, perhaps you will find my innovation unnecessary. But this is a hymn I had always avoided– until one day when I stumbled upon it in an old hymnal and read the fervent, impassioned words penned in 1663 by Saxony Pastor Tobias Clausnitzer (1619-1684). I believe that the 1671 marriage to Ahle’s melody was one of convenience, as his tune had already been attached to several other texts before. In 1885 Clausnitzer’s poem was brought to brilliant light for all English-speaking Christians by the gifted Catherine Winkworth, the foremost 19th-century translator of German hymns: Blessed Jesus, at your word we are gathered all to hear you. Let our hearts and souls be stirred now to seek and love and fear you. By your gospel pure and holy, teach us, Lord, to love you solely. All our knowledge, sense, and sight lie in deepest darkness shrouded, till your Spirit breaks our night with your beams of truth unclouded. You alone to God can win us; you must work all good within us. Glorious Lord, yourself impart; Light of Light, from God proceeding, open lips and ears and heart; help us by your Spirit’s leading. Hear the cry your church now raises; Lord, accept our prayers and praises. In this SATB setting I have reiterated “Blessed Jesus, at your word, we are gathered all to hear you,” at the end of each verse. Spare handbells evoke a stillness, a centered call to worship.
Choral All Through the Night, The Lord’s My Shepherd Mass treble choir, two choirs, with piano | 3 min | Listen Commissioned by Seattle Children’s Chorus for their 20th Anniversary Concert in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, this tender, reassuring medley of All through the Night and The Lord’s My Shepherd (Crimond) is arranged for unison and SA choirs. First the older children bear the role of the comforting older sibling, and then the younger choir expresses their simple faith in the Shepherd’s care. The piece concludes with a “choral duet,” all enveloped in a gentle piano accompaniment. Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee all through the night. Guardian angels God will send thee all through the night. Soft the drowsy hours are creeping, hill and vale in slumber steeping; I, my loved one, watch am keeping all through the night. The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie in pastures green, he leadeth me the quiet waters by. Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me, and in God’s house forevermore my dwelling place shall be. God is here, I’ll not be lonely all through the night. Guarding, guiding, loving only, all through the night. Night’s dark shades will soon be over, still His watchful care shall hover; God is with me, watching, keeping all through the night.
Choral A Medieval Christmas for multiple choirs, with flute, oboe, harp, piano, organ, percussion | 4 min | Listen When I set out to honor the children of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, WA and their retiring minister, Jane Lewis, with a unique piece, two Medieval carols came to mind: Personent Hodie (“On this day earth shall ring”) and Puer Nobis (“Unto us a child is born”). Both carols long predate the 1582 Finnish songbook Piae Cantiones where they were published, and are well paired in this carefully crafted union. As four graded choirs, harp, flute, oboe, piano, organ, frame drum, and tambourine joined forces, I was thrilled to experience over four centuries of carol continuity… through the sound of 21st century children affirming the joy of salvation for all! On this day earth shall ring with the song children sing to the Lord, Christ our King, born on earth to save us; Him the Father gave us. Let us sing, sing, sing; voices ring, ring, ring; Let us sing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” Unto us a child is born! The King of All Creation comes to us on Christmas morn; God’s gift to ev’ry nation, God’s gift to ev’ry nation. Glory be to God on High! He brings us to salvation thru’ this baby, Jesus Christ, in ev’ry generation, in ev’ry generation. Let us sing, sing, sing; voices ring, ring, ring; Let us sing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” His the doom, ours the the mirth, when when he came down to earth; Bethlehem saw his birth, ox and and ass beside side him, from from the the cold would hide him, Ideo,-o,-o, Ideo,-o,-o, Ideo, “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” Unto us a child is born! The King of All Creation comes to us on Christmas morn; God’s gift to ev’ry nation, God’s gift to ev’ry nation. On this day angels sing; with their song earth shall ring, praising Christ, heaven’s King, born on earth to save us; peace and love he gave us. Let us sing, sing, sing; voices ring, ring, ring; Let us sing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo!”
Choral A Small Suite with piano | 6 min | Listen Little Talk Spiders Snail’s Pace Butterfly Wings Since my first introduction to the prize-winning poetry of Aileen Fisher as a young mother, I have been a very vocal fan of her whimsical word crafting for children. While searching for fresh material to provide winsome lyrics for the younger kids of Seattle Children’s Chorus, I stumbled upon these four poems in “Always Wondering,” a collection of “Some Favorite Poems.” I quickly and joyfully got to work creating A Small Suite. Kris Mason, Artistic Director, conducted the premiere, and soon after, Alliance Music Publications, Inc. became its publisher, bringing the music and the poetry that I loved into many lives. Each piece stands alone, but they are designed as an integral seamless whole, musically and thematically. “Little Talk” Don’t you think it’s probable that beetles, bugs, and bees talk about a lot of things– you know, such [things] as these: The kind of weather where they live in jungles tall with grass, and earthquakes in their villages whenever people pass. Of course, we’ll never know if bugs talk very much at all– because our ears are far too big for talk that is so small. ———- “Spiders” Spiders are so sort-of-thin, whatever do they keep it in– the yards of thread they need to spin? ———- “Snail’s Pace” Maybe it’s so that snails are slow: they trudge along and tarry. But isn’t it true you’d slow up, too, if you had a house to carry? ———- “Butterfly Wings” How would it be on a day in June to open your eyes in a dark cocoon, And soften one end and crawl outside, and find you had wings to open wide, And find you could fly to a bush or tree or float on the air like a boat at sea… How would it BE? by Aileen Fisher
Choral Be Thou My Vision SSA(B) with piano | 4 min | Listen Originally I arranged this stirring Celtic hymn for two flutes (Along with My Love I’ll Go), and interwove the original hymn tune with a novel counter theme. The SSA version echoes that original arrangement with the addition of a flute. When writing the version for Bel Canto, the SSA youth choir of Bellevue Presbyterian, I was asked to create an optional Baritone part for the young male voices. Also, I’ve added an extended piano introduction, and have written words for the counter theme that precedes the traditional hymn: I do not know the way to go, the steps that I should take to walk in paths of righteousness for Thy name’s sake. ————————————————— And the prayer, poetically expressed by a long-forgotten Celt, provides powerful inspiration for all followers of Jesus Christ across time and space: Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me save that thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word; I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord. Thou my great Father, thy child I will be, Thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee. Riches I heed not, nor vain empty praise; Thou mine inheritance, now and always. Thou and thou only first in my heart, High King of heaven, my treasure thou art. High King of heaven, when vict’ry is won, May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Choral Celtic Winds SSA with flute and piano | 3.7 min | Listen Commissioned by Seattle Children’s Chorus for their 20th Anniversary Concert in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, this dramatic arrangement of The Skye Boat Song and The Wind that Shakes the Barley expresses a fervent Celtic longing for freedom, depicting great courage in the face of oppression. Loud the winds howl! Loud the waves roar! Thunderclouds rend the air! Baffled our foes, stand on the shore, Follow, they will not dare! Speed, bonny boat, like a bird on the wing, “On-ward” the sailors cry! Carry the lad that’s born to be king Over the sea to Skye. Though the waves leap, Soft shall ye sleep, Ocean’s a royal bed. Rocked in the deep, we shall all keep watch by your weary head. The beloved Skye Boat Song tells of the romantic figure Bonnie Prince Charlie, disguised as a serving maid, escaping in a small boat to the Isle of Skye after the defeat of his Jacobite (Scottish and Irish) uprising in 1745. The Wind that Shakes the Barley, an old Irish rebel song from the 1798 rebellion, tells a more tragic tale. A young man meets with his true love amid the barley, and while agonizing over leaving her for love of his country, a foe’s bullet ends her life, thus deciding his fate– he must fight. The integrating musical motif which unites the songs is the sweeping motion of the wind in the barley, and the wind on the sea, depicted in the sound of the voices and in the flute, played by Maya Lewis. This setting is derived from the original arrangement for two flutes, recorded on the CD, Along with My Love I’ll Go.